Chapter 37: Bicycle thief!

(See you guys Monday~!)

[Edward's POV]

"So a tall…scary man with tattoos, pushed you off your bicycle and ran away with it?" I asked, fully trusting Luke's story as it had never happened before.

"Yes." Luke replied shortly. "That is totally what happened." He said while avoiding eye contact with his dad and me.

"Son of a-" Phil cursed, but I interjected before he could finish.

"Which direction did he go?" I asked Luke while I pulled my sleeves upwards in anger, fully preparing myself for a fight. Phil turned toward me with eyes filled with anger as mine were.

"No need! I just need to go home now! I'm sure the man had already run and hide away." Luke replied anxiously as he grabbed my hand to calm me down.

Thinking that Luke was traumatized by the encounter, I rubbed his hair and said, "Don't worry Luke. I will make sure to beat up the bad man."

Phil's menacing eyes turned complicated as he watched my interaction with his son.

[Phi's Commentary]

"I am glad that Edward is thinking of Luke as one of his own pack and wanting to…protect Luke. But…he's kinda stealing my moment here…" Phil confessed.

He continued with a sad tone, "I am the one who's supposed to be the tough dad."

[Luke's commentary]

"Edward is really mad now. All I can wish for…is Reuben had already gone back home and hid the bike before Edward found him. If he's not…then…he will get beaten up. I don't think I can keep his mouth shut with only the stickers after that happened."

As Luke was telling his wish, the scene cuts to a footage of Reuben licking his ice cream cone while dilly dallying home, just enjoying his day outside of the house. He even stopped to smell the flower one time.

"Reuban. Please be home." Luke begged.

[Commentary Ends]

"Luke. I'm going to send both of you and Edward home. Then, I'll come back to find out who did this." Phil said reassuringly as he bent over to meet his son's line of sight. "You can leave it all to Dad."

While on the ride home, Luke kept dodging the questions when Phil and I asked more about the bike snatcher. As we thought he was feeling depressed and traumatized, we stopped asking Luke about it.

The ride home took only 5 minutes.Phil wanted to have a private talk with Luke, so I walked to the front door first. As I knocked on the front door of the Dunphy's house, Claire opened the door while holding a wine glass in her hand, filled with white champagne.

"Oh. You guys are back. Did you buy the new bike?" Claire asked with a bright smile, so I knew she was almost wasted at this moment.

"About that…" I tried to find the exact words, but then I realized I didn't have to be the one who explained it. "Did you enjoy your lunch with Desiree?"

Abby had texted me that they had a wonderful time at lunch today. Claire and the girls loved the lasagna, and Claire kept asking Desiree for the recipe, in which Desiree promised to give her later…after she got it from me.

Alex and Abby had also exchanged phone numbers as they had a lot in common. Alex also had instigated Abby to persuade me in order to start creating the rapid hot air technology, so I had that to deal with.

"Absolutely! She's very delightful!. She's also working in a government office, do you know that?" Claire asked in excitement, then she took a sip of her wine.

With a reply of helplessness, I said, "Yeah. I know. That's why they have to return in the summer." I lowered my head while clicking my tongue inwardly. Claire was stunned by my reaction, and she stopped smiling.

Phil finally arrived, and he studied Claire's reaction before saying anything.

"Honey. I know that you're mad. But, I'm going to find who did this and teach him a lesson!" Phil said in fake bravado.

Claire pulled her chin back and narrowed her eyes in confusion, "What are you talking about Phil? Where is the new bike, I want to see it."

"Ah…" Phil turned to me and whispered, "You didn't tell her?"

I suddenly realized something, "Wait. You want me to be the one who tells her? That's why you and Luke were hanging back?"

"What- No!" Phil replied, avoiding my eyes as he did.

"You did huh. That's low Phil." I muttered.

Claire couldn't wait any longer and she said, "Can someone please tell me what is going on?!"

"Claire. We bought Luke's new bike…" Phil tried to explain.

"...And?" Claire interjected as Phil was pausing for too long.

"Well…it was stolen."

"WHAT!" Claire shouted. Haley and Alex heard the echoes from inside the house, but they only shrugged and went to do their own things. Luke hid behind his dad as he wanted to avoid the questioning from his mother, peeking at his mother's face with glassy eyes.

"Claire. Please calm down. You're scaring Luke. It wasn't his fault. A grown man pushed him off the bike and snatched it. He's traumatized already, so please control your reaction." I said calmly while trying to stop Claire from freaking out.

Claire saw Luke's scared face, and she changed her facial expression. Crouching down to meet Luke's eye level, Claire gripped both of Luke's shoulders and said, "Luke. I'm not mad…at you. This time…it isn't your fault. You did nothing wrong here."

Luke brightened up a bit, and Claire continued while checking Luke's body for injuries, "Do you want to eat some lasagna? I had saved up just a cut for you and your dad to taste it. But you can have it all for yourself."

"Why am I being punished?" Phil retorted unconsciously. Then, he realized what he said, turned to Luke, and said comfortingly, "You can have it all Luke!"

"Thanks!" Luke said, but before he walked inside, he turned to me and said, "Now that the new bike is gone, can we paint the old bike?"

Nodding my head slightly, I said, "Yeah. Sure. Bring it to my house after this. We'll upgrade it together."

"AWESOME!" Luke laughed and jogged lightly toward the kitchen to eat his portion of the lasagna.

When Luke was out of sight, the smiling Claire lost her smile, stood up, and said angrily, "What are you thinking? Leaving him alone in the city!? What are you going to do now? Have you called the cops yet!?"

Phil was barraged by the questions, and he turned toward me for help. Sighing aloud, I said, "I had already checked the surroundings where the snatching happened. There isn't CCTV or any witness that can recognize the man."

[Luke's Commentary.]

"Boy. Am I lucky."

[Commentary ends]

"We considered reporting it to the cops, but Luke wanted to come home quickly to his mother. His great mother who will protect him from the bad man."

Claire eased up her anger a little lit, while Phil looked at me as if I had betrayed him. Feeling as if he was less of a man than Claire, Phil decided, "I will go back to the city and find whoever did this! I swear Claire!"

Phil turned back and hurriedly ran to his car. "Phil!" Claire called out in frustration, but Phil wasn't listening. "I will BRING IT BACK!! I SWEAR ON MY LIFE!!" Phil entered his car and drove off quickly to find the suspects and to be a hero to his son today.

"Phil. Bring some protection!" I yelled out from afar.

"NO NEED. MY FIST OF FURY WILL-" As Phil shouted back, he saw a squirrel jumping on the street, "SON OF JOR-EL!" Phil shouted and brakes the car immediately. The car then stopped, just an inch before it killed the squirrel.

"Oof-" I exclaimed.

The squirrel then passes by nonchalantly while Phil breathes in relief. He stepped on the gas and shouted back again, "MY FIST OF FURY WILL RAIN JUSTICE ON THE BAD MAN!"

The car turned into a corner, and Phil was no longer to be seen.

"Damn. His last words are awesome." I muttered, making Claire flabbergasted. "Don't say something so ominous!" Claire admonished me before she turned back toward Luke.

"Go to him. He'll need his mom. Once he's calmed down, then ask him to come to my house." I said before I stepped off of Claire's front porch. I waved her goodbye before I went back to my house.

Holding my hungry stomach the minute I entered my house, I cooked a simple fettuccine alfredo before I went to the garage to wait for Luke.

…

[3rd Person POV]

Phil was riding back to the snatching scene and decided to walk around to find some clues in search for the culprit.

[Phil's Commentary]

Sitting on the sofa alone at his home, Phil said, "I know that I made being a dad look like it was easy, but sometimes, it comes with a great risk too. Like, your child shouldn't ever see his dad scared of something. He should be able to view you as the toughest guy in the world, and definitely not let him know that he was scared to confront the scary, tattooed, 6 foot 8, man in the city."

Phil tried to smile, but fear could be seen in his eyes.

"I need to get the bike back, or act like I did." Phil said while scheming something. He then took out a USB stick from his pocket.

"Edward is pretty forgetful. He left the drive in the car. So if I failed to find the bike, then, I will buy a new one, print out the same sticker that Luke stuck on his bike before. He won't be able to tell the difference, and I…Can be the tough guy who fought off a 6 foot 10, muscular man, and be a hero to my family!"

Shaking his head while smiling, Phil said, "I'll probably walk around in an hour or so, then just buy the bike and go home."

[Commentary ends]

Phil was walking by in a desolate area for almost an hour before he saw Luke's friend, Leon walking around in that area while licking his ice cream.

"Hey. Leon!" Phil called out.

"Oh. Hey Mr. Dunphy." Leon replied. Leon had a chubby cheek, short hair, and intelligence a level below Luke.

"Leon. Did you see a white bike with Luke's name on it? The name is on a sticker." Phil asked.

Leon thought for a while, then he answered, "Yeah. I saw it."

Phil was stunned as he was only asking the question to create some witness that he had searched for the bike. "W-Wh. Ehem!" Phil cleared his throat and asked, "Which way…did the guy go?"

"He said he's going to get a drink. Over there." Leon said and pointed to the direction of a sketchy bar. Well, he was pointing at the convenience store beside the bar, but Phil misunderstood him.

Gulping his saliva, Phil shoved Leon away and said, "Go home now. This place is not safe for kids!"

"But-" Leon tried to protest, but Phil said adamantly, "Now!" and chased him away. The place was actually very safe. There was even an Ihop the next street over.

Phil walked to the bar and started lingering around the front door, not having the courage to go in. Suddenly, he saw Luke's bike being chained at the bike rack at the convenience store nearby.

[Phil's commentary]

"See. How lucky is that?! He even locked the bike using the same lock I bought for Luke. See here, I still have the duplicate!"

[Commentary ends]

"I am the best dad ever." Phil muttered while cycling the bike that was too small for his size. He started imagining the family and Edward's reaction when he brought the bike home to his son.

"I'm sorry Phil. You're the real tough guy." Phil mimicked Edward's voice goofily as he cycled the bike. Then, he mimicked his wife using a high pitched voice, "You're a hero Phil. I shouldn't've doubted you. I'm not Luke's hero, you are!"

While Phil had run off with his bike, Reuben walked out of the convenience store with a bottle of mineral water in his hand. Then, he noticed the bike Luke had entrusted him to, had disappeared!

Not knowing what to do, Reuben turned left and right before he picked a direction and started sprinting in that direction. He was heading to the Dunphy's house for him to meet Luke and explain the situation. They also needed to discuss their next course of actions.

"It's not my fault Luke! I swear!" Reuben rubbed his eyes as he cried while running toward Luke's house. Leon saw Reuben, and stopped him to ask why he was crying, to which Reuben promptly explained everything, even the deal he had with Luke.

"Okay. You go tell Luke. I will go search for the bike." Leon said.

Phil was gleefully cycling the bike to his car, where he saw a hot dog stand on the street.

"Wait. I haven't eaten anything yet." Phil muttered and stopped for a hot dog. He placed the bike without locks behind him, and walked to the hot dog stand.

"Two please. And a soda." Phil said and waited for the vendor to make his hot dog. In the 2 minutes he was waiting there, a small figure appeared behind him and stole the bike without him noticing it.

…

[Edward's POV]

Luke arrived at my house sooner than I expected with Haley's old girly bike in tow. I opened the garage door and handed Luke a protective yellow lab suit for kids, gloves, and a face mask.

"Do we have to wear all of this?" Luke asked, eyes flashing with excitement.

"Yeah. I want to use the spray paint for the bike. I don't want it to stain your clothes or for you to inhale it." I said as I wore a similar type of clothing.

"Cool! We're like rocket scientists!" Luke said excitedly. I didn't want to snub his excitement so I just went along with it. "Yeah."

The first thing I did was strip the old bike of its brakes, tires, and the front basket. Once I had left only the bike frame, Luke and I took off the black tape that Claire stuck on the bike to make it seem more of a boys bike.

"Your mom used a lot of tape." I commented.

Claire came to supervise what we're going to do, and was surprised when she saw our matching outfits that looked like we were breaking bad.

"What are you guys doing?" Claire asked in confusion.

"Stripping the paint off. It'll take some time for it to be done." I said as I watched the old paint slowly peeled off from the bike's frame. "It'll take some time Luke. Why don't we continue tomorrow after you get back from school?"

"I don't have school tomorrow. It's a holiday." Luke said. I turned to Claire who was as confused as I was before she remembered, "Oh yeah. The 5th grader has a day off tomorrow."

Nodding my head at Claire, I turned to Luke and said, "Okay. Once the old paint is off, what colour do you want me to paint it? I will go to the store to buy some spray paints."

"Hm…Black? Or Red? Which one do you prefer?" Luke asked.

"I can do both if you want." I added.

"Okay. Then…Both!" Luke answered excitedly.

Turning to Claire, I took off my gloves and held my palm out at her.

"W-what?" Claire asked in confusion.

"Money to buy the paint." I said casually.

"Ah! How much do you need?!" Claire asked in realisation before she ran to her house to get the money. I only asked her for 20 bucks, and I will give back the balance to her later on.

"Do you want me to bring you there?" Claire offered after giving me the money.

"That'll be great. You don't have to wait. I'll ask Abby to pick me up. I want to stop by the tech store too, so it will take me some time to finish."

Claire agreed and took me to the hardware store. After getting dropped off, I searched for the paint and bought it readily. But, when I left the store, a chubby kid riding a bike almost crashed into me.

"Hey! Watch it!" I shouted. "Sorry!" Leon replied.

My eyes automatically scanned the bike, and I noticed the familiar sticker on the tube top. "Wait. This is Luke's bike. How do you get it Leon?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.

"Um…Er…Reuben…No...Um…" Leon stammered, trying to find the right words to explain the entire situation.

"If you tell me the truth. I will buy you an ice cream cone." I said while flashing a devilish smile.

"Luke did it! It's all his plan to get two bikes!" Leon spilled the beans easily as he sold out his friend for a 2 dollars ice cream cone.

"Okay. Now, Reuben didn't know that you have the bike right?" I asked him.

"Yup." Leon answered while eating his ice cream. For some reason, it tasted extra delicious today for him.

"Okay. Then don't tell them anything. I will handle it." I said and took the bike away from Leon before I cycled home.

[3rd Person POV]

As Phil turned and saw the bike was gone, he grabbed his head in frustration and his eyes became teary.

"WHO IS IT?! WHO STOLE THE BIKE!?" Phil shouted and turned to the hot dog stand owner for the answer. The owner shrugged his shoulders as a reply. He also didn't see who had snatched the bike as he was busy with the hot dogs.

"Call the police." The owner said nonchalantly.

"And say what? That my kid's bike was stolen, then I stole the bike from the thief, and then another thief stole the bike from me?" Phil muttered sadly.

In the neighbourhood Edward and Luke stayed in, Reuben finally arrived and pulled Luke someplace private to have a talk.

"The…*wheeze* The…*Wheeze*"

"Spit it out!" Luke said in annoyance.

"The bike is stolen!" Reuben said abruptly.

Luke was in disbelief. He paused for a while before he realised that it wasn't a joke by his friend. He shouted,"What!!...What are we going to do now!"

"You mean…What are YOU going to do..I was never here, and I had never touched your bike." Reuben said and ran off quickly.

"Hey. Gimme back my sticker you coward!" Luke shouted at his friend from afar, but Reuben continued running away.