The day we fell.

chapter 23: star-crossed.

Lucy's POV:

Tom stood before us; weariness etched into every line of his face. His return should have brought relief, but the moment he stepped through the door, anger and despair surged within me like wildfire. I could feel Jace's tension beside me, his gaze locked on what was once his father figure, his eyes lit with rage as he was awaiting an explanation. "You think you can just waltz back in here after abandoning us?" I seethed, my voice trembling with a mixture of hurt and fury. "You left, Tom. You left me and Jace to face this nightmare alone." Tom's eyes flickered with regret, but it was too little, too late. "Lucy, I- I had to deal with the side effects of the rage serum. It was consuming me, and I needed to find a way to control it. I thought I was doing what was best for all of us." I scoffed, a bitter and heartbroken laugh escaping my lips, while tears flowed from my eyes. "What was best for us? Leaving us vulnerable and unprotected? You made that decision without consulting us, without considering the consequences. How can I trust you now?" Jace's voice cut through the tense air, his anger palpable. "You're not the only one who's been struggling, Thomas. We've been fighting tooth and nail to survive; we've rescued many and... and you just... you left us behind." Tom's eyes showed no regret, but his voice was laced with remorse "I'm sorry, both of you. I never meant to hurt you. I thought I was doing what was necessary, but I see now that I was wrong."

I took a step forward, my voice steady but filled with resolve, my vision shaking due to everything I held back. "Tom, I can't do this anymore. I can't trust someone who would leave us in our darkest moments. Jace and I... deserve better. You need to leave, I'm sorry." The silence became deafening as the realisation settles in his eyes. With a hesitant sigh, Tom nodded slowly, accepting the consequences of his actions. "I understand, Lucy. If that's what you need, I'll go." and with that, with a heavy heart and tear-stained cheeks, I watched as the man I once loved turned and walked away. It was a painful goodbye, but sometimes the toughest decisions are the ones that set us free. Jace stood by my side, offering his silent support as we faced the uncertain future together, interlocking pinkies, stronger in our unity and resolute in our determination to survive. Jace gives me a look, and I flash a smile, knowing that even if the world is falling apart, I'll always have solace in them.

Tom's POV:

I once remember where I stood in Lucy and Jace's eyes. I stood as a protector, a boyfriend, a father figure. I now was unrecognisable. Regret washed over me with every passing moment, amplifying the ache in my chest. I had left them, my makeshift family, vulnerable and unprotected. In my pursuit of control over the rage serum's side effects, I had failed to consider the consequences and the emotional toll it would take on Lucy and Jace.

As I neared the base, I once called home, my anticipation of a warm welcome dwindled. The once familiar surroundings now felt foreign, distant. I braced myself for what was behind the door which loomed ahead, an ominous barrier between the life I had known and the uncertain future that awaited. I pushed open the door, my heart heavy with guilt. The room was filled with silence, the air thick with tension. All eyes turned towards me, their gazes a mix of curiosity and disappointment. I met Lucy's gaze, her once love-filled eyes now filled with a tumultuous blend of understanding and anger. The regret in my own eyes contrasted hers as I spoke, my voice laden with sorrow. "I'm sorry, Lucy, Jace. I never meant to hurt you. I thought I was doing what was necessary, but I see now that I was wrong." The weight of my words hung in the room, the silence amplifying their impact. I searched their faces, hoping to see a flicker of forgiveness, but found none. Lucy took a step forward, her voice steady but resolute. "Tom, I can't do this anymore. I can't trust someone who would leave us in our darkest moments. Jace and I... deserve better. You need to leave." Her words pierced through me and the fragments of love and hope I carried, and I nodded slowly, accepting the consequences of my actions.

And so, with a heavy heart and tears threatening to spill from my own eyes, I turned and walked away. Each step carried the weight of my mistakes, the ache of knowing that I had let them down. The journey back to the base now felt like an exodus, a lonely pilgrimage towards a future shrouded in uncertainty. I yearned for the warmth of their embrace, for their forgiveness and understanding. But sometimes, the toughest decisions are the ones that set us free, even if they come at the cost of losing those we love. As I walked, I clung to the hope that Lucy and Jace would find solace in each other, that their unity would give them the strength to face the challenges ahead. I knew those two were at a level of closeness I'd never have with Lucy, but seeing it take form in this way broke a small part of me. I thought I was there, maybe I was, but then I went and ruined it by leaving for my own sake.

The base grew smaller in the distance, and with each heavy step, I carried the weight of my mistakes, determined to learn from them and become a better person. Most of the initial pain has washed away and I don't care as much now, as I know I won't have them in my life anymore, but then again, there was always a chance of them leaving my life anyway. The once happy people I saw now had a sense of regret for letting me in this close. Lucy, the love of my life, now lost all trust and probably lost her love for me while Jace, my childhood best friend, saw me as a lesser person for ruining not only him but Lucy. 'His Lucy', Jace calls her, and I hurt that. I hurt his Lucy, even when I promised I wouldn't. The road ahead was long and treacherous, but I vowed to find a way to make amends, to prove to Lucy and Jace that I could be trusted once more.

Lucy's POV

As I watched Tom disappear into the distance, the remnants of our once unbreakable bond fading with every step he took, I felt a strange sense of peace wash over me. The pain and betrayal he left behind were still raw, the wounds still fresh, but in their place, a new strength was born. Jace squeezed my hand gently, a silent reminder that I wasn't alone in this fight. We had each other, and in this brutal, unforgiving world, that was all that mattered. The future was uncertain, shrouded in the same darkness that had swallowed so much of what we once knew. But that same darkness, that chaos, would fuel our resolve. We would survive, not because we were unscathed, but because we had been tested by fire and refused to burn. The world may continue to unravel, piece by piece, and we would be there to watch it all, together. As the wind howled through the broken landscape, I whispered into the night, feeling the chaos within me rise to meet it: "May the chaos spread..."