What Sky had told her Dad about not making any friends, hadn't been exactly true. There was Luke.

Sky had the last room on one of the long hallways where the residents' rooms were, Luke had the one next to her. The first night when Sky had been crying her eyes out in her bed, soaking the pillowcase with her tears, Luke had knocked on the door and respectfully told her the walls were paper thin and that he'd greatly appreciate it if Sky shut the fuck up.

She had - not so respectfully - told him to sod off by throwing a sneaker at him - one he had only barely managed to dodge.

The next morning Luke had been back at her door, his shocking neon yellow hair in a high ponytail, holding a cup of tea and a plate with some pancakes in his hands, asking if she wanted to talk. They hadn't really stopped talking since.

Luke wasn't what you would call handsome, but there was something hauntingly beautiful about him. He was so thin that he seemed almost translucent, his paper- white skin was stretched tight over the delicate structure of his bones. He had cheekbones so sharp that they could have cut glass, a face full of piercings, and arms full of self-harm scars and needle marks. He was seventeen, and this was his 5th time here.

"Good morning, sunshine," Luke greeted her with a grin when she met him at the door of the cafeteria the day after Dad had brought the letters.

Sky mumbled a response and stifled a yawn. She had barely gotten any sleep last night - the letters had kept her awake until past midnight, and after that she had been haunted by nightmares, waking every half an hour, her heart in her throat, her body tense and trembling, tangled in sweaty sheets. Hawk's letter still lay unopened on her desk, even if she had read all the other ones multiple times by now, and even at this moment, she could feel its weight like an iron hook in her heart.

She still hadn't decided if she would read it or not. The fact that just the unopened envelope was enough to ruin all the progress she had made this past week, sure spoke against it, but—

What if it's for real this time? What if he still loves me? What if there's a way we could be together again?

But those thoughts were followed by doubt and anger, and piercing pain that took her breath away.

I'm so fucking stupid. I can't trust anything he says, so why even read the damn thing?

"We've got group together in an hour," Luke said as they walked into the cafeteria, and Sky snapped out of her thoughts. "What do you have after? Art?"

Art, oh joy. She was going to paint a canvas filled with blood - again. Brushing her hair behind her ear, she picked up a tray, even if she wasn't hungry at all.

"Yeah. You?"

"Horses."

Sky didn't reply, but Luke didn't seem discouraged by her silence. He proceeded to pile fresh fruit and pancakes onto his plate, then took a huge cup of hot water, glancing at Sky who still stood staring at the food, unable to decide if she wanted anything. She was nauseous, the lack of sleep felt like someone was hitting her head with a hammer. It was like suffering from the withdrawals again, and Sky feared she might puke into the fruit bowl.

Wouldn't be the first time that happened here, she suspected. She had seen people puking in all kinds of places during this past week and a half.

"Not hungry?" Luke asked with a quizzical look.

Sky shook her head.

"Rough night? Take a cup of hot water, at least, and a glass of milk," he said, picking up his tray. "I've got a surprise for you."

"A surprise?" Sky's interest peaked. "What's that?"

But Luke just flashed her a grin and walked to find them a table while Sky took a large ceramic mug and filled it with steaming water, passing the tea bags. They didn't even have green tea for breakfast - just the herbal one that tasted like soil.

"You're gonna love me for this," Luke said as soon as Sky had taken a seat next to him at their usual table - the one that was in the furthest corner and thus provided some privacy.

Arching a brow, Sky leaned closer. Luke slid a hand into the pocket of his loose, black jeans, and pulled out two small Nescafe sachets - the type you see in every hotel room next to the electric kettle and the selection of tea bags.

Sky gasped, sudden excitement overriding her tired nausea. "Oh, my God! Where did you get it?"

"My sister smuggled these in yesterday," Luke replied with a small, sideways smile. "Gotta love family."

Sky didn't comment on that remark, as she knew very well his sister was his only family member who ever visited. Apparently, his parents were hoping that rehab would magically fix not only his heroin addiction but also his shocking appearance, his lack of respect for authority, and the fact that he was gay. As long as no change happened in any of those areas, his parents stayed away. Sky had a growing urge to punch those people in the face.

That seemed to be an increasing trend. She also wanted to hit Cody's foster parents in the head with a blunt tool, not to mention his aunt Carol and JD. Now that Sky thought about it, she realized there were a crazy amount of bad parents in this world. Hawk's dad certainly had been one of them too - not that Hawk had ever wanted to talk about him, but Sky had known nevertheless. That man had just been so fucking creepy—

Why the fuck am I thinking about Hawk?

She turned her eyes back to Luke and a sudden sadness overtook her.

With a pang came again a memory of Dad, dragging her here against her will, Dad, sitting by her bed in the hospital after her suicide attempt, holding her hand, Dad, teaching her to ride a bike, Dad reading a book to her—

He had always been there for her, and only now she began to understand that not all kids were as lucky.

Her thoughts returned to the moment, as Luke opened one of the Nescafe sachets with his long, bony fingers, and emptied it into Sky's cup, then quickly did the same to his own before anyone could notice what they were up to. The rich scent of coffee filled the air, and Sky's mouth watered. Christ, how much she had missed coffee!

"Milk?" Luke asked, and as Sky gave a vigorous nod, he poured half of the glass into Sky's cup, and then a couple of drops into his own.

"If only there was sugar," Sky said wistfully, making Luke smirk.

"Well, there is honey."

"Not the same thing," Sky rolled her eyes as she picked up her mug and took a deep gulp of the hot beverage, letting out a blissful sigh.

"So, what's with you? You're gloomier than usual." Luke asked, drinking his coffee almost greedily, all the while glancing at the staff. If someone noticed they weren't drinking the herbal tea, there would be trouble.

"I got a bunch of letters yesterday."

"Oh. Wanna talk about it?"

Sky made a face. She placed her cup on the table and reached to take a pancake from Luke's plate, rolled it, dipped it into the honey, and ate it slowly before answering.

"There's one from my ex-boyfriend–"

"You're kidding - which one?"

"The… most recent one." She had told Luke about Matt and about Hawk. Just like he had told her about his unfortunate first love and other things, during the sleepless nights when she had sweat the opiates out of her system, and cried and ocean of burning, bitter tears.

Luke's pale brows arched high on his forehead. "Did you read it?"

Sky took another pancake off his plate and ate it. Luke didn't protest. He hardly ever ate anything, unless being forced to do so. Sky suspected he was anorexic, even if he hadn't said it in so many words.

"Not yet."

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know," she licked her fingers that were sticky with honey, then wiped them in a napkin. Nausea and the headache were easing, thanks to sugar and caffeine. Thanks to Luke. "I'm not sure I want to go down that road again."

"Who would? You almost fucking died," Luke leaned back in his chair and flipped his neon yellow hair behind a bony shoulder. "I mean, what's he gonna say that would change what he did? He sounds like a dick. If I was you, I would rip that letter into shreds and send it back to him in pieces. That should teach him a lesson."

Sky let out a sigh, picked up a slice of an apple, dipped it into honey, and offered it to Luke. "Come on, eat something, it's gonna be a long day."

Luke frowned. "Apple with coffee? I hope you're kidding."

Sky didn't reply, but gave up and placed the apple back onto the plate. They were friends, she wasn't his nurse, she couldn't save him, she could barely save herself. If he stopped eating altogether, they'd just put one of those tubes down his nose again, and maybe it would help, maybe not, but there was nothing she could do about it. Luke was a very sick boy, but he wasn't the only one. Out of all the kids here - there were maybe 30 of them - how many were going to make it?

There is no happy ending for an addict, Cody had said, and suddenly Sky felt the heavy weight of those words on her chest. Maybe he was right. Maybe this was all futile. Maybe it would have been better to just die if she was this weak that receiving a letter from a boy she loved, pushed her off the rails like this.

She picked up the cup of coffee again and drank, but Luke's words (If I was you, I would rip that letter into shreds,) stayed with her, like a stain of ink on paper. All day she carried them within her heart until it was evening and she returned to her room, where the letter was still waiting for her, unopened on her desk.

Sky's heart twisted painfully in her chest at the sight of it, and in a sudden whim of despair, she grabbed it and threw it in one of the drawers, buried it under books and papers.

Out of sight, but not out of mind. The next night was just as sleepless as the previous one had been.