Off Limits Read online

Page 5


  “I hope so, because we’ll never get near him. Maybe we can do a search on his number plate and see what that brings up. It might be online somewhere who it’s registered to.”

  “That could work,” my hopes weren’t exactly soaring, but talking about it with Luke when he managed to remain calm definitely had me feeling better about everything. I would have sent myself mad if I was by myself. Staying over had been best for me, even if it was a bit of a nuisance for Luke. “I’ll try and stop thinking about it now, I promise.”

  He chuckled, “probably for the best. It’s difficult to keep my mind off it, though. I’m hoping some sleep will do me good.”

  It didn’t take long for said sleep to take over Luke at all. Only half an hour in, he was slumped on my shoulder and taking liberties with his hands. Part of me knew I should have removed the hand which slipped onto my upper thigh, but waking him up seemed cruel. It was innocent enough, really.

  I munched on the popcorn and tried to think no more about it.

  ***

  When I woke up the next morning, Luke was fully crushed against me. I had no memory of getting into this position and I really hoped it was all done during our sleep. My head was resting in Luke’s lap and his tented pants prodded into my cheek. I sat up without hesitation, cheeks burning a bright red.

  Controlling my breathing was definitely difficult as I took in Luke sleeping form.

  He didn’t take well to me moving, though. The hand which had been gripping my hip only held on tighter and I was smushed against him, practically sat in his lap now. He groaned out an almost incoherent, “stop moving Pheebs, I’m trying to sleep,” and pressed a kiss to my neck.

  I felt a prod from beneath.

  Beginning to feel like it was taking a turn for the too weird, I worked my way out of his grip. It was still a bit early to be getting up, but I definitely couldn’t stay there. Luke would be horrified when he woke up and I was kind of horrified that my entire body was still flushed.

  I went into the kitchen and found that Luke’s mum had poured us a bowl of cereal each before going to work this morning. I smiled to myself and added the milk, taking a seat in his quaint kitchen and taking in the pictures which littered the walls.

  They were almost all of Luke. Some school pictures, some of him skateboarding, some of him in football gear and there were a good number of trophies and certificates littered around the place, too.

  I picked up the class photo from when he was ten.

  We were stood next to each other – it was the only year we’d been the same height. Luke had shot up after that and I’d continued to grow at a sluggish pace. I noted smugly the big red blotch on Luke’s polo shirt. I’d had especially good aim with the ketchup bottle that day.

  I put the picture down the second Luke walked through the door scrubbing his eyes. When he stretched, I ignored the contours in his arm muscles. “Why are we awake so early?”

  “You molested me in my sleep, so I figured I should probably get up.”

  He raised a disbelieving eyebrow at me. “I don’t think I believe you.”

  “Pheebs,” I mocked, smooching the air, “come to bed. I’m just trying to sleep.” I gave a look towards his trousers. “And I had to deal with your morning wood. I consider myself completely violated, to be honest.”

  I laughed when he shook his head with a horrified expression. “Sorry about that.”

  “I suppose I can forgive it,” I allowed.

  And hopefully not spend the next few days wondering what would have happened if I was actually Phoebe.

  Chapter Five

  “Nice shirt,” Jamie commented as I stepped out of my car. I’d followed Luke to school so I should be able to find my way back from him from now on, even if it was a long way around. “I’m sure everyone has one, though. Luke definitely does.”

  This was Luke’s band shirt and it smelt like him, too. It was a good job no one would be coming close enough to me to find that out. “Thanks, I really like them. I was lucky enough to get to see them last year. Best concert ever.”

  Having Luke decide on whether this shirt looked too big and having the audacity to undo my jeans to tuck it in this morning had been kind of strange, but not altogether unenjoyable. Luke had agreed it looked best when the logo was spread tight across my meagre chest. He’d said I could keep the t-shirt and I thanked him profusely. I hadn’t been able to buy the shirt when I saw them live.

  “I’m definitely jealous. So, hey, are you going to Phoebe’s party in a couple of weeks? She handed me an invite the other day.”

  The pink envelope was on my own dressing table, too. Phoebe’s star-studded eighteenth birthday party was definitely going to be an evening to remember. Her parents had agreed to go on holiday for the whole weekend, so she was throwing a massive party that was going to involve far too much alcohol.

  “She’s my best friend, of course I’m going to her eighteenth,” I laughed, locking the car and starting the stroll towards my lesson. “But yeah, it should be fun. Phoebe’s had a few good parties over the years for sure.”

  “Ah, cool. I can’t say I’ve ever been. We never spoke before her and Luke started dating,” and their starting dating had been weird and sudden enough. Phoebe had admitted after a few weeks that they slept together at a party and got together after that. I wasn’t sure they knew each other all too well, really.

  “I’m sure you’ll have fun.”

  Jamie sighed. “I’m not even sure I can go yet, my grandparents are coming up and so I’m supposed to be staying around the house most of the time. I just want to chill and party.”

  “You should be grateful they’re still around to visit,” I muttered, remembering all too well the four funerals I’d been to in my lifetime. I had older parents and that meant I hadn’t had grandparents for long. “Parties happen all the time.”

  His face turned scarlet and I couldn’t help but appreciate my fellow ginger’s problem. “Sorry, I know, I’ve just been looking forward to it I guess.”

  “I’ll make up some stories about how shit it was for you, don’t worry. You won’t feel like you’ve missed out at all.”

  Jamie grinned ear-to-ear. “You’ll probably need my number for that.”

  It wasn’t the direction the conversation had been going in at all, as far as I was aware. I’d just been teasing in my normal, friendly manner. Still, I handed him my phone to put his number in. That way when I just didn’t text him I’d have conveyed my message and wouldn’t have to deal with anything now. It was possibly the most passive-aggressive assholey thing I could have done.

  But I did it anyway.

  Besides, I barely knew Jamie now, but he did seem nice enough, really. Maybe if he did turn up at Phoebe’s party we’d both be drunk and something along the lines of Luke and Phoebe’s relationship could blossom. That seemed to be going well enough for the both of them.

  “Okay, I’ve got to run, but getting that is going to make my next lesson significantly more bearable. Thank you. I’ll see you around.”

  Maybe something good could come of this. Maybe.

  ***

  I wrapped my blazer around myself with little effect, but Phoebe didn’t have to. She was snuggled into Luke’s jacket as we both suffered the bracing winds. There hadn’t even been any reason for us to eat lunch outside, other than to avoid Phoebe’s friends. Phoebe liked to spend time away from them, but keep them close enough that she was invited to the majority of parties, I was pretty sure.

  Sometimes I was sure she wouldn’t have minded ditching me to spend time just with Luke, but I never offered it up.

  Today had been tempting, though. The library sounded awfully comforting right now.

  “I’ve already decided what alcohol I’m getting. I convinced my parents to buy me ten bottles of champagne for midnight. Only the cheap stuff, don’t get me wrong, but that’s going to be awesome. And almost everyone I invited has sent their replies. I always dreamed of doing something really extra
vagant, but I think this is going to be even better. I’m going to get a load of banners, balloons and party poppers tomorrow. You’ll come, right?” She looked up at Luke with sultry eyes and he caved straight away.

  “Of course.”

  She went back to cuddling into his chest and sent me a glance. “How’s things holding up with your parents? Have you seen your dad or spoken to your mum yet?”

  “Neither. I’m going to see my dad in a couple of days, though. I really want him to know that I miss him and stuff.” In reality, our apparent stalker and my sudden infatuation with Luke had meant that my dad hadn’t been on my mind all that much, but I didn’t want him to know that. Besides, seeing him might be a bit of a reprieve.

  “You should really speak to your mum,” Phoebe insisted for the thousandth time since I’d found out what had happened.

  “I’m sure she will eventually, something like that isn’t easy to deal with,” Luke interjected with a downturned lip.

  “You still haven’t told me anything about your parents’ divorce,” Phoebe looked up at him hopefully and I swallowed down the realisation he’d told me straight away. We related in a way he and Phoebe never could. She stuck her hand in the jacket’s pocket when he didn’t respond and the scowl which overtook it was immediate. “What the fuck is this?”

  It was my mascara that she held up, tears already brimming in her eyes. “Who the fuck have you been seeing? You know I’d never buy this tacky brand.”

  I snatched it from her hand, my own scowl forming. “It’s mine. I just made Luke drive past the shop to get me some before we started tutoring yesterday and I didn’t have my bag on me. It’s not a big deal, stop overreacting.”

  But the tears were making large trails down her face and she sniffled. “Oh, ah, I’m sorry,” she directed it towards Luke, despite the fact I was still mildly offended she’d called my mascara tacky. “I don’t know why I’m like this so often.”

  Phoebe had always been like this, in every relationship she’d ever had and I was certain it was a contributing factor as to why they never lasted very long. Luke just shook his head.

  This obviously wasn’t the first time in their relationship.

  “I’ll catch you after class.”

  He stood up, didn’t bother taking back his fleece, and left us alone at the picnic table without a glance backwards. Phoebe snivelled once more, wrapping her arms around herself and going as far as to sniff Luke’s jacket. “I don’t know why I always fuck this stuff up.”

  “Me neither. You’re gorgeous Phoebe and Luke really likes you. You have to reign this stuff in.” I made myself take Luke’s seat and wrap an arm around her.

  “I know,” she was wailing and it annoyed me more than I cared to admit. I’d always been so jealous of everything Phoebe had, but she managed to be so insecure in all her relationships. It was frustrating. I loved her, but I just couldn’t understand it at all. “It’s just all so stupid, but part of me collapses whenever I think about him with someone else. I don’t know how to stop it.”

  I of course had no idea, either. “Have you tried looking online about stuff like this? I’m sure people have the same problem, it might help.”

  She shied away from the suggestion. “I haven’t, I guess I should, though.”

  I still hadn’t been home to search the things I needed to find out about, but I wasn’t optimistic about either.

  “I’m sure Luke really cares about you, you don’t need to worry. Just talk to him about it, I’m sure he’ll understand.”

  Phoebe sighed, resting her head against my shoulder. “I will do, I promise. I’m just so scared of pushing him away. I think I really like him. I mean, more than really like and it’s making this stupid jealousy thing ever worse.”

  “Talk to him,” I reiterated. Maybe expressing something akin to love wasn’t exactly the right thing to do, but they definitely needed some kind of communication. Luke was practically lying to her and Phoebe was scared to have a real conversation with him.

  That couldn’t really make a good relationship, could it?

  Chapter Six

  “Plant road,” I told Luke again, the irritation really growing between us at this point. “He definitely said Plant road. I’d remember that.”

  “Well we’re here and there hasn’t been a single hotel,” Luke had insisted on coming with me to visit my dad tonight because the road I’d mentioned was in such a rough area. That, and we’d decided being alone in the car probably wouldn’t be a very good idea for either of us right now.

  So, here we were, arguing about the fact that my dad might have lied to me.

  “Just ring him,” Luke pulled up at the end of the road. “And find out what the address really is.”

  “But it was meant to be a surprise,” I whined, looking at my phone with lamentation.

  “I’m sure he’d rather you rang and found out whereabouts he is than you turning back before seeing him at all. There definitely isn’t a hotel around here.”

  I sighed, knowing he was right. “Fine. I suppose I’ll have to, then.” I turned down the radio and grabbed my phone. “Hey, dad. Where is it that you’re staying again?”

  “It’s a place on Plant road,” I knew I’d heard him right before. “It’s maybe not the best place for you come, though.” That much was obvious just from driving up and down. Luke’s concerns had been validated going by the number of boarded up windows and trackies I’d seen. I couldn’t stop my relief at having his tall, well-built figure beside me.

  “I’m already on the street now, just give me the number and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  He did so with slight reluctance and that just made me feel more nervous. I gave Luke a sideways glance and he shrugged, setting back off again. My phone was so obnoxiously loud that he’d heard what my dad had to say. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  But my stomach clenched at the thought of my father living in one of these places whilst my mum was safe and sound wrapped in the bed she’d defaced with another man. It wasn’t fair at all. This was probably going to send my rage levels all the way back up.

  The house we pulled up at was even at the bad end of the street and I tugged and the ends of my hair compulsively. “It’ll be fine,” Luke urged me to get out of the car. “I’m sure I could fend off anyone with these muscles.”

  I could only shake my head and laugh as he flexed. There was no denying the power in that arm.

  I stuck close to his side when knocking on the door. My gaze was glued to the boarded up window on the top floor. How had my dad even found this place? There was no way he could afford to rent an entire house, even something this grim.

  A pot-bellied man opened the door and I put him at about the same age as my dad. Perhaps they’d been at school together. “What can I help you with?” He eyed us both up and down blatantly, chewing gum with an open mouth. “If you’re ‘ere for the powder then we’re all out. Check in next week.”

  My eyes widened, and Luke stiffened beside me. “My dad’s staying here, I think. I was just wondering if I could go and see him.”

  “Oh, shit,” he ran a hand over his bald head. “Maybe don’t mention that I just said that to you if you don’t mind, told ‘im I wouldn’t y’see. Just go right on up the stairs. First door on the right.”

  The boarded up room, I guessed from the position of the staircase. “Thanks.” Luke was almost uncomfortably close behind me as we climbed the stairs.

  I was engulfed in a hug when I entered the room and my dad squeezed so hard it hurt. “Hi honey, it’s so good to see you.”

  “You too, dad.”

  When he pulled back, he eyed Luke suspiciously, before sticking out a hand. “I’m Charles. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “Luke,” he shook back with an almost awkward expression.

  “This is Phoebe’s boyfriend.” It was the best way to clear up our relationship when it came to my dad. “We’re working together and I’m helping him out with some German.�
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  “Aha, well I’m sure your grade will be propped up in no time. My daughter has always been a clever one,” that was a blatant lie if ever I’d heard one, but it still made me smile.

  We took seats on the battered sofa and my dad was forced to perch on an upturned crate in the middle of the floor. I was really dying to ask him about why he was staying here and how he knew about it in the first place, but the mood was good right now. “How are things going with you?”

  “They’re going, slowly. I know this place is horrid, but it’s better than the streets and that was the alternative,” there was a bitter hatred in his voice and I knew it was aimed at my mum. “How is she holding up?”