4 (Chapter 3)

AUGUST 30, 2016. 8 months after the accident:

Selene's mom, Marie, had always been close friends with Luke's mom. So, after the accident, it seemed natural to her for her to adopt Luke. It was like it had been decided even before the accident had happened. (It had been decided, even before he was born. Marie and her husband are Luke's godparents.)

Just like that, Luke had a new 'family'. The people in this new 'family' were still deep in mourning even after eight months. Selene mostly stayed home in her room and had yet to wear anything but black. Luke's room was right next door, and everyday without fail, he heard sounds of crying coming from her's.

Luke himself remained quite grey and lifeless. He didn't cry or complain. He barely spoke at all after the incident, despite Selene and her parents' best efforts. He too spent most of his time in his room either studying or reading novels. He immersed himself in the world of print, distancing himself from the rest of society.

At the doctor's recommendation, Luke had begun to see a therapist. They said that it was an absolutely necessary thing that all people should do when they lose someone dear to them. Not only Luke, but also Selene and her mother did so. Selene's dad, Christopher, had never been very close to Luke's family, so he had no need to. He simply hoped that the therapist would be able to help the others to return back to normal as quickly as possible.

Because of the dismal setting at home, Luke preferred to go out. The only problem was that he had no friends to hang out with. He had the few people he spoke to daily, but he thought it would be awkward if he asked them to hang out without even knowing their last names...

School itself was quite torturous. Luke hated the pitying looks the teachers gave him and hated even more the sympathies they gave to him. He knew they were just trying to be good people, but he couldn't help but feel it was fake. How could you sincerely give condolences for the death of someone you didn't even really know? At the same time, the teachers who personally knew his dad, (he was the football coach and a gym teacher), weren't much better. Everytime they said something about 'the incident', they just reminded Luke about what he had lost.

The school memorial they held for his dad and brother was awful as well. It was a nice thought and all. But it felt weird as most of the people didn't even take it extremely seriously. There was even a group of students in his grade that had told jokes and laughed together during it.

He much preferred the silence of his brother's best friends during the funeral. There was no speaking, just a silent acknowledgement. A shared sadness as they mourned the loss of someone close to them. Very different from the suffocating misery of Selene's mother, or the easily seen through facade of happiness that Selene had as she tried to keep it together. Luke was glad to know that there were people like Selene and her mom who understood what he was going through, but it was very difficult to watch them and not feel that they had no right to act that way. That he himself was suffering so much more. It was so hard not to fall into a crater of self pity.

And as for the therapist? Luke simply didn't talk to him. He refused to say a word to him. He acknowledged that this wasn't something he should do, but he simply didn't care anymore. If he didn't want to talk, then he wouldn't talk. This greatly frightened Selene and her parents. They all remembered Luke as a very loud and outgoing person, very passionate. The only time they really knew him to be quiet and serious was when he was reading or studying. He was not the type of person to straight up refuse to speak. They greatly feared that 'the incident' would deeply scar Luke for the rest of his life.

Luke himself didn't really care what the others thought. He was in a dazed state and drifted through life like it was an ocean of despair. Every day seemed to be a year. Every moment he spent awake, a chore. Every time he heard the words 'I'm sorry for your loss' he felt like hitting someone. But he didn't. He instead chose to lose himself in the world of fantasy, escaping the pain of reality. Or confuse himself by filling his mind with fact after fact, by studying. Anything to distract himself. School stressed him out like never before and his only out lit was the ink on white bounded pages.

Of course, almost all of his fellow students failed to notice this. In their minds, he already spent all of his time studying or reading. Only one classmate noticed the minute changes in Luke's behavior.

They were the only one who payed enough attention to realize something was wrong. To realize that he never smiled anymore when the teacher announced he earned the top score. That he only participated the minimum amount needed in class, only speaking during group projects and never raising his hand. That after he got pulled over by teachers, which already happened often as he was a top student, instead of cheerful, he looked angry. They were the only one who noticed the tears that he blinked away from his eyes every once in a while during class.

And it just so happens that I have mentioned him previously. I believe I called him 'number three'. (Refer to chapter one if you don't remember who that is.)