Faith hurried into the kitchen, grinning excitedly. "Luke, I have something to tell you."
"Not now, Faith. I need to get this proposal finished for the neurology wing in time for the meeting this afternoon."
"But Luke, it's really important."
"Not now, please."
"But-"
"I said not now! Okay?" He continued to type for a moment until the realisation caught up with whirring brain. "I'm sorry," he said calmly, looking back at her. "I shouldn't snap at you."
"It's okay, Luke," she replied, giving her brother a small smile. He smiled back before turning back to his laptop.
"It's just I want it to be perfect," he explained, typing at speed again. "It was everything to him, this facility. It was his baby..." He stopped and turned back to his sister. "Weren't you going to tell me something?" he asked. "Before I jumped down your throat that is."
Faith couldn't help but chuckle as she pulled up a chair beside him. "Okay," she began, resting a hand flat on the table. "Don't be mad, but the other day when I asked if I could borrow your laptop because mine had broken and I had an assignment to do..."
"Yes..." Luke nodded, not sure where this was going.
"Well...it wasn't. I did it so I could print off pieces of your writing and submit them to-"
"Wait, what?" Luke interrupted in disbelief. "You went through my stories and stuff? Faith, why would you do that?"
"Well if you let me explain before yelling at me, I might tell you." Luke blinked a couple of times before nodding for her to continue. "I submitted them to Antioch University, in Los Angeles. They've accepted you on the course!"
"Course? What course?" Luke frowned, confused.
"Creative writing and journalism, of course!" she laughed. "And think about it: you'll be studying at one of the top writing colleges, in LA – a city full of potential and opportunities!" She hesitated before saying the next bit. "Not to mention, Noah is there..."
"No. No, no, no. Faith, come on!" He slammed his laptop shut with a sigh, getting up to take a walk outside, Faith hot on his heels.
"Come on, you can't tell me that you don't love him," she seemed to whine in his ear.
"Yeah," Luke groaned, turning to look her in the eyes. "I do love him. A part of me will always love Noah..."
"Then what's the problem? Get a plane and go see him! Talk to him. Tell him how you feel."
"Faith, there is just one thing you seem to be forgetting." He was finding it hard to keep the irritation out of his voice. "While yes, I love Noah, I was in love with Reid." He tried to swallow the lump that was rising in his throat. "I know we weren't together long, I know! But I fell in love with him, and I still have to wake up every day, knowing that I'm never going to see his face again, hear any of his snarky comments, feel...him hold...me..."
Faith threw her arms around him and felt as the sobs racked his body. It broke her heart to see her brother in this much of a state; after all he had always been the one looking after her and their younger siblings, regardless of what he'd be going through at the time. She'd never realised how much emotion he bottled up for the sake of the rest of the family.
"Okay," she spoke, handing Luke his Java order, sitting next to him on the banks. "Spill."
Luke looked down to his hands cupped around the polystyrene cup, trying to gather his thoughts together in some sort of coherent form. It felt so strange confiding in his little sister as opposed to the other way around, and he found himself stopping and starting again as he tried to explain to her how he was feeling. She had been adamant that he open up to him, feeling she owed it to him to be there for him now that he needed someone.
"Reid erm... Reid made me open my eyes to how it felt to be in a loving relationship..."
"But you were in a loving relationship with Noah. I thought you two were in love."
"We were, we were... But with Noah it was always very push and shove. I mean, think of how many times we broke up and got back together during our relationship." Faith nodded. "I always knew where I stood with Reid; it was nice. I felt safe." He blinked back the tears threatening to fall. "Reid... Every time I think back to the memories – I mean, you're supposed to think of all the good times, aren't you – I can't help but notice that our relationship was riddled with little hints, case after case of foreshadowing the fate that lay in store for us..."
"Did you sleep with him?"
"No!"
"Luke, tell me the truth. You owe me that much. When you were in Texas together for his law suit?"
"No! Not then! Not after!"
"Not yet?"
"Not ever!"
"Well that should definitely be on your tombstone: 'Not the easiest guy to deal with'."
"You're right. Life is short. It's very short sometimes."
"It seems the greater you care about something, the greater chance you have of getting hurt, even losing the very thing that you care about."
"That's...true."
"How do you live with that?"
"Well, you're just grateful that you have that in your life, for as long as you have it. Even if it is just a short while..."
"Luke?"
He jolted out of the memory bank suddenly, back to the real world with Faith next to him.
"Um...can I have a moment...?"
"Sure. Sure. I'll be back at the house," Faith said, quickly getting to her feet and heading back to the farm.
"Oh, Faith?" She twisted round to look back at him questioningly. "Thank you." She smiled in acknowledgement before continuing on her way. Luke smiled at her receding back before facing the lake again.