Unknown number: heyy:))
Me: Luke?
Unknown number: yes Jazzy Pants. It is I, Luke Carter.
Me: I don't think I like where you're going with this nickname.
Luke: what? im the Nick of names
Me: ohh that would have been so cool if your name was actually Nick
Luke: :/ too bad
Me: So Jazzy Pants huh? I'll call you Skywalker then
Luke: Skywalker?? Why that? Who is that/what is that?
Me: You did not just say that! You. Did. Not.
Me: Luke Skywalker? Star wars dude?? The last Jedi???
Luke: don't double text please. I don't like it
Luke: it's quite irritating
Luke: And I have never heard of a Luke Skywalker before. Sorry.
Me: You've. Never. Watched. Star. Wars?!
Luke: only heard about it.
Luke: honestly, it looks kinda boring and I think that it is over-hyped by people. That and I'm too lazy to catch up. The thing dates back to the 90s for crying out loud!
Me: I'm disappointed in your existence
Luke: have YOU watched Mission Impossible
Me: now that is the definition of boring. Who wants to watch a bunch of grown men chase after a bunch of other grown men?
Luke: im calling the police. You do not disrespect The Cruise like that!
Me: lol the cruise? You're really bad at this nickname thing.
Me: And besides, the force will be with me at all times so you cannot lock me away
Luke: another Star Wars reference I'm guessing
Me: yessir but because you are old and daft, you do not even have a single clue as to what I am saying. Like really, why do you exist?
Luke: okay, here's a deal. If you allow me to take you on a date, I will watch all the Star wars movies with you. All of them. I will even buy the merch and start a fan page for it
Me: I'm afraid that it is a bit too late to enter the game nown
Me: And it's Star Wars. Not Star wars. Show some respect
Luke: (ノಠ益ಠ)ノwhatever! So yes or no to the date
Me: can't. I'm sorry:(
Luke: are you a vampire or something because I have never seen you leave the house (•‿•)or are your parents just super strict because they will melt away all the protection when they see this piece of hot charcoal
Me: lol no. I just can't leave the house
Luke: oh. Cool. Talk soon. Have a great night
Me: you too
Luke: ^^
The conversation ended there. I didn't have to see Luke's face or hear his voice to know that he was disappointed.
I wished I could just tell him everything. The real reason why I never left the house. But I had just met Luke and it would have be so weird for me to just blabber on about my entire life to him. I didn't want to lose Luke, even though it felt like I already had.
***
We didn't speak for the next two days. It made me nervous and wonder what I had done or said that drove Luke away. Maybe he had lost interest in me, or maybe he realised that I was not a fun person since I never left the house.
Okay wait.
I did leave the house every once in a while. At night, my mom would allow me to go for a short runs (only because our neighborhood was safe), which turned into a short walk because I was scared of sweating. When I said I did not leave the house I meant I would not step foot outside for reasons such as a party, watching a movie at the cinema, or going to the local swimming pool for a swim.
My mom would try to get to leave the house but I was just too paranoid. During the week that Luke and I had been talking, she had tried to convince me to go with her to visit my grandmother and grandfather - pops and peeps Sterling.
Even though I wanted to see my grandparents, I refused. Their house was close to the beach and I did not like the beach because it brought back sad memories. In the end my mom went to visit them all by herself. I knew that she was disappointed in me. Home was safe. I trusted the two storey building more than anything.
That evening, as I was trying to focus my mind on much more important things other than a boy, it began to rain. My heart did a flop and I immediately closed all the windows in the house, making sure to not come into contact with water.
Water. Rain. The beach. The ocean. I hated it all. I hated it for everything it had done to me. No matter how hard I tried, it was impossible for me to not be paranoid about getting into contact with water.
Aquagenic Urticaria. That was the name of my allergy, but I did not like using the long, complicated name. I simply called it water allergy. It was a rare type of allergy which affected a small percentage in the entire world, and so I knew that no one would be able to truly understand what it was like to live with it.
What was Luke going to think if I had told him the truth? I mean, who wanted a girl who could only shower once a week, a girl who was bold because she did not want to suffer the consequences of washing her hair; a girl who didn't like water. Even worse, a girl who could not cry while watching a sad movie because she did not want to feel the pools of water streaming down her cheeks!
As I began to slowly fall asleep, I started to think if it was all worth it. If meeting Luke and letting him into my life was worth it. The more alone I was, the better safer I was. I wouldn't have to worry about me telling Luke everything just for him to leave me one day.
There was no such thing as forever.
***