Ashton's PoV (just to spice it up!)

I could see Alyssa's body language mirroring mine as I let us into Luke's house, the area eerily silent as we stepped through the threshold into the living area. By Alyssa's nervous demeanour, I had already come to the conclusion that she was genuine. Had she been in this for information or undercover for paps she would have been almost excited at this downfall so she could use it to her advantage. Instead, she left her son with Calum to come over here and help him and Kira.

"Should we help Kira first?" She whispered, looking over to me with a motherly worry. I knew she only wanted to help Kira, and that conversation from her must have been scary. With her son the same age, I could imagine that she'd be picturing this differently to me.

"We should check on Luke first, just in case. If it's anything like last time we just need to get him comfortable." I said, remembering the last time this had happened - albeit a while ago. Sometimes, when life kicks him down he decides it's easier to give up. We just need to help pick him back up. "I'll get a bucket and you talk to Luke." Her head whipped to my direction.

"Me? He was shouting down the phone at me a few hours ago!" We both stopped in our tracks. I looked over at her with confusion etched on my face.

"Wha- why?" I whispered harshly. Alyssa rolled her eyes as she sighed.

"Because Calum was at my house." She said softly, her shoulders drooping.

"Why?" My question came out harsher this time.

"It's a long story..." she said quietly, looking around in case Luke could hear her. "Calum said he left Luke's after he snapped at you all and went shopping but saw Ivy, the stalker, in the centre. She noticed him and he ran, the closest place was mine." She tried to sum it up quickly but all of this just made me feel worse for them all. This was such a mess for no reason other than Luke not being able to handle himself. He'd lost Olivia, closed himself off to anyone else, met someone who made him vulnerable and then panicked. Now with Ivy back on the scene, he wouldn't have been able to handle that at all.

"Christ." I couldn't help but exclaim. "This might be worse than I thought." I put my hand on her back as I led her to the kitchen. "I still need to get a bucket though. Don't piss him off." I shoved her towards the door of the kitchen as I headed to the cupboard under the stairs to grab a bucket. I quickly caught up just to make sure it didn't all kick off without me present, only to see Alyssa hovering by the doorframe unable to take her eyes off the scene in front of her. As I caught up and stood side by side with her, even I was caught off guard. Luke sat with his back up against the kitchen cupboard, a half empty bottle of vodka above his head on the kitchen counter beside a glass. In front of him, in a rainbow shape around him, were loads of photos of him and Olivia. Alyssa looked over to me for courage and I nodded so she took a big breath in and out and spoke for the first time.

"Luke..." her tone was laced with empathy and regret, like she was sorry that she'd played a part in him becoming this. Luke's eyes snapped up on our direction, his jaw falling open as he took us both in.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Luke's eyes narrowed at her in an instant.

"Hey man, calm down, we got a call from Kira, she's worried about you..." I took over the conversation in the hope it's calm him down. His eyes went back to the photos as he let out a breath.

"She's got you wrapped around her finger too, eh? First Calum, now you. Doesn't take long." Alyssa straightened where she stood, her cheeks reddening as the hurtful words sunk in. I couldn't let him ruin what he had with her. I walked past him and towards the other side of the kitchen counter, slowly and silently picking up the vodka bottle and glass. I nodded at Alyssa to distract him.

"Is- is this Olivia? She's really beautiful." Alyssa said, edging slightly closer so she could look at the photos. There were a mix of goofy phone selfies, professional wedding shots, new family shoots... the photos were beautiful but the scene in front of us was now.

"Y-yeah." Luke sighed, losing the anger instantly. "It's the anniversary of her d-" he cut himself off. "It's tomorrow." The words hit me like a ton of bricks. We'd been so busy that we'd all seemed to forget what the date was and therefore hadn't been there for Luke as it had grown closer to the worst day for him. I mentally slapped myself for forgetting. How could I?

"They say it's better to celebrate their life though, to treasure the moments and memories." Alyssa continued, giving me enough time to quickly tip the vodka from the glass and bottle and fill them both up with water. I poured some out and made it look how it did above his head so he wouldn't suspect anything.

"That's what people who haven't lost someone say." Luke's angered tone was back. "She wasn't meant to go, it wasn't her time." Alyssa edged closer again and knelt down beside Luke.

"I know, I didn't believe it either. When we lost our brother in a car accident, I was furious for ages. I hated life and everyone who was happy but it only made me more miserable. When I talked about him and the good times we'd had it made me feel better, I began to heal as I grieved. I feel really blessed to have had him for the time that I did." Her hand went to Luke's arm and even I was captivated by the story. Luke's shaky hand grabbed the glass and he downed what he thought was the rest of his vodka.

"I-I'm sorry." Luke sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"And I'm sorry for your loss. She seems like she was an amazing wife and mother." Luke smiled for a moment. Alyssa's hand remained on his arm as she gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"She was. She doted on us both. I was spoilt really. I always wondered how I managed to get a girl like her." He spoke reminiscently.

"Because you're a great guy, Luke. You're a great dad too. I'm sure Olivia felt lucky to have you too." Alyssa responded like a professional, knowing what to say at the right time, slowly patching things up and making him feel better. Luke let out a flat laugh.

"A great guy?" His gaze met Alyssa's. "I haven't been one of those in a long time." He shook his head. "I only attract frauds and people who are bad for me. People like you." Alyssa's hand retracted instantly as she sucked in a breath.

"What did I do for you to hate me so much? I thought we were getting along, I thought our kids were happy?" She suddenly asked the painful question none of us really knew the answer to. Luke tutted and rolled his eyes as if he was having to explain the blatantly obvious.

"Because you're exactly like her. You get involved, you want to help, you're too nice and too invested. I can't let myself get caught up in all that again. I can't have another Olivia."