Milk And Cardamom | S. Brown ✔

[59]

Lucas had just returned a week ago to Bludhaven after completing his fourth semester at Yale too. After that semester, he had had a two month break so instead of staying at the campus in New Haven, he returned home to his family.

Camille and George had been delighted to have him back and even though Luke must have been glad to be back home, it reminded him of everything that had happened in the past year and put a dampener on his mood.

Back at the university, he had kept himself painstakingly busy in studies and every other activity he could find to keep his mind away from the worrisome thoughts. But now that he was home with nothing to occupy himself with other than his hobby of photography, he found it extremely hard to focus.

Photography itself had become a painful reminder because more than half of his portfolio contained Steph's pictures. Each time he held his camera, the fact that she wouldn't be his muse for the photographs he was going to take would haunt him and he used to put it back again, without capturing even a single picture.

He might have never told her directly but he had fallen head over heels for his lovely muse. But there had always been a fear in his heart that he would end up hurting her and that was exactly what happened.

Steph and Luke had never been the same ever since the day he had attacked her under the influence of the serum Deathstroke had injected him with. She had confessed she loved him and wouldn't leave him for anything yet as time passed, he saw her get more and more withered.

It was almost as if an unknown sorrow was eating her up and in spite of him asking her to share it with him, she had always refused to acknowledge it. Until he realized that probably he was the one hurting her and when she hadn't made any attempt to deny him or stop him from cutting out the poison, he took his decision and left himself.

It was hard for both of them but he couldn't see her in pain and would sacrifice his own feelings if that meant he could put a stop to whatever that was hurting her.

Little did he know that he was wrong in his assumption and Steph had not stopped him because she didn't have the strength in herself to tell him the truth.

Hazel eyes flickered towards the drawer he kept the portfolio locked in and after minutes of conflict, he finally unlocked it and took the thick grey file out.

His fingers flicked through the colorful display of photographs, stopping as he reached the first picture he had ever taken of Stephanie Brown. He still remembered the way he had met her at Martin's camera store, the frame of the picture containing half her face and the camera shelf in the background.

Right next to that photograph was the picture he had taken in Aparo Park and then page after page was filled with Stephanie. Different places, different poses, but the same Stephanie Brown with her beautiful green eyes, sunlit blonde hair and her lovely smile.

His phone rang so he closed the portfolio reluctantly, picking up the phone not even checking who had called, "hello?"

"Luke..."

He recognized the voice immediately and straightened, hazel eyes widening in surprise, "Stephanie."

"I... I hope I haven't disturbed you. I just... I wanted to tell you something."

He sensed that she was probably worried or else she would have never called. Months had lapsed without him hearing even once from her so the abrupt phone call took him by alarm. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..."

"Is everyone else okay? Your family, Dora, Alex, everyone?"

"Yeah... They are all fine."