Chapter 24 | the edge of change

Luka still wasn't out of his pyjamas yet, he'd woken up late and only now was getting around to breakfast. His sister was already out and off to see Rose, his mother down in the front room of the boat fixing some of the controls.

Still half asleep, he ate his cereal while watching TV. The morning programs were always so boring, breakfast TV was nothing just filler. So when there was a knock on the door, his attention was quickly turned away from the boring TV and his breakfast.

"LUKA CAN YOU GET THAT?" His mother called down the hall.

"YEAH OK" he called back, getting up and wandering over to the door.

Opening it, he expected maybe one of his friends or the post guy. But to his surprise, it was Nathalie.

"Oh! Uh, good morning. Is Adrien here?" He asked.

"I just dropped him off at a fencing match, I'm here because... can I talk to your mother?" She asked.

Nathalie was noticeably disheveled today. Her bun was usually neat, but today it was half falling out. She wore a plain jumper and pants rather then her work attire and her eyebags were big enough to carry a whole suitcase worth of luggage.

"Uh, yeah sure. MUM COME HERE!" He called out.

His mother got up from her tinkering with the boat and made her way down the hall, a bit surprised to see Nathalie without Adrien.

"Oh! Nathalie, what brings ya to me boat so early?" She asked.

"I need to talk to you... and Luka don't worry you don't have to break up with Adrien or anything but... it's about him" Nathalie said.

That immediately made him worry. Sure it was good he didn't have to break up with him, but if Nathalie was talking about Adrien to his mother... what the hell was going on?

"Oh? Ight then, come to the deck. Let's chat" Anarka said, leading her out to the table set on the deck.

Luka was curious and a little worried now, but went back to his cereal before it got soggy. Although now he couldn't pay attention to the boring TV, his mind was full of Adrien. What was wrong? Nathalie looked sicker, tireder, and a bit nervous. Was there something going on in the household?

He wanted to call Adrien and ask, but if he was at a tournament right now his phone would be off and in the locker room.

Finishing his breakfast and putting the empty bowl in the sink, he went into the bathroom for the next part of his morning routine. He pulled his fringe from his eyes with a headband, took his piercings out and scrubbed his face clean with water and cleanser. Looking up in the mirror, he noticed he looked tired too, his eyebags bigger than usual.

He wasn't used to himself without his snake bites on his lips or eyebrow piercing. And he wasn't used to seeing those eyebags, usually he was good with sleep. But recently he'd been up overthinking. Mainly about the whole Marinette situation, he still had no idea how to tell her. But now he'd be overthinking about whatever was going on with Adrien.

Making sure his piercings were clean, be put them back in and moved onto brushing his teeth. Still gazing into the mirror and lost in thought of all the possibilities.

Things seemed to be going so well, and yet he had a bad feeling. Like there was a storm approaching, and something was about to happen. He looked in that mirror in a daze so long his own face started to look wrong. He snapped out of it, finished up and went into his room to get dressed for the day.

He didn't feel like effort today, so he just threw on the first jumper and shorts he found. Luckily for him they matched, and even his lazy outfit managed to look decent.

Finally he went back out to the front room where he intended on finally getting around to tuning all the instruments that needed maintenance, but Nathalie and his mother were there waiting for him.

"Luka, hun" Anarka said, beckoning him over.

Uh oh... this felt strange.

He sat at the breakfast bar, opposite the two adults a little worried.

"I'm not gonna be roasted by Gabriel or something am I?" He asked.

"No, no. It's not that, it's just..." his mother began.

"Look. Adrien is super deeply in love with you, and I know you care deeply for him. So when he gets this news I know he's going to come running to you. I just... want you to be prepared" Nathalie sighed.

"Oh god, you're not dying or something are you?" Luka asked, slightly panicked.

"No. I mean... I hope not. But that's not it. I have to break some horrific news to him about his father... and his mother. I know he's going to take it badly and he'll want to be away from the house for a while. Which is why I talked to your mother, to make sure if he comes here everything is ok"

Horrific news? That was bad. Luka already had an idea what it might be about, probably his fathers abusive nature and the death of his mother. It was going to be hard on him.

"I won't... pry into family issues but it's not like... anything that could harm him?" Luka asked.

"Not if everything goes well. My goal is to get him out of his dads house, it'll be a slow process but hopefully by the end of this whole mess he'll be away from Gabriel and safe. The whole reason I'm staying in that house while I'm so sick is to make sure Adrien is ok, and help him get out" Nathalie explained.

"Basically, some shits going to go down. He'll probably come crying to you, so be prepared ok? And if he ever needs to escape he can stay here, it's fine by me. And I'll going to relay this to your father too, so if worst comes to absolute worst he can stay with you and your dad. Since you know, he's got a lot of security and such with his celebrity status" Anarka added.

While Luka was terrified for Adrien, and whatever this horrible news was, he was glad that Nathalie was on his side. And was actively trying to help despite her sickly state. And he was glad that Nathalie trusted him and his family enough with Adrien. It was clear he and Adrien had become so close and in love even others could see it.

"And Nathalie, if you need to get out of there too, you can stay as well. You really shouldn't be around him when you're this sick" Anarka said.

"Thanks, I'm... probably going to be sick for the rest of my life. I won't die, it's just chronic and flare ups happen every so often. I'm going to need to learn to live with it when this is all over" Nathalie sighed.

Nathalie was terrified, she knew she had to do this. And it was going to happen tonight, she just hoped that Emilie would be proud of her for keeping her promise to protect her son.

And protect her son she will, until her dying breath. Adrien is Emilies whole world, and Emilie was Nathalie's whole world. She'd keep that boy safe... for her.

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