Page 30 of Legends Luke

She leaned forward, bending her elbow to cradle her chin in her hand. “Have you ever wanted to move someplace where people didn’t know you? Where you could be whoever and whatever you wanted, and no one would be the wiser?”

“Well, yeah, I guess. We probably all did at one point or another, and my brothers and I did in a way. We all served in the military, and we ended up stationed in places where no one knew who we were.”

“Do you realize you never talk about just you? You always talk about you and your brothers as a group.”

He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Our stories are the same.”

“Not entirely, no. I, um, I understand you’re a private person. Iwould never want to intrude, but Thea told me a little bit about your upbringing. I feel like it’s the kind of thing that shapes who you are as a person. It’s not something your brothers can share exactly. They can only empathize but never fully understand. No offense. It’s just my viewpoint.”

His expression closed as if a shutter blocked his emotions from her view. “What did she tell you?”

She suspected he was hurt. She couldn’t be sure if he was upset with her or Thea or both. She only wanted their light-hearted camaraderie back.

Knowing the moment was shattered, she decided to go for broke. “It doesn’t matter what she said. I’d rather hear what you want to share with me.”

When he stood, she figured their date was over and there probably wouldn’t be any more. Then he held out his hand.

“Wanna walk? I’m tired of sitting.”

She accepted his help in standing. “Sure. I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs.”

He kept her hand in his as they moved at a leisurely pace to circle the pond. Without conversation flowing between them, she was aware of every chirp of the crickets, every croak of the bullfrogs, and every hoot of the lone owl keeping watch from an unseen perch.

“I envy your relationship with Lyric. Until I was sixteen, I never had anything like that. It was me, my mom, and my dad, and I hated them. I never had friends because I didn’t want anybody to know what shitty parents I had. The kids at school either treated me likeI had the plague, or they picked on me. I never stood up for myself at home, so eventually, I started standing up for myself at school. I didn’t get picked on anymore, but everyone was too afraid of me to be my friend.”

She stayed quiet, letting him tell her what he wanted her to know in his own way and his own time.

“Most of the time, people left me alone, and I preferred it. But there was this one coach at school who wouldn’t leave me alone. He wasn’t mean or anything. He was tough. I got in a fight during PE class one day. He broke it up and convinced the principal not to suspend me as long as I agreed to play football. I was fine with the suspension, but Coach Easterling said he’d talk to my parents, and I freaked out. I didn’t want anybody at my house or talking to my mom and dad about anything. They’d only get mad because someone was butting in our business, and they would take it out on me.”

“Your parents abused you?” She blinked against the tears welling in her eyes.

“Yep. They never wanted me. I didn’t want them either. I learned to take care of myself. When I heard them arguing and hitting each other, I would take off. I camped in the woods or snuck into the school and slept in one of the offices. The vice principal had a pretty comfortable couch and an easily-picked door lock.”

“Considering how everyone seems to know your business, I’m surprised no one did anything.”

“I can’t blame them for not wanting to get involved. My dad was mean, and Mom wasn’t much better. They were both alcoholand drug users. My dad was probably dealing too. When they were drunk or high, they would go after each other — hitting, yelling, throwing stuff. I got away from it as much as I could. I understand why nobody wanted to be in the middle of it.”

“So did you end up playing football?” She bit her lip as soon as she asked the question. She’d told herself not to pry too much. She suspected this was the most he’d spoken to anyone about himself in a long time, and she didn’t want to discourage him with her curiosity.

“I did. I was pretty good. The coach pushed the team, and we started winning. He would invite us over to his house, and we’d hang out with him and his family. They’d feed us. We’d watch movies. Things changed for me. I had friends. I was popular. When things got bad at home, my friends parents would let me stay over, sometimes for two or three days at a time. It made it easy to forget the shitshow I had waiting at home.”

“Is that how you met English and your brothers? Which at some point, I want to hear the story behind how English got his name because I’m sure there’s a story.”

Luke chuckled. “If there is, it’s not one he ever told us. But yeah, I met Jackson through football. I knew he had a crap upbringing like I did, but I never asked about it. The last thing I wanted was to bond with somebody because we had piss-poor parents. I liked pretending mine didn’t exist. So, I didn’t really choose to hang out with Jackson outside of team stuff. My two go-to friends were Mitch Carson and Rich Amos. They were always willing to have me overeven if it was last-minute notice, and all they ever wanted to talk about were sports and girls.”

A breeze stirred off the water, causing chill bumps to rise on her arms. She suppressed a shiver because she didn’t want him to end his story to take her home. He released her hand, dropped an arm over her shoulders, and pulled her close to his side. The contact with his well-muscled body instantly warmed her.

“I guess Thea told you about what my dad did,” he eventually said, his voice monotone and quiet.

“Yes,” she admitted, never wanting to lie to him. She wanted to be someone he trusted, and she suspected his trust would shatter with one falsehood.

“I was at Mitch’s house when it happened. The detectives said it was premeditated. He blew a week’s pay on buying a gun to kill me and Mom once and for all. Only I wasn’t at home. So, he shot my mother twice, once in the chest and once in the head. Then he put the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. Neighbors called the police, and they tracked me down at Mitch’s house to tell me. Coach Easterling and half the football team met me at the police station. He’s the one who told me I was heading to a group home, but I had shut down. I barely remember anything. I was numb. Everyone acted like I should be sad, but I wasn’t. I thought if I told them how I felt, then they would think I was a monster or something, and I’d lose everything — my friends, football, my popularity. It would be like it was before.”

Her tears streamed down her cheeks, and she sniffed to keepher nose from running. “I’m sorry you had to live through that. You don’t have to tell me anymore if you don’t want to.”

He stopped and turned to face her. His hands cradled her face along her jawline so his thumbs could wipe the moisture from her face. Though her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she couldn’t make out his expression clearly. Then his head dipped, and his lips touched her. This kiss was different than before. The kisses earlier were light and soft and lingering. This was firm but brief…and devastating.

“I think I want to tell you. If you want to hear it. I get it if you’d rather not.”

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