24

                                    

                                          
To: Ashton 
From: Luke
                          
Last night was great 
                          
To: luke
From: Ashton
                          
My mom absolutely LOVED you! She hasn't stopped talking about you
                          
To: ashton 
From: luke
                          
thanks for being welcoming and sincere towards me
                          
To: luke
From: ashton 
                          
Why wouldn't I be ? I love you, Luke!
                          
-
                          
Luke had a regularly scheduled ultrasound appointment. He didn't tell Ashton and he didn't want his parents to come along. He wanted to prove that he can handle it on his own. 
                          
Luke arrived in the hospital and made his way to the room he was assigned to. He waited there for Denise to instruct him on what to do.
                          
"How are you doing Luke?" Denise greeted Luke with a friendly face. She placed the clipboard down on the counter. "Doing amazing." Luke replied giving a faint smile. "You're going to have to remove your shirt for me."
                          
Luke quickly took his shirt off and laid flat on the examination table. "The gel is gonna be a bit cold, just warning you." Luke nodded his head looking straight up at the ceiling. 
                          
"How's life treating you?" Denise wanted to make it less awkward. She enjoyed speaking to Luke, it made him less nervous. "How's the music writing going?" Denise was full of questions and Luke has yet to respond to them. 

                          
"I've been working on some special things." Luke said in an excited tone. "That's good! Mom and Dad must be so proud of you!" Denise added on to Luke's sentence. 
                          
"I need you to roll onto your side and face me." Luke nodded and shifted to the correct place, Denise kept looking back at fourth at the screen than at Luke. 
                          
"Denise, can I ask you something?" The tone in Luke's voice changed. His mood changed as well. "Yeah, What is it?"
                          
"Do you think I'm ugly & gross?"Denise  looked straight into Luke's eyes, her heart literally breaking at the question. "No, of course not! You're truly an angel! An amazing gift from above."
                          
Luke almost got emotional over Denise's kind words. "You know, there used to be times in my life where I thought I couldn't go on like this any longer. Sometimes I would think about what it would be like to finally be normal." 
                          
A sad facial expression formed on Denise's face. "I need you to roll over onto your other side and face the wall, please." Luke did what he was told, he fidgeted a little to get comfy. 

                          
"I've put my parents through so much hell, and they don't deserve that." His voice cracked as he spoke. "Your parents love you unconditionally; isn't it there job to care for you and make sure your alright?" She questioned Luke, he shook his head while wiping a tear away. 
                          
"You need to understand something Luke, you're unique. They'll never be someone who is like you. I need you to believe in your self." It was real hard for Luke to understand what she was trying to say, Luke has struggled a majority of his life. He's never felt confident or felt like he belonged.     
                          
"The ultrasound is now over; you can clean yourself up and I'll send you on your way." Luke grabbed the box of tissues from Denise, using them to clean the gel off his stomach and sides. 
                          
Afterwards, he hopped into the car putting the stereo up all the way, and took a long drive. He sang along to all the words of the songs. It made him feel better .
                          
-
                          
You sound so sweet
When you lie to me
Make you sound so sweet
When you lie to me