The Past is in the Past

Recap: Then, Luke looked straight at me. God, he was gorgeous!

"And I'm Luke. Luke Hemmings."

*Alyssa's p.o.v*

"Hi," I said, my voice trembling, slightly. Wow, he had such a big impact on me and I had just met him!

"You nervous?" Luke asked with a chuckle

"A bit," I confessed

"Don't be," Luke said reassuringly. "We practically live here so you'll be seeing a lot of each other!"

"I heard," I replied, laughing

"So, why don't we get to know each other?" Ashton asked, walking over

"20 questions?" Luke suggested

"Sure, why not," I laughed and we all sat in a circle on the floor

*Luke's p.o.v*

Wow... Alyssa was gorgeous! I couldn't stop staring at her and I couldn't wait to spend time with her and get to know her better. But... I couldn't date her. She was Ashton's twin sister... Surely it was against some sort of "bro code" type thing to date your band mate's sister.

"So, why don't we get to know each other?" I heard Ashton ask

"20 questions?" I suggested

"Sure, why not," Alyssa said and we all sat in a circle on the floor. I was sat next to Alyssa, Calum on my other side.

"Right, first up should be Alyssa, since she's new here," Michael said

"Ok..." Alyssa replied

"Ok, next question is... What was your childhood like?" Calum asked

"Well..." Alyssa began. "Um, well I moved from here to America before my first birthday and I've lived in the same house in California ever since. My dad was not around a lot during my childhood, as he left for work early in the morning and got back late at night. I barely saw him... I only really saw him at weekends, but only then did I briefly see him, he would lock himself away in his study and work more. Then, when I was about 14 I think, he started drinking. He would go out every Friday and every Saturday and return early the next morning, drunk out of his mind. At first it didn't bother me... But then he got so drunk he forgot my 15th birthday. I didn't say anything in the morning as he was fast asleep. But when I returned home from school, I mentioned it. But what I didn't know was the fact that he had drank a whole bottle of wine during the day. I got annoyed at him for not remembering and then he got mad at me for yelling at him and well... He hit me. He had been abusing me for three years since, until I turned 18. Then, he collapsed and had to spend time in hospital, to recover from liver disease. It was horrible, all his body, even his eyeballs were yellow. When he got out the hospital, he didn't drink as much, and he stopped abusing me. But recently, when I told him I was moving out, he hit me again..." And with that, Alyssa ran out of the room in tears.

"Someone should go after her..." Michael said

"Should I go?" Ashton asked

"No, let me," I replied and hurried after Alyssa. I found her sitting on the decking in the back garden, facing away from me, her hair blowing softly in the wind. I opened the door and sat next to her.

"Hey," I said softly

"Hey," she replied, sniffing

"You ok?" I asked... Stupid question, well done Luke!

"Mmm..." Alyssa said, shrugging

"I know you just met us, but Calum is a good guy, he didn't mean to make you cry," I told her

"I know... It's just bringing up my past is hard," she replied

"I know, but the past is in the past," I said, "and you should know that you can be comfortable talking to us... To any of us,"

"Yeah, thank you Luke," Alyssa said, smiling wanly at me. I had to do this... Slowly, I put my arm round Alyssa's waist and pulled her close. She rested her head on my shoulder and we both looked out onto the garden.

This felt so right...