A Girl Nobody Wanted
Chapter 85

I was staring at the blank wall, fighting with my mind.

"Sarah..." Luke said in a gentle voice after some time.

I looked at him... He looked exhausted. He should be on a bed, resting, isn't he? Yet, he is here in my tiny room with me, trying to cover up for the person he loves most. What a selfless and committed love it is?

However, he should not get a burden for us. This problem is between me and Jake, we are the people who should take responsibility and solve it. "Luke... I think you must go home now." I said.

"No... I want to tell you everything, Sarah... I want to clear this misunderstanding. I want you two to be happy together. " he replied.

"I know that, Luke... I know you really mean it, and I know how much you love both of us... But I think it should be Jake, not anyone else who should give me an explanation for all of this. All these problems happened because he didn't trust me enough to share these with me." I said in a determined voice.

"But Sarah... As I said, he can't come now. I can't let you two suffer like this until he comes and give you the deserved explanation." he said.

"I can understand what you are trying to say. But, Luke, I am certain about this. If he takes a week or a month to come back and talk to me, then let it be like that. I want to hear everything from him, just from him." I stated.

"I don't know how to explain this to you, Sarah..." Luke said worriedly.

"You don't have to explain anything to me, Luke... You look utterly exhausted. I want you to go home now and take a good rest. Anyway, I need some alone time too." I said.

"Are you sure about that, Sarah... You don't look like you enjoyed the alone time you already had. If you don't want to listen to me, that's okay. At least let me get you something to eat." he said, looking at my face.

I smiled weakly.

"I know I look like a total mess. But I will take a wash and eat something, I promise. Now go home like a good boy and take some rest. You are still not fully recovered, Luke..." I insisted.

"Okay then, I will go, but please at least switch on your phone. Can you do that for me, Sarah..." he asked in a pleading voice.

"Okay, Luke, I will switch on it, I promise. My promises are not like those false promises Jake made." I said. Actually, the last part just slipped through my tongue.

Luke gave me a worrying look.

"It hurt me a lot when you talk about him in this way, Sarah... He doesn't deserve these... I hope you realize it soon...." he said in a heavy voice, and he left my room, closing the door behind him.

For a moment, I couldn't figure out what to do. Then I thought of going after him. He came all this way without even thinking about his own health, I have no right to hurt him. So I opened the door to follow him, but he was already in the downstairs by then. "Are you feeling alright, Luke? You look worn." I heard Shane said. His voice was filled with concern.

Without going downstairs, I stopped. I could see both of them from here.

"I am a bit tired, that's all..." Luke replied, smiling.

"Where are you going now? If you want, I can drive you anywhere you want." Shane offered. I felt really bad about my brother. He loves Luke so much. But will he be able to get any positive response from Luke when he is totally, madly in love with Jake... "If you can, that's really great..." Luke said, making me surprised.

I think it is not just me who got surprised. I could see how Shane's face also changed with surprise. Then they both left the house.

It seems like Luke's attitude towards Shane has changed after the terrible incident he had to go through. Otherwise, he would never agree to let Shane drive him. May be Luke would grow feelings towards Shane one day, then they will be able to have a happy life together...

*********

I took a wash and changed clothes. When I came back to my room, I remembered I promised Luke that I will switch on my phone. So I connected it to the charger and switched on. Without waiting to check the phone, I went to the kitchen to prepare something to eat. I was going to open the refrigerator to get some milk first because I was feeling starved.

There was a small note stuck to the refrigerator door.

"I have kept some food for you - Shane." the note said. Is this a note for me? Well... Both mom and dad were not at home. So it must be for me, right?

I opened the door quickly and found a plate full of cheesy pasta with roasted chicken. Without bothering to heat it, I took a fork and tasted it. God! It was delicious, just the way I love it.

Never even in my most unusual dreams, I expected Shane to give me this kind of a surprise.

He had never prepared any food for me, not even a coffee.

I was still not sure if this is for me or not... If it is not for me, I would have to go through hell if I eat it now.

Holding the plate, I was thinking about what should I do now.

I can worry about that later... I put the plate in the microwave and heat it.

I didn't even know Shane can cook this well... The pasta was exactly like how I like it. I wonder how he knows about my preferences... Usually, he doesn't even care if I eat or not. Most of the time, he preferred to keep me starving. He sometimes put all the food to the dustbin without letting me eat.

It is truly a miracle how much he has changed after Luke's incident. Shane has started to act more compassionate and humane after all...

I went back to my room after eating.

I heard my phone was vibrating. I had put it to vibrate when I was in the function.

I felt like my heart stopped when I see the caller Id. It was from Jake...

I know, I said I need an explanation from Jake. But it must be in person, not over the phone. So I didn't answer the call.

After his call cut, I saw the list of notifications on my screen.

My God!!!! There were 68 missed calls and 122 messages.

With shaking fingers, I picked up the phone and opened the notifications.

There were many calls from Mr. Patterson, Luke, and Jake...

Then I opened the messages.

Mr.Patterson has sent me three messages. Fifteen messages from Luke and all the rest of the texts were from Jake...

I sent a message to Mr. Patterson saying I am doing fine and asking him not to be worried. He has done so much for me, so I owed him that.

I went through the messages Luke sent me.

All of them were asking me where am I, why my phone is not working, and asking me to call him right away.

Then I opened the message thread sent by Jake...

There were loads of texts, and I don't even know I want to read them or not. I don't think anything he said over a message could make my heart anymore. I remembered how eagerly I was waiting for him to text me in the past... His texts gave me a reason to smile and feel confident even before I know it was him who sent those texts.

I sighed, thinking about how much time has changed everything.

I wanted to put the phone aside without reading any of his texts. But do you think I can make my mind up to that?

I started reading his texts.

"Sarah... I beg you, please trust me. None of these are real, all these are just a drama..." it was his first text.

"You have all the right to hate me, princess. But promise me, you won't do anything that you would regret."

"Sarah, it is okay if you don't reply to me. I deserve it. But stay away from that jerk, Andrew. He just wants to steal you from me. Don't let him do that, princess..."

"Where are you, princess... Please, answer the phone..."

"Please, send me a text saying you are doing fine...."

"Don't hurt me like this, princess... You know how much I love you and how much I care about you..."

"If anything happens to you, I will kill that bastard and kill myself too..."

There were so many other messages like these... Each and every text simply explained how much he suffered.

I didn't even feel time pass while reading his texts. When I finish reading all of his messages, I started to re-read them. After reading them for the third time, I opened the photo gallery and started looking at his photos. I was smiling like crazy, looking at some of his photos. I was sighing and crying, looking at some of his other photos...

While I was spending time like a total i***t, my phone rang. This time it was Luke.

I answered the phone.

"Sarah..." I could barely hear his voice.

"Luke, are you okay?" I asked panicked.

"Sarah... I... I am not... feeling well..." he managed to say.

"What? Luke, should I call the doctor?"

"No... Shane... also went to practices...Can you... Please come over to my place..."

"Luke, you sound so unwell... I must call the doctor..." I said scaredly.

"No... I... have medicine... Can you come?" he asked again.

"Yes... Yes... I can... Give me 10 minutes... Call me anytime if you need it, okay?" I said.

I don't know how I managed to get dressed that fast.

Within like 5 minutes, I was in a taxi to go to Luke's place...

It was getting darker, though it was still 6 in the evening. I think it is going to rain pretty soon.

I tried to call him, but his phone went straight to the voice mail. This made me go crazy...

"Go faster!!!" I yelled at the driver and got scolded too...

I didn't know if I should call Shane. But if he is at the practice, there is no point in calling him.

When I got down near his house, it was in the complete darkness. Why he hasn't switched on any lights?

I went to his front door and rang the doorbell. But there was no response.

Fortunately, I remembered to bring the spare key I had.

I opened the door and entered.

"Luke!!!!" screaming his name, I switched on the lights with the aid of my phone light.

"Luke!!!" I screamed again. But there was no response at all. The whole house was in grave silence. This made me so much scared that I don't even have words to explain the feelings I had. Something has happened to him... I was so stupid to not call the doctor in the first place...

He was not fully recovered. He looked utterly exhausted when he visited me, as well....

"Luke!!!" screaming his name, I ran towards his bedroom. I didn't even remember to switch on the other lights. Holding my phone's flashlight, I ran...

Please, God... Don't let anything happen to him. Please protect him...

When I was about to enter his room, someone suddenly pulled me to himself.

"What the...." I screamed...