[a/n: this bonus chapter holds information a lot of you wondered about and would sit in between chapters 38 - 44 in the timeline]

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REESE.

It was just one of those fúcking days. You know, those days where time was ten times slower than normal and all you wanted to do was go home and relax but life wouldn't let you. After a full day of lectures, I had another eight hours of work serving pizza and beer to my peers. My boss seemed to ride my ass during my entire shift, Mia was officially ignoring me, and to top it all off, keeping tabs on Ari and Luke was getting difficult.

"Hey Reese! When you're done waiting for your balls to drop, can you take out the trash?!"

I grumbled under my breath, turning my head to face my oh-so wonderful boss. Sean Leone could be cool when he wanted to be, but give him a supervisor position that entitled him to some kind of power and bam, he was a grade-A douchepants from the douchiest village in all of doucheland.

"Yea, yea," I groaned, rolling my eyes. I stuffed my phone into my back pocket and pushed myself passed the pretentious, buff asswipe.

I made my rounds through the Lotus Cove Cafe, grabbing the filled up trash bags and setting them by the back door in the kitchens. It was nearing 2AM, and there were still customers hanging around. Finals week meant longer hours for several of the businesses in the area. Thank God we were only open till 3AM, as opposed to the coffee shoppe upstairs that was kept open for 24-hours.

With a dolly stacked with trash, I wheeled it out the back door and into a dim alleyway where the dumpsters were. In the distance, the sounds of drunk college students filled my ears and I immediately wondered about their study habits. It was a Monday night during finals week, damn it! Shouldn't they have their noses in a book instead of submerging their brain cells in hard liquor? But to each his own, I guessed.

I continued to wheel the cart out towards the dumpsters, excited to be off duty in thirty minutes. I was over today, and extremely anxious to jump into my bed. But unfortunately for me, life wasn't going to let me.

"I'm stupid. I'm stupid. I'm stupid,"

Furrowing my eyebrows, I ceased my movements. I slowly approached the dumpsters, keeping an alert eye as I investigated the situation before me. As I inched closer and closer, I soon discovered a familiar figure with a very familiar quiff.

"Luke!" I called out, dropping my hands from the metal wagon and running towards him.

He ignored me. Or at least didn't hear me, because my calls disappeared into the evening air as Luke continued to grumble angrily to himself. He pulled at his hair, slapped himself on the forehead, and even kicked the dumpster. He was obviously deep in emotion and I had a feeling that I knew why.

"Luke!" I yelled again, taking a few long strides before finally meeting him feet to feet.

"Get the fúck away from me!" His eyes caught mine, and with no hesitation, Luke darted a deadly glare in my direction, "I don't trust you!"

"Are you drunk?" I asked him, though I knew the answer already.

Luke was sweating, his eyes were bloodshot, he smelled like whiskey, and while he had a lot to say, his words were slurred. I was a college student and I could spot a drunk person from the very first sip.

"It's none of your business," Luke snarled, stomping off in the opposite direction.

I followed suit, "what are you doing out here? I'll take you home."

"I don't need your help fuckface," Luke continued on his endeavors to get away from me but due to the alcohol libation coursing through his veins, it wasn't hard to catch up to him.

"Yea, you do," I sighed, quite annoyed with his behavior, but I didn't blame him. I didn't really give him much of a reason to trust me. "Come with me before you regret doing something dumb."

"I've already done something I regret," he yelled - not really to me, or to anyone for that matter. He was just yelling because he was angry, and he really was indeed swimming in a pool of regret.

But then he was point three seconds from swimming in something else - and I'm not insinuating a pool or ocean.

I cringed, shuddering from the secretion that Niagara Fall'd itself from Luke's mouth. Vomiting on the asphalt in front of him, I let myself be digested for a moment before helping out the pathetic boy. With a sigh, I sauntered right next to Luke, who was keeled over and breathing hard. I gave him a reassuring pat on the back, and in doing so prompted Luke to look up at me with serious antipathy.

"Dude, don't look at me like that," I shook my head, "you need water and food."

Luke stayed silent, keeping his gaze away from mine, but I waited patiently. Then, after a few minutes, Luke reluctantly gave in. I gestured for the cafe, and with his arm slung around my shoulder, I guided the drunk from the alley way and into safety.

There was no way I was going to keep him on the level of the pizza place and bar. Not sure if the boss man would appreciate a vomit-smelling boy passed out in one of the booths. So instead I took him to the basement - a basement that no one really knew existed. It was a halfway house in some ways; a place when I needed it but didn't want to be home.

"What the fúck?" Michael was sitting on a chair at the desk where two computer monitors sat. His eyes widened upon seeing Luke almost passed out in my arms and quickly stood up from the chair.

"He's drunk," I told Michael

"No shit Sherlock, I can smell the whiskey from upstairs," he mentioned, grabbing Luke's other limp arm and draping it around his shoulder.

The two of us assisted Luke, carefully setting him down on the mattress. Immediately the drunk boy groaned and fell over to rest his head on the pillow. Michael and I just stared at him for a moment with relieved looks before separating to find water and food for Luke.

"I don't trust you," Luke grumbled, his eyes screwed tight.

I placed a bottle of water near him and haphazardly mused, "that's fine. Stay dehydrated."

Luke didn't utter another sound, and didn't let a word slip out even when Michael placed some bread and a slice of pizza near the bottle of water. We just let Luke lie there contemplating all of his life's regrets while Michael and I proceeded with work. We both sat in front of the computer screens, our fingers tapping away on the keyboards. I texted my boss and told him it was an emergency as to why I was suddenly M.I.A. even though I was sitting directly under his feet. 

Then eventually, Luke fell asleep.

"Hey look," Michael whispered, pointing to the screen that glowed against his face.

A folder popped onto the screen, and like routine, Michael double clicked it. A slew of photographs organized itself onto the interface, and as we observed them, the two of us shuddered at what we found.

"Creeper is stalking Ari," Michael noted, and he wasn't exaggerating either. The ten photos laid across the screen were all of Ari, taken from outside of her bedroom window. She looked distressed, sad even as we went from photo to photo.

"Where'd you get those,"

Michael and I jumped in our seats, snapping our bodies to look at the new voice that filled our ears. Luke stood behind us, his arms crossed above his chest, and an angered expression painted on his face.

"How are you feeling, man?" I asked him, taking a glance over at the mattress where the bottle of water and food still laid untouched.

"Don't change the subject creep," Luke snarled. He was definitely more sober, as his words remained unslurred. "Where did you get those photos?!

I looked at Michael, as if asking for permission. I mean, we had no choice now did we? We've kept this a secret long enough and with Luke here, we had no choice but to come clean.

"We've been monitoring the creep who's been harassing both you and Ari," I revealed.

Luke didn't expect that answer to come out of my mouth, because puzzlement adorned his face. Michael pushed an empty chair over to his friend, gesturing for him to sit down. Luke reluctantly did.

"So you're monitoring yourselves?" Luke asked, an eyebrow raised.

"I know it looks bad, but we promise you that we've been trying to protect the two of you," I reassured.

"I don't understand," Luke quipped, his eyes darting between Michael, the computer screen and I.

"The phone the creep is using, I gave it to him; her; it," I announced, causing Luke's eyes to grow with intensity. But before he could speak, I quickly continued, "I didn't know what I was getting into at first. I was anonymously asked for a phone that couldn't be tracked. I was given five hundred dollars cash."

"So how are you tracking the phone?" Luke was intrigued.

"I still thought the whole thing was fishy. So I installed a program that allowed me to see every text and call sent. Every photo taken and saved..." I explained to him.

"Couldn't you just GPS the phone and go confront the bitch?" Luke questioned.

"The phone's GPS system gives out random coordinates," I declared, smiling to myself. I knew it made this job harder but, I was proud of the software I've created.

Luke sat in silence, deep in thought, probably taking in all the overwhelming information. It was nearing 4AM, and I thought about Luke's mother.

"Does your mom know you're here?" I asked him. "She's probably worried. We can take you home."

Luke shook his head, "I'm not going home."

"Um, okay," Michael pipped up, "so we'll take you home in a few hours."

"No," Luke stood up suddenly, "I'm not going home... ever."

"Why? Is this why you were so drunk earlier? What did you do?" I asked him.

Luke didn't answer. He just walked away from us, pacing back and forth before pulling at his hair. Luke was submerged in anguish; complete distress washed away any color from his face and I felt bad for him. Luke was letting this anonymous creep get to him but I didn't blame him either. His life was being taken over by an enigma who had all the control, and it - for lack of a better word - sucked.

"I hurt Ari," Luke grumbled, his chin down to his chest. His cheeks became redder from his confession, and I could feel the guilt wavering all around him like a pulsating orb.

"Like emotionally?" I was cautious with my words and my tone. I kept my eyes on Luke, but my peripheral vision could see Michael's hardened face.

"Emotionally," Luke spoke softly, "physically..."

"Say that again?" Michael chimed in, eyebrows narrowed in on Luke, who finally had the courage to look at us.

Michael still loved Ari and I always felt bad for him. I knew exactly how it felt to love someone, but for that someone to love another soul. That heartache can't be replicated by any other heartbreak, than the one inadvertently caused by somebody else. You could say I was in love with Mia, but there was nothing I could do but sit there because her heart sat in the palms of Ashton.

But Michael had it worse.

Eight years. Eight fucking years of friendship only to turn into a yearning love. Michael probably didn't even know he was in love with Ari until Luke walked into the picture. I tried to distract him; tried to distract Michael with video games, and nerdy high-tech things but no matter what, at the end of the day, his mind would always revert back to Ari.

"I'm s-sorry," Luke stammered, a crack to his voice. His eyes were beginning to glass over, and when he blinked, a few tears dribbled down his cheeks. "I did-didn't m-mean it... it just happened."

"What do you mean it just happened?!" Michael spoke through gritted teeth, and his temper was rising. "Don't fúcking tell you hit Ari!"

"I pushed her," Luke confessed with a croak to his throat, "it was an accident, I promise. I was just so stressed out, and scared, and mad at myself and... oh God."

Luke cried. He turned away from Michael and I, paced around the room, and cried. I was so shocked by Luke's revelation, and his behavior that I was unsure what to do. Should I let him cry it out? Should I try to comfort him? I honestly didn't know at that point. It wasn't until Luke began hitting himself in the head, did Michael and I intervene.

"I'm a fucking loser!"

Hit.

"I don't deserve her!"

Hit.

"I should die right now!"

Hit.

I jolted towards Luke first, Michael following suit. The both of us restrained the tormented boy by his arms. It took the strength of both of us to keep Luke from continuing to batter himself. Michael and I pushed him down onto a nearby chair, still holding onto his arms that kept twitching in desire to hurt himself.

"Luke! Stop! Don't be a little bitch!" Michael yelled, surprising me with his choice of of aggressive tone.

"Michael!" I warned, scolding him before a rampage ensued.

"No O'Hara," Michael snapped, anger still coating his tone. He turned to Luke, "you need to fucking go home."

"I don't deserve to be home," Luke shook his head, his lips quivering as he looked upwards - eyes bloodshot, tears staining his cheeks.

"If you're not going home, then you're going to fúcking tell Ari you're alive! I refuse to sit here and let you hurt Ari anymore," Michael growled. "I've been her best friend for eight fúcking years and I know the girl better than you could ever understand Hemmings!"

"Then you take her!" Luke suddenly screamed, though distress still clung onto him. "You can have her! She deserves better!"

"She doesn't want better!" Michael retorted. His heavy, angry breathing was starting to ease and when he dropped one of Luke's arms, he took a step back, "she wants you."

I watched in awe, taking in the intense banter that just happened before me. There were two different men that stood there: one who was willing to sacrifice his feelings for the girl he loved, and one who already did. But the thing that both Luke and Michael had in common, was a love for Ari that no one would be able to comprehend.

"I know for a fact, that Ari is sitting in her room, crying her eyes out over you. Ari is a natural worrier, and I know she's worried about you," Michael told Luke. "So I beg you to please, please, please, call her, text her, tell her in some way that you're okay. Then at least Ari could get some sleep."

Luke nodded, gazing up at Michael with understanding eyes. He was going to listen to Michael, because there was no doubt that the boy with the crazy hair had a knowledge about Ari that Luke was still trying to decipher. There was no choice however, Luke had to listen to Michael. He had to do all he could to keep Ari in his life. Because if he lost her, then both would be lost, and Michael would've sacrificed his feelings for nothing.

"Can I borrow a phone that can't be tracked?" Luke asked, turning his head to look at me. "I don't want Ari to come looking for me."

"Yea," I simply answered, dropping his other hand and turning away.

I walked over to the desk, pulled open the bottom drawer and grabbed a cell phone. I turned on the device, inserting a cord into the slot and the other end into the computer's USB port. I opened up a software designed by myself, and after typing in a code, the phone was ready to use. I pulled the cord out, and with the phone in my hand, I walked back over to Luke.

"Text her whatever you want," I told him, "the number will be blocked, GPS compromised, and there's no way for her to find you."

Luke took the phone from my hands and pressed the button, "thanks."

"No problem... just make sure you say something that only you and Ari know. Perhaps a nickname, or a common phrase the two of you often say. Otherwise Ari may not believe it's you," I advised.

Luke nodded silently, before dropping his gaze down to the phone. It didn't take him long to figure out what to say, because after only a moment in his fingertips, did Luke began typing a message. After hitting send, he gave the phone back to me. As I trekked back to my desk to put the device away, I took a glance at Luke's message.

To: UNKNOWN NEW - 3:26AM
I'm OK. Don't look for me. Don't tell my mum. Promise me. I adore you, baby girl. Hope you can forgive me. xx

I turned over my shoulder and saw Luke in his most vulnerable state. I genuinely felt his pain. There was a pang in my chest that I couldn't shake off, and the more I stared at Luke, the more of his pain diffused into me. It's still crazy to me; something I barely can fathom to this day.

But that night was a night that continued instigation. I wasn't aware, nor did I sense it at first but in hindsight, all the clues in Luke's depression and mental game change had unfolded before my very eyes. It probably harbored within him for weeks before hitting the climax in the basement of the Lotus Cove Cafe. I did take his condition seriously, but I didn't try hard enough to get him help. When he attempted to take his life away a few weeks later on Christmas Day, did it hit me that all the fucking clues were there; like a prelude to his ultimate downfall. But did I do anything? No.

And that's what I regret the most.

//

Do you like it? Does this bonus chapter satisfy your cravings for more DWST?! I hope it does! I had a good time writing this chapter, and it was fun writing it from a different point of view as opposed to Ari or Luke. Also, did anyone notice something familiar about the start of the chapter??? Reese found Luke drunk in an alleyway by the dumpsters, exactly how Ari found him in chapter one. At both times Luke was angry about something he regret. In chapter one, he was angry for stupidly hooking up with Jasey - to which he ended up forgetting he did. Then in this bonus chapter, Luke regret yelling / shoving Ari.

Hope this bonus chapter answers any questions you might of had during the time when Luke was with Reese. I know I didn't really touch on that subject as the story went on but I did it on purpose. Luke never told Ari why he was with Reese because he never really had the time. He came home, went on a date with Ari to spend his last moments with her and family, then the next moment he hung himself. Luke came home to do one last deed before fulfilling his secret wish of taking his life away. Hope that all makes sense.

Anyway, THANK YOU for reading my story, and continuing to support me! This story has hit ONE MILLION reads and that is SO FUCKING AMAZING! Never would I have thought this story would even hit 10K, let alone 1M!! Thanks for continuing to vote and to comment!

I'm working on a spin-off story and the synopsis will be up as soon as I have the story development set in stone! I do have other works you may enjoy, so just check out my profile! THANK YOU AGAIN! LOVE YOU <333