Little Do We Know(68)

“I’m not saying what we did was okay,” Dad said. “It wasn’t okay. Not at all. But we have messages like this one from people all over the country. They’ve been coming in all day.” Dad tapped his finger against the monitor. “Luke might not think he’s ready to talk and share his story, but look at him, Hannah. Look.” He paused. I listened to Luke’s words. I watched his facial expressions. He looked confident and strong. A lot stronger than he’d looked either time he’d come to my house. “Luke is helping all these people. He’s healing them. And he’s healing himself at the same time. Even if he doesn’t know it yet.”

“And we’re getting messages from pastors all over the country, too,” Aaron added. “They all want Luke to come speak at their churches and give presentations at their schools.”

I wasn’t following any of this. “What does that have to do with Covenant? Luke’s not even a student here.”

“It doesn’t matter. You know what they say—‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’” Dad stood and walked over to me. “Enrollment is down at schools like Covenant because people don’t think their kids need faith-based schools and youth groups and Sunday services. But that’s exactly what kids need. We need them to believe again. We need them to feel invested in something bigger than themselves. This isn’t a problem that affects our school, it’s a problem that affects our country. People need faith.”

“And Luke is going to fix that?”

“Not alone, but he’s a fantastic start.”

“Pastor J.” Aaron looked up from his phone and cleared his throat. “I just got an email from another news outlet.”

I felt the color drain from my cheeks. “A news outlet?”

Luke was going to flip. He was going to hate me.

I turned to leave. I had no idea where I was going to go, but I had to get out of that office so I could text Luke and tell him what happened. I wasn’t about to let him hear it from them. And I couldn’t stand there a second longer. But Aaron was standing in the doorway, blocking my path.

I glared at him. “Move.”

“I will,” he said, “but first, let me say one thing.”

I crossed my arms.

“Luke’s last name isn’t anywhere,” Aaron said. “I’ve checked. No one has any idea who he is, and we’re not going to tell them. He doesn’t have to speak publicly unless he wants to, okay? This is totally up to him.”

I wasn’t sure my dad agreed with that, but I didn’t turn around to see his expression.

“How could you do this to him?” I asked.

“It wasn’t just for Luke. It was for you, too.” Aaron looked over his shoulder at my dad, and then turned back to me. “I know about Boston.”

I thought back to that day Dad and I sat in the parking lot after that painfully silent ride to school, when he begged me not to be angry with him for what he’d done. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this right, okay? Do you trust me?”

I told him I did.

“I’m so sorry,” Aaron said. “I had no idea.”

I hated what the two of them had done to Luke. It was even worse that they’d convinced themselves that it was okay, because of me.

I looked straight into Aaron’s eyes. “Move. Now.”





At lunch on Monday, I found Luke waiting for me outside the theater doors.

“I won’t do it, Emory. Is that what you want me to say?”

He’d been texting me since I left his house on Saturday night, begging me to talk to him. He texted me on Sunday morning, and when I didn’t reply he came over. I made Mom kick him out.

I pushed past him and started dialing my combination. “No, that’s not what I want you to say. I don’t want you to come to my play because I made you feel guilty about it.” I shoved my books inside and slammed the door. “I can’t believe you’re doing this.”

“I already said yes. I don’t have a choice.”

“Of course you do. You’re making your choice. Right now. No one is forcing you to do this, Luke.”

“I can’t tell Pastor J no.”

It sounded so familiar. All my life, I’d been listening to Hannah tell me how she couldn’t say no to her dad.

“You want to know why Hannah and I are fighting? Because of this. She never stands up to her dad, especially when it counts most. I don’t get it. He’s just a guy. If you don’t want to speak at their Admissions Night, just tell him that. Tell him you don’t want to do it.”

Luke fixed his gaze on his shoes.

And I knew.

“It’s not about Pastor J, is it?”

He shook his head.

“You want to do it, don’t you?”

He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He wouldn’t look at me.

“Yeah. I think I do.” He combed his fingers through his hair and finally met my gaze. “I don’t expect you to understand this, Emory.”

“Good. Because I don’t.”

“Hey, Luke!” We both turned around and found Courtney Schneider standing behind us, surrounded by all her friends. She shoved her phone at him. “Is this you?”