The Ballerina

She recalled, a while back, that she had fallen asleep at the park with Luke, and woken up in her room. This time, however, she did not.

Instead, she saw the black walls of Luke’s own room, and felt the soft sheets of his bed. She didn’t feel as uncomfortable as she did when she woke up in Tuck’s car, in fact – she felt absolutely wonderful. Well, as wonderful as a person who cut her wrist the day before could.

With that thought, Acelynn turned to lie on her side and she examined her wrist under the covers. She pulled up the sleeve and saw not slashed flesh, but gauze and tape. Her heart sank.

“You should have covered it last night.” A soft voice came by the door. “It could have gotten infected.”

Acelynn looked up and saw Luke’s beautiful blue eyes. They were so familiar – so warm. And though usually she could talk to Luke about anything, she felt somehow ashamed and shy about her situation. No words came from her mouth, and she looked away. She heard his footsteps, and she knew that Luke was coming closer. She felt the bed shift and knew he sat down on it too.

“Aren’t you going to look at me?” Luke asked, with sorrow in his voice.

Acelynn dared a glance at the boy – afraid that he may be angry at her, or disappointed. But Luke was not. His eyes were sympathetic and knowing. The ballerina sniffled and closed her eyes again. Luke’s hand was placed on her thigh, and she did everything in her power not to shift away. Acelynn felt worthless compared to her angel.

“Please?” Luke begged, and the ballerina forced herself to look at the boy. His eyes were plagued with dark rings under his eyes, and his irises didn’t look as clear and pretty. His nose was red and his hair greasy. Luke was a mess.

“You know, you could have called me.” He continued. “You could have talked to me. You could have come to me and told me that your parents were fighting. I could have helped—“

“I know.” Acelynn whispered. “But – I don’t know. I wasn’t me last night.” Luke didn’t reply. He only traced the weaved patterns of gauze on Acelynn’s wrist. “So what happened after Tuck got me?”

The boy looked slightly more uncomfortable. “Well, I called your parents to tell them you were okay. They said that they would pick you up right away.” Luke took one breath. “I agreed, because I thought you would feel better at home. But I… Tuck said that it was a bad idea. And he said that it’s your birthday, and you’re an adult now. You’re not under their custody anymore. He also told me you ran away, so I agreed with him. Then I sent your parents away when they came.”

Acelynn nodded against the pillow. “Okay.”

The blue-eyed boy caressed her brown hair and pushed it behind her ear. “I also don’t understand why you…” Luke didn’t finish his sentence, but Acelynn knew what he wanted to know. Luke wanted to know why she cut herself. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to. If you don’t think it’s the right time.” He added quickly.

The girl shrugged awkwardly. He would know eventually – Acelynn wanted him to know. There were no secrets between the pair besides this. And it would severely damage their relationship if she withheld that information. “My mom said that I could jump off a bridge, for all she cared.” She sniffled.

“Oh, Ace.” Luke let out and pulled her into a hug. Acelynn let him, even though the last thing she wanted was to be around people or make contact.

But as usual, the dark haired boy’s touch seemed to calm the girl. He slowly ran his hands up and down her back for comfort. Acelynn didn’t realize it at first, but she was silently sobbing against Luke’s dark green t-shirt. She wrapped her own arms around his body and buried her face in him. The boy was so warm compared to the cool skin of Acelynn, it relaxed her.

Her eyes leaked out the salty tears, her nose sniffled against his neck (she was too confused to care what he thought), and her hands clenched Luke’s sides, all as she melted against her friend. There wasn’t anything that he could say that could make her feel better.

“Is she okay?” A voice whispered.

Acelynn had a good idea at who it was. “She will be.” Luke replied after a moment.

“Okay.” Tuck said. “Get me if you need me.”

The door closed quietly, and Tuck was gone just as quick as he made his appearance. “Tuck cares about you.” Luke said quietly. “God knows that I care about you. You don’t need your mother, Ace. It doesn’t matter what she says.”

“I know. And I don’t care about anyone but you.” Acelynn whispered back. Of course, she cared about her father, but she was in the ‘parental’ group, which also included her mother. So that didn’t matter.

Luke sighed. “You don’t mean that.”

“You’re the only person that matters anymore.”

Acelynn was comforted by Luke, who was warm with understanding. His arms held her and wrapped around her body, keeping her safe from the world. The girl wished that every moment was exactly like that one. Of course, it couldn’t be, she knew realistically. But she could dream.

The phone rang throughout the house, and Luke ignored it at first. But even Acelynn was itching to know who was calling the house. Both Spencer boys had told her that no one usually called the house – they had cell phones. So Luke hesitantly got up to answer it.

Acelynn covered herself in the blanket as she watched the boy leave. The covers were apart of Luke – he slept on them every night. They smelt like him. The girl was comforted as she quietly listened to Luke’s vague voice in the distance, wherever the phone was.

A split decision led to the brunette stepping up onto the cold, wooden floors. Her body was sore and weak. Wasn’t a decade of training supposed to make you strong?
Acelynn limped though the house to find the dark haired boy. Of course, she could have just waited for Luke to come back and they could continue to talk. But she needed to find Him.

Luke’s voice was getting ever so slightly louder, but it was still a dull murmur. Acelynn skipped going down the stairs. Her destination lie somewhere else. She wasn’t sure exactly where it was – she had never been in that specific room. Well, she hadn’t been in most of the rooms of the house, but this one in particular she had avoided. It was in the farthest hallway from the staircase, in the darkest area where some of the light bulbs had been failed to be replaced. It was right next to one of Mr. Spencer’s studies, which had a cold aura about it.

And maybe that’s why he was there.

Why, why on earth would she go there? All the signs pointed to ‘back the hell off’ but she ignored them. And obviously she should have just waited for Luke – he could have brought her here with him. Protected her, like he always did. Acelynn was safe when the blue-eyed boy was around. But when he wasn’t – well, the girl just seemed to make all the wrong choices.

It was too late; Acelynn had already knocked on the door several times and was in no condition to run away. In addition, running away would just make things worse. Then she wouldn’t be just stupid, she would be a coward too.

It took a few patient moments, but the door swung open and revealed the familiar tall man.

Acelynn let out a warm, long sigh. “Tuck.” She breathed.

The teen had her reasons to be here, Tuck seemed to realize. His jade eyes appeared slightly darker than usual. They weren’t filled with the careless glaze they usually were. Now they were steady and calm.

He didn’t say anything – he only opened the door a little wider for Acelynn to duck under his arm and enter into the dark room.