Luke From Julie And The Phantoms Now Novels & Stories

William called out, with his face becoming a world of brightness at the sight of the man who looks so much familiar his arms leaving the waist of the lady he’s holding to walk to us. They hug for what seemed like forever before pulling away and the six feet four inches Luke turns to look at me and those brown eyes tell me I’ve seen him somewhere. “You must be the Karen, I’m-“ “Japhia Castillo.” I blurt out before I can get to stop myself. He smiles a little, but shakes his head. “I’m Luke Castillo, this idiot’s best friend and Japhia’s older brother,” he chuckles immediately, and I smack my forehead.

That is the same thing as being cruel and just. But even as the machinery put itself into motion, a small private voice whispered a different thought. Julia had called me, in the dark of fever, by a name that had once been mine. Luke. She had said his name in confusion and longing. She had asked for him in her sleep and then she had reached and wrapped herself around me as if the memory of some other boy had been braided with my skin. What was that? A memory or a projection? Did seeing Vescari pull at her memory like a phantom? Or was she actually someone else entirely placed in the center of a trap?

Then a voice—familiar, strained—cut through the silence. “Julia?” “No,” Luke said smoothly. A tense pause. Then Nathan’s voice, hard and wary. “Who is this?” Luke’s smirk was audible in his tone. “I’m the man your little girlfriend owes four hundred grand. Call me a collector… with a very personal interest.” Nathan’s breath hissed between clenched teeth. “What the hell are you talking about? Where’s Julia?”

“T-thank you so much, sir. This means a lot to me. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Luke smiled at the couple and drove away towards Julia’s house on the next block. He knew it was late, but he had to seek his wife out. After five minutes, he rang the doorbell of Julia’s tenth-floor apartment. A stranger opened the door and checked him out. “Hi, hottie! Who do you want?” she purred, making him nauseous. “Does Julia live here? This is urgent. Please, can you call her?” He had no wish to spend over five minutes in the place.