“You know I have your back Luke.” Luke let go of my hand and looked at me with tons of hurt in his eyes. He and the officer approached the man who must’ve been Luke’s Uncle Roger.
Luke rubbed his uncle’s back and spoke to him softly. “Hey. You want to get up and go inside? I bet you’ll be more comfortable in bed.” Roger turned his body over; he was mumbling, but clearly still in a daze. The officer and Luke both put one of Roger’s arms around their necks and picked Roger up, helping him walk towards the door. Roger’s eyes were barely open. I scurried ahead of them and pushed the front door open.
The officer and Luke walked Roger over to the couch and plopped him on. I stood in the doorway unsure of whether I should go inside or not. “Thank you again.” Luke said, shaking Officer Galer’s hand.
He pulled Luke in for a hug and said “You’re a good kid.” Luke sighed really loud.
“Come in if you want Sutton.” I slowly roamed into the living room and pulled the front door closed behind me. Luke was picking up tiny pills off the coffee table and putting them back in the bottle. Tears made their way down his cheeks. When he was done picking up the pills he grabbed the bottle and wandered into the kitchen. He came back with a knitted blanket and draped it over his uncle. He looked over at me and sat in the armchair with his face in his hands. I walked over to the chair and put my hand on his shoulder.
Luke sniffled and pulled his shirt up to wipe his face. “Okay. I’m done throwing myself a pity party.” He pulled me onto his lap.
“I’m so sorry Luke.” I muttered not knowing what else to say.
“Hey, I bet you never had a Fourth of July like this one,” he said with a laugh. “Welcome to my life.” My phone buzzed and I picked it up and looked at it. It was a text from my mom.
Where are you guys? Is everything okay? Fireworks are about to start.
Luke and I both looked down and read the text. “We can’t have a Fourth of July without Fireworks.” Luke said motioning for me to get up and follow him.
Luke pulled an attic staircase from the ceiling and he led me up the stairs. When we got up there he pulled a string and put the light on. It was his bedroom. He had a full sized bed, a desk, a dresser and a wall covered with superhero posters. He climbed on top of his bed and opened up the window. He grabbed the quilt off his bed and climbed out the window. I followed suit. The roof was flat and Luke laid out the blanket. He patted it so I would come sit next to him. Just as I settled down on the blanket, fireworks started to explode in front of us. The black sky was like a blank canvas being painted by these flashing lights. The aroma of gunpowder filled the air and Luke held me close. I was mesmerised. Before I knew it, it was the finale. Lots of fireworks erupted at once. I felt each single one within my body.
“Happy Fourth Baby.” Luke whispered in my ear before pulling me in for a kiss.
..
Roger stirred his coffee over and over, clinking his spoon against the side of his mug. He had big bags under his eyes and was sighing over and over. “I just don’t know what to say.” He kept his eyes low, only focusing on the steaming cup of joe that sat in front of him. Finally, he looked across the table at Luke and I.
“I said it’s okay Uncle Roger.” Luke said uncomfortably adjusting himself in the booth. Roger put his hand over his eyes and shook his head.
“No. No. It’s not okay. I’m sick of this life. That’s the way I meet my boy’s girl face down on the lawn?” Luke set his gaze out the window past his uncle.
“Thanks for breakfast. We really appreciate it.” Luke said wrapping his arm around me. I nodded in agreement.
“Why didn’t you let your uncle give us a ride?” I questioned as Luke and I strolled away from the diner down the sidewalk.
“I just need some space.” He replied, kicking a rock along the sidewalk.
“Well he sounded genuinely sorry. That’s good news right?” Luke shook his head.
“No Sutton. He says that every time. I’ve been going through this for years.” I could hear the hurt in his voice.
“What are you up to today?” I tried to change the subject.
“I’m not positive, I think I’ll go ride my bike down to see my grandma. My uncle is kissing my ass so he told me to take the day off from work.”
“Can I come?” I asked. Luke stopped dead in his tracks.
“You really would want to?” His blue eye twinkled in the sunlight.
“Of course I would. I mean as long as you want me to.”
Luke grinned his famous grin and kissed me on the cheek. “I’d love for you to meet her.”
We headed back to Luke’s house and I waited on the front stoop while he ran inside for a minute. He came out dangling a pair of keys in his hands. “Told you he’s kissing my ass.” We hopped in the ruby red truck and were on our way. We stopped by the sunflower field and Luke hopped out of the truck. An older woman was standing at the wooden stand. Luke
