Ink & Flowers by J.K. Pendragon Read Free Book Online Page A

home ?" Luke was panicking a little now, but it was a good thing, it was helping him to keep from breaking. His whole body was shaking, and he could feel his face heating up. Cooper's drawing hand had stopped moving, and he looked up at Luke warily.
    "You know what I mean, Luke. You know your grandmother would want you living with us."
    Luke's outrage flared up higher, tinged with guilt. "She's not dead , Auntie."
    "Oh, Luke, of course not, don't be morbid. It is what she wants."
    "Why?" asked Luke petulantly. "Did she say so?"
    Marabeth gave a clipped sigh. "Do you really think she'd want you living with some strange man, Luke?"
    He hated the way she said "strange man," as if it was the worst thing anyone could be. What was worse, he knew exactly what she meant by "strange." He felt defensive of Cooper, in a way that he wouldn't normally be, he was desperate to protect anyone from his aunts' scrutiny and judgement. "I think she'd think I could take care of myself—" he began.
    "Luke," Marabeth's voice was getting short, as if she were impatient to end the conversation. "I don't like your tone, I think you'd better let me know where you are right now, and we'll come by with the van and get you."
    "No, Auntie."
    "I beg your pardon, Luke?"
    "I said no."
    Cooper had stopped drawing and was staring at him intently now. Luke took a deep breath. "I'm fine here. You don't need to worry about me."
    "Well, I'm sorry, Luke, but that's what family does. We worry. Now, you are going to tell me where you are right now, and we're going to talk about this in person."
    Luke shook his head. "No, I'm not."
    "Excuse me? Yes, you are, Luke I'm not hanging up until you do."
    "Okay." Luke took a deep, shaky breath. "I guess I'll talk to you later, then."
    He jammed the end call button and slammed the phone down on the table, burying his head in his hands. He felt like crying, or like going back to sleep for a week.
    "What was that about?" asked Cooper.
    "She wants to come get me," he said through his hands. "Told me she wasn't gonna hang up until I told her where I was."
    "What the hell?" said Cooper, sounding as outraged as Luke knew he should be, if he weren't used to this kind of thing. "How old does she think you are?"
    "I don't know." Luke sighed, allowing himself to relax a bit. "She's just—"
    The phone rang again. Luke's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He felt faint.
    Cooper snatched it up from the table. "Hello?" His voice was sharp. "Yes, this is him. He's not available, sorry."
    He hung up and set the phone back down. Luke stared at it, trembling.
    It rang again. 
    "Fuck's sake." Cooper threw the sketchbook down on the table and stalked into the dining room to unplug the phone jack from the wall. Luke watched him wearily. Cooper gave a sigh of relief as the ringing ceased, and the look he gave Luke was a mishmash of amusement, pity, and disbelief. "You're shaking again. I'm making you breakfast."
    Luke nodded and lowered his head back into his hands. When he finally managed to contain his shaking, he reached for the coffee and drank it slowly, staring into the distance. It was difficult to feel anything, he was still so much in shock. He noticed the sketchbook that was still on the coffee table where Cooper had thrown it and picked it up to examine his sketch, distracting himself. He'd been a bit annoyed at Cooper for assuming it was okay to look and draw in it, but he couldn't muster up the energy for any actual outrage. Anyway, Cooper had drawn something nice.
    "What is this?" he asked, squinting at the strange, cartoonish design. The lines were clean and smooth, deceptively simple. The subject was a stylized dagger piercing a bleeding heart. It was vaguely familiar.
    "Sailor Jerry," replied Cooper. "Traditional tattoo art. See?" He took a break from cutting up fruit to display the backs of his hands, both adorned with similar designs. "You okay?"
    "Yeah," said Luke, "I'll be fine." He sat back, staring down at the picture. "I