A Touch of Luke

'When we are children we seldom think of the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.' I always thought I had to leave my childhood behind far earlier than others. A parentified child, I heard it's called. Stepping up and doing that which an adult in my life should've been doing—regardless of its strains, having to grow up so early in life surely has shaped me into the person I am today.  There are four of us. Me. My twin brother, Mario. Seventeen. My younger brother, Monty; thirteen. And the youngest—Macy. The most adorable eight-year-old you'll ever come across.  Shortly after Macy was born, our mom died in a car accident. Perhaps losing a parent is when you stop being a child. At least that's how it was for me. A new experience brought into my life, one that I perhaps will never heal from—but that's a much longer story.  Then comes in my dad—also, a whole other story.  He lost the love of his life, a pain I can't begin to imagine. To be unable to look at his infant daughter for she was too big a reminder of my mom. Absent with the rest of his children, locking himself away at work to keep himself distracted and out of the home he built with the woman he lost. His coping eventually turned to drinking and gambling. Long story short, he was just as dead to us as was my mother.  As figurable, there was nobody left to look after the four of us. Our lives shifted. How does one even get back to normal after not only losing one parent, but practically both? Dad had fallen into a void of his own. We'd go weeks without hearing a word from him, little less even seeing him. For all I knew, he was passed out somewhere in a pile of his own vomit.  Someone had to step up—being the oldest, that responsibility fell on my shoulders. Or perhaps, I was always hardwired to take initiative. I picked up the pieces and had to find a way to navigate not only myself but all of my siblings too. They were still here. They needed someone.  "Do I have to go today, Mar?" Monty grumbled, rubbing his eyes tiredly as I poured him some coffee. "I don't feel well."  "You're going to school, Mont."  "But—come on! I'm sick." I quirked an eyebrow in a challenging manner. "Are you? Let me grab the thermometer and check your temperature." He held eye contact for a few seconds before sighing heavily. He always cracked. "Fine," he grunted out. "Skipping one day wouldn't have done any harm, you know?"  "It would when it becomes a habit," Mario said, walking into the kitchen. He ruffled Monty's hair—causing a scowl from the boy, before he turned towards me. "Macy's all good to go. Ready to head out?"  I gathered the rest of our things, making sure everyone's lunches were accounted for. At the same time, little Macy dragged her feet into the kitchen. "Is daddy coming home for dinner tonight?" She spoke softly, her voice coated in sleep, eyelids heavy as she peered upat me. I sighed, bending down to match her height. I offered a strained smile. Luckily, she was too young to see through it. "I don't think so, bunny. But hey—how does pizza night sound? We'll put on some movies and get Mario to make that pillow fort of his."  Macy smiled sadly but nodded her head. "Okay."  "Come on now." Standing back up, I took her tiny hand in mine. "Let's get going before we're late." We all shuffled out of the house and piled into the car. Luckily, our school was a Pre-K to 12th-year school—making it much easier to know we were all in one place, easily accessible.  Monty helped Macy out of the car, grabbing her backpack and getting her to the opposite end of the school where the elementary classes were. Macy waved her little goodbye as she walked off with him.  "Hey," Mario nudged me softly as we made our way inside. "You alright?"  "Always." I smiled quickly before shuffling ahead.  "Wait," he grabbed my elbow to pull me back. "You're forgetting these, Mar." Turning, I glanced down to the plastic vile of pills he discreetly held out.  Lifting my gaze onto him, I smiled sheepishly. "What would I do without you, dear brother."  "Who knows?"  "Here you go, lovelies," as soon as we got to our lockers, we were greeted by Remy, one of our closes friends. "God bless you," I grinned as she handed me my usual coffee order from Starbucks. "I really needed this." Remy let out a small laugh, "Coffee addict. How you feeling today?" She sent me a semi-concerned look. I shrugged softly, giving her a reassuring smile. "Just a little sleepy, like usual." "Hey girls! Oh, and Mario," Jamie grinned brightly as she swung an arm around mine and Remy's shoulders as she appeared with her boyfriend, Todd. "Honoured I got a mention, Jamie," Mario rolled his eyes but smiled nevertheless. "So, party tonight. Y'all coming?" Todd spoke, hardly looking up from his phone. "It's a Monday night..." I muttered quietly. Todd didn't respond as he was too occupied on his phone. I wasn't even sure he had heard me. Jamie rolled her eyes as she walked over to him and snatched his phone away, "You've been staring at that thing all morning, Todd." Todd exhaled deeply, "Sorry babe, the boys and I were just texting about the party. You coming, right?" "We'll see," Jamie sighed as she shook her head and started to head to class. "I'll see you guys later," she waved us off dully as she walked away with Todd, both of them quietly arguing. Mario narrowed his eyes down as he watched them both walk down the hall away from us. "What is she doing with him? Jamie could do so much better." Remy smirked, "Yeah, with a guy like... say, you?" Mario's head snapped towards Remy causing me to laugh. "What?! Why would you suggest that?" Remy quirked an eyebrow, amused. "Man, you've been in-denial for years. I told you you would lose your chance and now look, she's dating an asshole." "I don't understand it," I mumbled as we all started walking to class. "Why is she with him, really though?" Remy shrugged, "Beats me. He was always an asshole but he actually used to shower her in compliments and gifts before. Now it's like he's hardly even present." Mario grumbled some things under his breath, "f*****g asshole." I nudged his shoulder, "Well Jamie is clueless sometimes. You could always show her how a real guy would treat her, bro." "Yeah, yeah," Mario glumly swatted me away. Just as we were about to head to class, my phone started ringing. "Marie..." "Macy?" She was calling me from her school office's phone. "What's wrong?" Anxiety filled my body as the worst case scenario started to rush into my mind. "Are you okay? Did something happen?" "Everything is okay," she mumbled softly, sounding a little worried. "I just left my big project at home and we were supposed to bring them in today. Is there any way you can bring it to me?" I exhaled deeply, the sudden panic fading. "Mace, I'm in school. Can't you ask your teacher if you can bring it in tomorrow?" "No!" Macy's soft and vulnerable voice rang through the phone. "I need it today. I know you're in school but I really need it, Marie. Everybody else is going to be showing theirs today." I sighed, running a hand down my face. "Okay kiddo. I'll be there soon." "Thank you, Mar, I love you. You're the best." I smiled softly, feeling warm. "I love you too, kid." It was my fault that she forgot the project at home. I was so rushed this morning that it had slipped my mind. My mother would have never forgotten to bring in Macy's project the day she needed it. Of course I would end up being late but it was only one day. There wasn't much else I could do. Shooting Mario a quick text as I rushed back out of the school, I let him know what was going on. By the time I had gone home, to Macy's school and back to my own school, half of first period was already over. "Another late, Marie," the front office secretary said to me in an irritated tone. "Not going to look good on your record. You need to be more responsible." "Thanks for the advice, Sharon," I muttered dully as I took the late slip from her and headed out of the office. My day was going great so far. I headed into class, the whole class turning their attention to me as I walked in halfway through the period, causing a whole disruption in the lesson. "Ms.Celestino, thank you for finally gracing us with your presence," Mr.Matthews, my always bitter teacher gave me a dry look as he took the slip from me. "Mind explaining why you're late?" "It won't happen again, Mr.Matthews," I grumbled, causing some snickers to go around the room. "That is what you said last time, Ms.Celestino." I ignored him as I made my way to the back of the room to take my seat. I was just about to place my bag down when I noticed there was already one there. I glanced up from the floor to see my seat taken. "Uh..." There was an unfamiliar but very attractive specimen sitting in my seat. The seat I sat in everyday. The same seat I had been sitting in the whole semester along with the past three years of high school whenever I was in this classroom. Call me weird but it was just a... thing. You need your seat, the one you're used to. Does this make any sense or was I really going crazy? "Can I help you, Ms.Celestino?" The boy spoke in an intrigued tone, mocking the teacher as he peered up at me. From the row behind, Mario and Remy were staring at the two of us. "You're sitting in my seat," I spoke calmly. He quirked an eyebrow, "I was told I can take any seat I want. I didn't see your name written anywhere." I blinked. I was unsure of how to react. I wasn't going to make a big issue over a seat but the way he spoke like he was superior, with a big ego was what got under my skin. "Ms.Celestino," Mr.Matthews' tone was dry and started to grow more impatient. "Is there an issue?" I swallowed the lump in my throat, "No sir," I mumbled. "Sorry." Instead of further causing my humiliation in front of the whole class, I took the seat next to my usual seat, the seat that was now occupied by Mr.Ego - it also happened to be the only empty seat in the classroom so I wasn't able to get away from this unfamiliar person. Mr.Ego glanced at me, smirking in amusement. "Look at that, you found a new seat." I glared at him for a moment before turning to the front of the room so I didn't get called on again. At the end of class, I was placing my things in my bag when Mr.Ego stood up, standing beside my desk. I looked up at him, confused. "Can I help you?" I mocked his tone from earlier. He was grinned as he looked at me. "Do you have a first name or am I going to have to continue calling you Ms.Celestino?" I narrowed my eyes, unsure where he got so much confidence from. The way he was smirking at me almost made me want to slap it right off his face. I licked my lips, "You won't have to be calling me anything because I have no intention of speaking to you again." His smirk only grew. "We'll just see about that, love." I narrowed my eyes as I watched him cooly walk away from me and out of the classroom. "Okay," Remy drawled. "What was that all about?" "You tell me," I scoffed as I grabbed my bag and stood up. "Who even is he?" "New kid," Mario told me as we headed out of the class. "His name's Luke, just transferred here." "Well," I sighed. "Let's hope that's the last I'll see of Luke."