Page 15 of Bluebird

If the song was so special, why hadn’t he shown me? And if he was struggling with it, why hadn’t he asked me for help? I knew it was partially my fault. I was so torn up inside, I couldn’t think straight. Avoiding everyone seemed like the best solution until I figured out how to move forward.

Their chatter and laughter followed me through every room in the house, so I escaped out the back door to find some peace. One of the horses was still out in the front paddock, so I plodded over to the fence. As I reached out to pat him, the horse trotted away and left me starving for attention. Just like how I felt at the dinner table. I leant against the wooden fence and stared out into the darkness.

“Don’t worry about him, Frankie’s an asshole sometimes,” Luke spoke from behind.

I spun around to meet his irritatingly gorgeous smile. I huffed and turned back to my original position on the fence.

Luke edged up beside me. “Blue, what’s going on?”

“Too much,” I grumbled.

He nodded slowly and turned to me. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really.”

“C’mon Blue,” he pushed, pulling me around to face him.

“Fine,” I uttered. “What have you been doing over the past few weeks?”

Luke appeared equally confused and annoyed. “What? What do you mean? I could ask you the same thing. You’ve been avoiding me like the plague since your birthday.”

“So, you haven’t been working on…anything?”

Luke looked momentarily surprised before his face softened. “You’ve been talking to Nan, huh?”

“I’d prefer to talk to you,” I responded sadly, running my hand along the wooden fence.

Luke raised his eyebrows. “Well, you haven’t been the easiest person to talk to lately.”

I sighed, realising how crazy I was sounding. “I’m sorry, I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”

Luke ran his hand down my forearm, sending shivers through my entire body. “You know you can always talk to me…”

His lovely gesture only made me feel worse.

“That’s just it…I can’t.” Tears threatened my eyes, but I held them back.

Luke’s brows drew together as he searched my eyes. I broke his intense gaze and looked towards the house. Planning my escape.

“Okay, I’ll show you what I’ve been working on,” he sighed. “Meet me tomorrow after school. Usual spot.”

My heart and face lit up and I turned back to him.

“Ah, there she is. I never could stand seeing you upset.”

“So tomorrow, then?”

“Tomorrow,” he confirmed with a tight smile.

“Well, I should go and study. I have exams coming up.” I grimaced, trying to convince myself, more than Luke, that I needed to focus on my education.

“Goodnight, Blue.”

“Night, Luke.”

* * *

I was fixated on the clock all day, excited to hear the song that had been occupying Luke’s mind for so long.