you are in love · luke hemmings

Cierra was at home after school, alone in her house.

She found comfort in these moments when the house was completely empty except for her. Her parents at work. All the kids at school.

Except these days, it wasn't as comforting, because she remembered how it would be her and Luke spending time together when the house was quiet.

It was Monday, and Cierra still hadn't heard anything from him. She felt like it was a lost cause now. She didn't want to call again if he wasn't going to answer.

She was doing French homework at her kitchen table when the doorbell rang. She flinched, slightly. Cierra hated opening the door when she was home alone. But for a second she felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe it could be Luke.

She ran into the front room so she could glance out the window to see who it was.

Her heart immediately dropped.

It was a man who had the same exact face as her. She hadn't seen him in years, but she knew exactly who he was.

This was the last thing she needed right now.

Cierra didn't want to open the door. She was terrified. But she just had to find out what he was going to say.

She opened the door, slowly. And she stood there, waiting for whatever the hell he could possibly say to her.

"Cierra," He said, looking her up and down with wide eyes. "Oh, you're so grown up. I can't believe it." His accent had faded like he wasn't living in Australia anymore. Maybe he wasn't. Cierra had no idea.

And she was speechless about what he was saying to her. It sounded like something a distant relative would say to her after not seeing her for a few years.

Not something your own father says to you after leaving you stranded for over 12 years.

Cierra didn't know what to say to him. So she just stared. And she tried really hard to not burst out into angry tears.

"Why are you here," She finally managed to get out. It came out more like a statement than a question.

"To see you, and J. Is he here?"

"No," Cierra said. "He's not. And he doesn't want to see you. Neither do I."

Her father's face fell as if this wasn't a completely reasonable reaction. "You're not even going to give me a chance?" He said, and Cierra huffed. Could he even hear himself?

"You had chances. You had plenty of chances," Cierra said. "It's too late now. We don't need you."

"I know I made mistakes, honey. I'm really sorry. I've been a terrible dad to you. But I'm trying to be better, and I knew the first step was to fix my relationship with you and Johnny."

Cierra let out a mean laugh. She couldn't believe this was happening. "You're not even our dad anymore."

And then he looked even more heartbroken than before. How did he not see this coming? She couldn't remember much about her dad, but she definitely didn't remember him being this stupid.

"You're not allowed to be upset about this," Cierra threw up her hands. "You're the one that left. You wouldn't respond to any letters or phone calls or anything. So we stopped trying a long time ago. You can't just come back into our lives because you want to, now. You're too fucking late."

Cierra's dad was taken aback by this, and so was Cierra. She wasn't used to standing up for herself this much. But when it came to her father, she had so many things to say that she never got to. All the words came flooding out of her, and as much as it felt good to do, it hurt even more.