Luke's POV

I'm about to videochat my mom when Delilah shows up at my house. People always seem to show up whenever I videochat someone. I don't mind, though. Then my mom has someone to actually talk to.

I'm not avoiding Delilah anymore, we've been hanging out for the past few days. Candace (and Ashton too) helped me realize that avoiding her isn't going to help anything. I can't try to push away all the feelings I have when I'm around her, I have to try to figure them out.

I don't like trying to figure out my feelings, though. It's very confusing for me.

"Hey!" Delilah says, sitting beside me on my bed.

I smile at her and wave.

"I was thinking, since I probably won't have school again tomorrow, we could maybe go see a movie or something?" she asks, propping herself up on her elbow. She's had the past two days off from school due to the snow.

I nod. My laptop starts ringing with a video call from my mom.

"Oh, were you about to videochat Calum or your mom? I can go," she says, getting up. I pull her back down beside me and accept my mom's call.

"Hi, Luke! Hi?" my mom says, seeming confused as to why there's an unfamiliar girl beside me in bed.

I can see why she looks concerned.

I look over at Delilah.

"Hi! I'm Delilah! I'm Luke's... friend!" Delilah says.

"Oh, I've heard about you! Nice to meet you!" my mom says.

Delilah's cheeks blush, and she looks at me from the corner of her eyes and smirks. "Oh?"

"How's the weather?" my mom asks.

"Snowy. Cold," Delilah says.

"It's pretty warm up here. Do you miss the warm weather, Luke?"

I shake my head. I like the snow.

"He likes the snow," Delilah says laughing, as if she can read my mind. "He just gets cold really quickly and steals all the blankets."

My mom laughs, and I can tell she's suspicious of something going on between Delilah and me.

Which there isn't.

"Do you have plans for Christmas?" Delilah asks my mom after we talk more about the snow.

My mom gets quiet. "I'm not sure. It'll be just me since Luke's not here. Calum's family invited me over, so I may be with them."

I never even thought about the fact that she'd be alone on Christmas. She's alone every day. I wonder what she does without me around. I wonder if she's worried about me.

"Oh," Delilah says, not quite knowing how to respond. "I'm sure whatever you do will be great!"

"I hope so. Christmas won't be the same without Luke."

I bite down on my lip, suddenly missing my mom more than ever. It's been a long time since I've seen her. I don't like thinking about the fact that she'll be alone on Christmas.

After a few minutes, Delilah's phone rings. She leaves the room and comes back after a few minutes.

"That was work. I guess they need me to come in. Do you think you could watch Lucy for me? My parents are going out in an hour, I was supposed to watch her," Delilah says quickly.

I'm not sure I can take care of Lucy on my own. It shouldn't be that hard though. She's a pretty simple kid. I nod slowly.

"Really? You're the best. Okay, I'll be right back!" Delilah says.

When she leaves, my mom starts talking about her.

"Is she your girlfriend?" she asks.

I shake my head, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"Do you want her to be?"

I shrug and chew on my bottom lip nervously.

"It's okay if you do," my mom tells me reassuringly.

She knows about the voicemail. I played it for her the day after I listened to it. She thought it was extremely sad, but it should give me hope for the future. That was her exact words.

I stare blankly at my mom through the computer.

"I like her. She's very nice," my mom says.

I nod slowly.

Delilah comes back a few minutes later with Lucy, who is very excited to see me.

"Lukey!" she shrieks, jumping up and down. I pull her up onto the bed, and she waves to my mom. "Are you Luke's mommy?"

"I am! And who are you?"

"I'm Lucy. I'm three." Lucy always introduces herself by telling her age. "I'll be four in, uh, Janwary?" She prounces it wrong, but it's cute. She's also unsure of her birthday.

"February," Delilah tells her, laughing.

"Febwary. I'll be four in Febwary!" Lucy says excitedly.

"That's great!" my mom says, sounding equally as excited as Lucy.

Delilah tries to hug Lucy before leaving, but she squirms away from her and clings on to me. I put her in my lap, and she leans against me.

"Bye-bye, Lila!" Lucy says as Delilah leaves. She has a hard time saying Delilah, so she calls her Lila sometimes. I like that nickname for her.

"Bye, Lucy! Be good for Luke, okay?"

"I will!"

Lucy grabs both my hands and puts them in front of her, and she holds tightly onto them. She moves them and claps them in front of her, giggling every few minutes as my mom talks.

"Woahhhh," Lucy says, pressing my hand to her face. "It's as big as my head!" she shrieks, even though it's muffled by my hand.

I laugh and pull my hand away from her face. She continues to hold my hands as I videochat.

My mom tells me about Calum. It's summer time in Australia, so he's not in school right now. By this time next year, he'll be done with school. I wonder where I'll be a year from now.

Once we're done videochatting, I say bye to my mom, and Lucy complains of being hungry.

"I want fruit snacks," she says.

I have to lift Lucy up to sit her in a chair while I search for fruit snacks in the kitchen. We don't have any, though. I knew we wouldn't, I don't think we have ever had fruit snacks.

Lucy ends up having cookies, and I'm afraid she'll choke by talking with so much food in her mouth. Thankfully, she doesn't. I don't know what I would've done if she had choked.

"Can we play hide and seek?" Lucy asks when she finishes her cookies.

I nod.

"I'll count first!" Lucy says, jumping off her chair and covering her eyes. "One, two, three..."

I quickly walk to the closest hiding spot I see, which is under the table. I almost hit my head, but I don't.

"Ten!" Lucy yells.

She turns around and runs down the hallway, oblivious to the fact that I was hiding right next to her.

I hear her footsteps run back to where I am a few minutes later. She looks behind the couch, as if I could possibly fit behind there, and then she finally finds me.

"I got you! I was super duper fast. You gotta try to do better!" she yells, laughing. "Your turn to count!"

I count in my head, giving Lucy more time than she gave me. I wait until I can't hear her footsteps anymore, and then I search for her. It can't be that hard to find her.

I search under the table because I remember when I was little, I would always hide wherever someone else had. She's not under there though. I check my room, she's not there either.

I start to get worried after a few minutes go by, and I still haven't found her.

I check every single room in my house. She's so small she could fit practically anywhere. But she's nowhere to be found.

I get even more worried when I realize the back door is open.

She couldn't have gone outside, could she?

I notice the tiny footprints in the snow.

She's definitely out there.

I quickly put on my jacket and shoes to go find Lucy. I can't believe she went outside. Isn't the first rule of hide and seek to not go outside? Are there even rules to hide and seek?

My heart starts pounding, and my hands start shaking. I can't get a panic attack now. Deep breaths, Luke. I focus on the foot prints instead of my anxiety.

How have I lost Lucy when I've only been with her for less than two hours?

When I get to the trees in my backyard, I can't see anymore foot prints. I check the obvious spots behind bushes and trees, but there's no Lucy.

This can't be happening. I debate texting Delilah or Ashton, but I don't want them to not trust me. The first job I'm given, and I mess up. I screw everything up.

Of course my dad is at work, too. There's no one to help me.

If I were a three year old, where would I hide? I walk through the woods that's connected to my back yard, listening for Lucy.

It's been over 10 minutes. How far could she have gone?

After 15 minutes of searching, I'm about to break down. I'm so scared I'll never find her. She could be anywhere.

I notice a pink ribbon in the snow, the same pink ribbon Lucy had in her hair today. She has to be somewhere around here.

My breathing has been quickening, and I'm trying so hard not to hyperventilate. The freezing temperature outside isn't helping anything either.

I realize that in order to find Lucy, she's either going to have to be calling for me, or I have to call for her.

But I can't call for her. I can't.