The car was silent.
It had been for a while, but Lyric had been able to ignore the lack of conversation by listening to the engine and the whoosh as they drove past other cars. Now they were stopped, parked in front of the arena, and the silence was all there was.
She looked out the window. Her parents were there, and so was Rick. They were talking, but they were too far away for Lyric to hear what they were saying. All she could tell was that they weren’t yelling.
She turned to Luke, who hadn’t moved since her dad had told him to stay in the car. He just sat there, clutching his backpack to his chest. She could see that he was scared, and she wanted to do something to make him feel better.
“When’s your birthday?”
He lifted his head and fixed her with a blank stare.
“I want to throw you a party.” She tried again. “Just tell me when.”
He turned away again. “I’m not really homeless.” He mumbled.
Lyric was surprised. It wasn’t the topic she had been trying to go with, but at least he was talking to her. And if he brought it up, that meant it was okay to talk about, right?
“Rick lets me live at the arena.” He went on. “So, the arena is my home. Therefore, I am not homeless.”
Lyric felt her heart clench. He was grasping at straws and technicalities. She didn’t know how a person could live like that. “What happened?” She choked out.
“Would you believe me if I told you my parents kicked me out?”
“If you told me they did.” She promised. She had never met his parents, so she didn’t know what they might or might not do.
Luke gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you. I wish I had a friend like you… back then.”
“What about--” Lyric stopped herself. Bringing up Melody now would not help. Luke was already in a bad enough place.
They fell into silence again.
When Lyric’s parents returned, they got out of the car. Her dad looked pained as he walked up to Luke and clapped a hand on his shoulder. The action caused Luke to tense up.
“Take care of yourself.” Lyric’s dad told him. “And if you need anything…” He trailed off, looking Luke in the eye.
Luke nodded once. “Thank you.” He ducked away from the hand on his shoulder and hurried toward where Rick was waiting at the front doors.
“Is that it?” Lyric asked her parents as they started to get back into the car. “Aren’t we going to do something?”
“Rick’s looking out for him.” Her mom assured her. “He’s not in danger, and we can’t force help on him that he doesn’t want.”
Lyric looked over her shoulder. Leaving things as they were felt wrong.
As she watched, Luke turned around and jogged back a few feet. “Lyric.” He called. “I celebrate my birthday on the fourteenth.”
Relief filled Lyric’s chest and she felt a smile on her face. “I’ll make it the best birthday party you’ve ever had!” She vowed, waving wildly at him.
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