"Hey, Lena!" Luke called, standing in the doorway as he hung his jacket on the hook.

The reply Luke had been expecting, however, was not the one he received.

A chorus of 'hi!', 'hey!' and, 'Lukey!' sounded through the house. Luke's brow furrowed in confusion.

Walking into his living room, he grinned at the sight before him - Elena was snuggled into Ashton's side, the two of them sprawled across the sofa. Across them draped a huge pale blue blanket, and Luke recognised it as the one Elena had on her bed. Ashton had his arm wrapped around her shoulder, laughing silently to himself as her eyes drooped with fatigue. Calum sat on the floor, his back leaning against the sofa, his legs stretched out in front of him. Michael was lying on the floors, his head lying on Calum's legs. The two of them were silently munching on the chicken nuggets they had grabbed from McDonald's, their eyes trained on the television in front of them.

    Luke walked to the sofa, his footsteps soft. Calum groaned as Luke barricaded his view from the film they were watching, even if it was only for a few seconds. Michael scrunched up a McDonald's paper bag and threw it at Luke's head as he passed. Luke glared at the man.

Gently, he lifted Elena's legs, before sitting on the sofa and placing them on his lap. He smiled at his sister and she smiled back, her expression sleepy.

~~~

    "Was everything good?" Luke asked Ashton, sitting back down on the sofa. He had just carried Elena up to her own bed, having watched silently as she drifted of into the land of dreams.

    Ashton looked grim. "I walked in on her having a panic attack, Luke."

    "What?" Luke asked. "Why didn't you text me?"

    "She didn't want me to, mate. Elena said she didn't want to disturb your meeting so we called Calum and Michael to come round as a distraction."

    Having heard their names, Calum and Michael both turned their heads, having a newfound interest in the conversation.

    "A distraction from what?"

"It's been a month, Luke." Calum responded, his face sympathetic.

No one needed to explain what they were talking about. The event was very clear in all of their minds.

"Oh."

Tears welled up in Luke's eyes as he was reminded of the loss of his parents. He looked down at his lap, blinking furiously, determined not to let the tears fall.

"Luke, you good?"

Luke nodded, a weak smile on his face.

"Are you sure?"

And Luke broke.

Tears fell from his eyes as a sob broke free from his lips. His shoulders shuddering with the force. Luke looked up at his best friend, his bottom lip trembling.

Ashton's heart broke at the sight before him, and he launched himself at his brother. He wrapped his arms around Luke's shoulders, holding him tightly. His own eyes were clenched shut to stop himself from crying as he heard the cries leave Luke's lips.

"I miss them so fucking much, Ashton." Luke gasped, his voice muffled as he spoke into Ashton's shirt.

Ashton could feel the dampness if Luke's tears on his shirt, but he didn't mind. It was the least of his worries.

Calum and Michael stood up from where they had been sat on the floor moments ago, the two of them moving closer to the pair. Michael sat in the sofa behind Luke and he began rubbing small circles onto Luke's back, in hopes of comforting him.

"I know, mate. I know." Ashton replied to Luke, holding the man tighter.

"I can't do this whole parenting thing without them. I can't do it alone."

Calum sat on the arm of the sofa, tears filling his own eyes. He refused to let them fall. "Yes, you can. You're not alone, Luke. You've got us."