Julie's PoV
I heard my door creek open quietly in the night and smiled to myself thinking it was Luke. I pretended to be asleep and kept very still waiting to feel him climb in but instead I was hit roughly on the head. I looked up to see my father and this time I was gagged by something that smelt like it was soaked in petrol. I struggled to hold back the bile in my throat as I was hauled downstairs and outside to my waiting grave. I tried to scream for Luke and fight to live, I wanted to live and be free.
I was chucked into the ground roughly and hit again on the head to quieten me. This time though, I didn't pass out, I saw him remove my pants and rape me roughly before he began to burry me alive with no straw. After he left me, buried deep in the cold earth, the fumes from the gag won and I vomited but couldn't spit it out and choked quickly on my bile.
I woke up back in my room in Seattle gasping for air and an overwhelming desire to throw up. I ran to the toilet that was connected to my room and hauled my guts out. I briefly noticed someone had followed me and was holding back my hair for me and rubbing my back with the other hand. Everything burned, my throat, my stomach, my body was sweaty and gross. After I finished vomiting I flushed the toilet then rinsed out my mouth and turned around to see who was with me.
Luke was staring at me full of concern and still had a hand rubbing gently on my arm, not sure why I didn't just guess that it was him.
"Are you okay Julie?" he asked softly, he was wearing my fave combination, black sweats and a tank top.
Was I okay? I wasn't really, I wanted to get outside and breathe again.
"Go for a walk with me please?" I asked.
He smiled, pulled me in for a quick hug then zoomed off chucking clothes in my direction and started getting himself ready. I picked up the pants, hoodie, jacket and gloves and started pulling items on while forcing myself to breathe evenly. It was too cold to go out without these clothes, especially in Seattle.
Five minutes later we were out exploring the neighbourhood, bundled up and I had a hot apple tea to sip at for my throat and stomach. It felt so much better to be outside, moving and breathing fresh air. Luke led me to the Streissguth Gardens which were beautiful in the rising sunlight. Even though winter was coming and it was late november there were still flowers that bloomed, and I quickly decided that Pink Dawn Viburnum was my new favourite flower. It bloomed regardless of how cold it was.
Luke had pulled me down at a lookout to sit and watch the sun come up. It would of been magical and romantic if we were here for any other reason but I still leaned my head on his shoulder just taking in the sights.
"How are you feeling now Julie?" Luke whispered, wrapping an arm around me.
"So much better, thank you, how did you know this place existed? How did you even know that I was having a nightmare?"
"I did some research last night and well once you were asleep I opened both of our doors as Reggie and Alex's rooms are on a different level, I didn't want you to wake up and be scared on your own. I was asleep but you were crying my name again so I guess that woke me up. Did you wanna talk about it? It sounded bad Julie"
"I was been buried again, only this time he raped me, my own father then once I was completely under the earth I finally vomited because the gag had been drenched in petrol, only I choked because I couldn't vomit properly and was on my back, I choked quickly to death" I whispered.
Luke pulled me tightly into his arms as I cried quietly into his shoulder.
"Julie I dunno what to say, I hope your nightmares stop soon and I'm proud of you for not running, my door is always open if you need me or you can crash in my room if you want" said Luke into my ear as he stroked my hair.
"Thanks Luke, I always had nightmares before but not that bad but then I guess I was never nearly killed before. It's hard to think of such things when we're out here in this beauty though!" I said with a smile as I let go of Luke and sat back.
The sun had come up completely and everything was magical, glittering with due from the night. We made our way back after picking up groceries and Luke told me he would make a start on breakfast. I went back to my room to put away my clothes and came back out to a beautiful sight. Luke was frying eggs and singing at the same time, there was a mess already but not a big one. I realized why Luke was banned from cooking because he sang when he cooked and lost himself in the music.
I walked in and turned off the element and helped him clean up then we started together only this time I sang with him and we managed to cook without making a crazy mess. Alex and Reggie ran through the door in a panic to take control and kick Luke out but instead they saw four plates piled high with bacon, eggs, English muffins and hash browns. The kitchen was reasonably tidy and there wasn't sugar everywhere.
"Um, what happened to Luke?" asked Reggie.
"He's actually really good at cooking, you just have to monitor what's happening, he sings while he cooks and loses himself in the music" I said in his defense as I saw him shrink back into the background and look down at his toes.
"Huh, and there isn't sugar everywhere… is the food poisoned?" asked Alex skeptically
"Just sit and eat, we bought stuff this morning for breakfast, we got a bus there and back, it's not poisoned" I said as I sat down and took a big bite of bacon with some egg and English+ muffin.
I could see Luke was really hurt by their comments so I pulled him down to sit next to me and gave him compliments for his food. Once Alex and Reggie joined in they were blown away as well and Luke began to perk up a bit.
"Alright after we're done eating I vote we go shopping! How do you wanna do this Reggie? Go get food, drop it off here then go out to get clothes?" I asked.
"Yeah that sounds good! We have a massive deep freeze so I was thinking, get vegetables and fruit for a week, snacks, soda, nuts and stuff. Then go back in and fill a trolley up with meat, milk, cheese and yogurt. The vegetables should be fine in the car while we get the last items and we can freeze the cheese and yogurt so we can buy quite a bit" said Reggie.
"Sounds good! I honestly can't wait! You guys can't make me look crazy though so be careful what you do when we are out!" I said
We all cleaned up then got ready to head out. Reggie was driving since he was the only one who had his license and I had to sit in the front seat. If we got pulled over though it would be one hell of a story. Reggie had said though as long as he drove like a grandma, no one should bother them. It was terrifying being behind the wheel and not controlling anything and I tried my best to ignore how weird this all felt with arms coming out of my body that weren't mine. I was surprised that Reggie could manage to be half solid and half not!
We got to Costco and started loading up a trolley or rather I loaded the trolley while doing my best to ignore the boys.
"Oh man can we pleeeeease get this cereal? Please Julie? It's made out of chocolate! How rad is that, chocolate for breakfast!" begged Luke.
"Dude Julie needs nutrients not sugar, you can get it if you want Julie but I recommend collecting eggs, bacon, some oatmeal, bread for toast and this healthy cereal that has dried fruits in it" said Alex.
"Gross dad! Why would she want to eat that?" retorted Luke I rolled my eyes at him and took Alex's advice. Luke was like shopping with a toddler, he complained the whole way while Reggie and Alex were making sensible choices. We filled up the trolley with a few of his snack choices but mostly with vegetables and fruit. We also picked out a selection of nuts for protein, rice, pasta, noodles, hot chocolate, tea and coffee options. Popcorn and chips with dip somehow found their way in there also but I was fine with those. We paid up, loaded up the car then made our way back for round two.
"Here Julie, get like five of these pork loins, we'll chop them up and put them into plastic bags for the freezer, maybe get six of these massive ground beef trays, we can do the same and then a selection of chicken breast and chicken thighs? Also we can pile in already frozen meat and some fish too" said Reggie.
I did as I was instructed and then made our way to pick up several chunks of cheese, bacon, yogurt, and a few jugs of milk. Luke then dragged us over to the frozen section where we agreed on grabbing a few bags of frozen dumplings, some spring rolls and frozen pizzas. We then ended our tour by grabbing a multi box of plastic bags.
Costco definitely was a smart way to shop with three teenage boys. We ended up blowing through a quarter of our money in that one trip but Reggie pointed out that we wouldn't need to do that every week. We made our way home and the boys poofed everything into the house while I helped put things away for now. Alex and Reggie worked as a well oiled machine at cutting up portions of meat and putting them into bags for the freezer while Luke and I worked at putting away all the vegetables and fruit.
We then went on a sixteen minute drive to Bellevue Square, it was the local mall. I knew of things I wanted but something told me the boys were also going to look at stuff, all their clothes after all were twenty five years old although I liked their style.
Once we got there though I was beginning to feel hungry and Luke picked up on it immediately.
"Julie you gotta eat, let's go find a food court guys?" Luke said as he started leading me away gently by my arm. I had to catch up to make sure it didn't look strange or unnatural. I don't know how I managed to get by on one meal before but I guess I never had a choice, I had to get chores done or else.
We found a sushi bar and I ordered a bento box with salmon steak on top of noodles with sushi, dumplings and spring rolls on the side. It was amazing, especially the peanut sauce for dipping.
After I was refueled we began to explore, Luke and Reggie had poofed off to look for their own things while Alex dragged me into store after store starting with Victoria's secret despite my glare.
Alex actually was rather helpful, I wasn't really comfortable shopping for anything like this and he found a bunch of stuff in my size. We ended up blowing through a few hundred just on bras, underwear and some snug pajamas. I also got talked into getting a black lace baby doll outfit as it was adorable and I couldn't take my eyes off of it. I had no idea when I would wear it but I had never had anything so beautiful before.
I was next dragged into Gap next where we found Reggie and Luke looking at singlets. I tried a few tops on at Alex's request and a few dresses and jeans. None of these were stuff I would have chosen for myself as I was always one to hide in the shadows and not seek attention, I noticed on the third outfit though of ripped skinny jeans, a leather jacket with a hood and a purple sparkly singlet that flared out at the bottom, that it was a combination of all the boys' taste in fashion. It was my favorite combination so I whispered to Alex who had poofed in to check on me that I wanted more of this style, it suited and I liked it. A massive grin broke out on his face and he disappeared to poof more stuff back and forth.
In the end we ended up buying several sparkly tops, several pairs of ripped skinny jeans, a few leather jackets, one with a hood, and a few plaid hoodies in various colours of dark blue and dark purple with black hoods. I already had outer clothes so it was mostly just getting some stylish clothes to wear to school.
By the time we came to pay up, Reggie, Alex and Luke had picked a few new singlets of their own and hoodies. I was happy to see that Reggie was sticking to his leather jacket hoodie style and Luke to his retro look of long hoodies. Alex surprised me when he didn't pick anything pink but whispered in my ear that he had enough stuff at home which made me struggle to stifle a giggle. The lady behind the counter gave me an odd look so I quickly pretended that I was laughing at my phone.
I was next dragged into a generic shoe store and to the boot section.
"I know you don't need these but while you were trying on clothes I found these boots Julie and I think they would look amazing with all your outfits and they have a decent grip for snow. Just make sure you get a size up so you can wear warm socks underneath. There are warm socks over there so you can make sure everything feels alright" said Alex excitedly.
They were black combat ankle boots and had a high heel with seven silver eyes on each side for the laces to thread through. I did as instructed, trying them on with thick socks that were available to purchase and was surprised at how comfortable they were, but more importantly being that extra tall meant I could easily wrap my arms around Luke rather than be on my toes to reach. I decided to grab them, including the socks that I opened and a pair of pink bunny boot slippers for inside wear.
We made our way home at around five in the evening. I was sent up to shower, relax and take tags off of stuff while Alex and Reggie monitored Luke's new found cooking skill. It was a nice day and almost felt like we were a family. I noticed stuff had begun showing up at the house that was from my house, including a chest that I knew was from the loft but I had never opened it before. I had a feeling it was my dad's so I never looked before. When I opened it however I was met by piles of stuff that could only be my mothers. I was blown away by emotion and could feel tears falling down my face.
"Hey Julie, I'm pretty sure that is your mothers, me and Reggie ran around the house trying to save everything we could that was hers. Her piano is up stairs in the attic with our stuff for us to jam in. The light is perfect there plus the acoustics were nice with the carpet" said Alex from my doorway.
I got up and ran to him bear hugging him with all of my strength.
"Thank you so much Alex!" I said into his shoulder.
"Any time, if you're ready, dinner is almost done. Luke cooked nachos, you're right, as long as you're there making sure he doesn't completely lose himself in music, he's actually good at cooking!"
"Told you so!" I replied!
I made my way down stairs with Alex in my new dark purple pajamas, and a black hoodie zipped half way since I wasn't wearing a bra. The pants were plaid styled and the top was a singlet with a guitar on it.
"Wow Luke this is amazing!" I said as I walked into the dinning room and smelled the amazing aroma wafting from the kitchen. Luke beamed with pride and Reggie patted him on the back.
We sat down like a normal family and dug into nachos with freshly baked garlic bread that Alex had put together. We had a fully functioning kitchen now with flour, sugar, spices, all the things we needed to bake or cook. Afterwards we made our way upstairs to see what was done with the attic. I didn't believe my mothers grand piano would fit up there as well as Alex's drum set till I saw the space. It was a little cramped but we made it work, the couch and tv were removed and it was just our instruments there ready to jam on.
"The best part Julie is that the sun will rise into this room in the morning just like the garage!" said Luke excitedly jumping on the heels of his feet.
"This is amazing guys, thank you so much!" I said as I pulled Luke in for a side hug which turned into a group hug.
The rest of the evening was spent watching the first Shrek movie while snacking on popcorn in the lounge area. They had poofed in Luke's couch at some point but added two new lazy boys and a matching ottoman for the couch in the same black leather which I was told was paid for and delivered in the afternoon. So Luke and I snuggled up on it with our feet up under a heavy blanket while Reggie and Alex sat in the lazy boys under similar blankets. Luke's arm automatically went around my shoulders and I couldn't help but squeal in my head with joy. He was in sweats and a singlet so his ripped arms were on display. I knew at the back of my head that I shouldn't feel this way about a ghost but I could feel him and he cared so much about me. If any one asked about what was going on I would be put in a loony bin so I might as well enjoy it. At some point I fell asleep and I felt myself being carried to bed with presumably Luke leaning over to kiss my forehead before leaving my room with my door open.
