Deadly Love

Reality Check

(1167 words)
*Song lyrics from Consequences by Camilla Cabello

Luke's POV:

I open my eyes and see Summer sipping a coffee, waiting for me to wake up. I stayed at Malice's last night and slept on his couch. "Where's Malice," I ask while sitting up.

"He went to the gym. He'll be a while," Summer replies. She then continues, "What did you hear last night from me and Zeus?"

I pause to fully think out my response before speaking, "Well, I know Zeus wanted Malice dead, and you were involved somehow. Now you tell me, how are you connected to that mess?"

She glares at me before checking the room for any other ears, then answers, "I'm only telling you this because you saved me... Zeus hired me to kill Malice. Obviously, me dating him makes it more complicated, but with Zeus gone, it doesn't matter anymore."

"Does he know?"

"What, that his brother is dead or that I had a contract to kill him?" Her eyebrows furrow in slight confusion.

"Both."

"No, he doesn't. I just don't know how to tell him."

"Well, I'm the one with his brother's blood on my hands, so maybe we should tell him together," I shrug.

"Yeah, maybe that's best." She pauses and looks into the kitchen. I can tell her thoughts are spiraling by the worsening worried look on her face.

I lean closer to her. "What's wrong?"

A single tear starts down her face as she stares ahead blankly. Her voice is soft as she responds, "I don't know him."

"What do you mean?"

"I was thinking of giving him the news with his favorite meal, but... I don't know it. Then I realized, I barely know anything about him, and I haven't told him much about myself either... It's all fake. We fuck, that's the only 'loving' we do," she sobs.

I pull her in and try to comfort her. Tears drip down my shirt as she continues, "Even how we met is fake! If it weren't for that contract I wouldn't be here, and I wouldn't have tried to get so close to him so quickly."

She wipes her tears and leans back, in realization. "That's why I keep going back to you... it's never been forced. All of our experiences were by choice with honest emotions. I had more fun on our fake date than anything I've done with Malice. Come to think of it, all we did was jump off of a bridge, some business deals, and fuck a lot. Our relationship was my job and his reason to get out of class more often." Her realization makes her cry more, but this time she leans towards me for comfort.

"It's okay, breathe Summer," I say in an attempt to calm her. Her body shakes against mine with every quick breathe. I rub her back until her breathing slows and her tears start to concede. I grab her face in my hands and our eyes lock. "What do you want to do? No matter what it is, I'll help however I can."

I wipe her tears, and she whispers, "I want to go."

"You gotta speak up gorgeous."

"I want to go. I want to get my stuff, write a note for Malice, and leave together before he gets back," she explains. "We have about 20 minutes. Can you get my stuff while I write the note."

"Yeah, of course." I kiss her forehead and head towards the bedroom to retrieve her clothes that Malice bought to keep her. I shuffle through all the drawers until I find hers. My body freezes at the sight of the clothing. Malice had me help pick out everything in this drawer. I chose every item, because he said that I'm 'better at that kind of stuff.'

I shove my emotions down, grab a duffel bag from his closet and fill it with the items from the drawer. Next I run to the bathroom and retrieve anything and everything feminine looking.

Lastly, I run to the kitchen and prepare some food for the drive to wherever we are heading. I can't help, but look at Summer in the adjacent room. She's sat on the couch, writing the letter with tears streaming down her face. I know she's trying hard to be strong, but she truly wears her heart on her sleeve, and it's one of my favorite things about her. It pains me to know that she is in pain though. Especially since my former best friend is part of the reason why.

I finish packing the bag and walk over to Summer on the couch. I grab my shirt off the arm rest and pull it over my head as I take my seat beside her. "I'm ready whenever you are. How's it coming?" I ask while rubbing my hand across her back for comfort.

"Just needs a couple finishing touches," she responds. She leans to drop a single tear on the paper followed by kissing the corner of the letter. The lipstick that remains on her lips from last night leaves a faint red mark on the page.

She stands up and carries the letter towards the master bedroom. Through the door, I see her lay it on a pillow. I grab the bag and my keys and walk over to the door to wait for her.

Suddenly, I hear music start to fill the home. She comes out of the bedroom with tears streaming down her face. I drop everything and wrap her in a hug. Over her sobs, I hear the lyrics clearly:
Loving you was young, and wild, and free
Loving you was cool, and hot, and sweet
Loving you was sunshine, safe and sound
A steady place to let down my defenses
But loving you had consequences

I grip her tighter for a moment before letting go momentarily to sling the bag over my shoulders and put my keys into my pocket. Once I made sure I wasn't missing anything, I made sure Summer was ready to go with a simple question, "Are you sure?"

"Yes." That one word was all I needed to hear. I leaned down and picked up Summer bridle style and exited the apartment with her body pressed against my chest.

Within minutes, we reached my truck. I set Summer in the passenger seat and threw the bag in the backseat. Once everything was set, I climbed in to the driver's seat and started the truck. Summer's hand intertwined with mine and I looked over to her in the seat beside me.

"You know, even with mascara running down your face and smudged lipstick, you are still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen," I tell her with a soft smile.

She laughs lightly, "Thanks, that's the nicest thing anyone has ever told me."

"Seriously?! Well, everyone else is crazy for missing out on your stunning natural beauty."

She giggles, and I lean down to kiss her hand before asking, "Well gorgeous, where are we going?"

"Anywhere."