1989 || Luke Hughes

Chapter 13: I wish you would

        The hallway of their apartment building felt suffocatingly narrow as Quince stood face-to-face with Luke, her heart pounding in her chest. It had been days since their disastrous encounter at the restaurant, and Luke's silence had been deafening. She couldn't bear the weight of his indifference any longer.

"Luke, please," Quince pleaded, her voice trembling with emotion as she reached out to touch his arm. "We need to talk."Luke's expression remained impassive, his gaze fixed on some distant point beyond her.

He made no move to acknowledge her presence, his silence a stark reminder of the chasm that had formed between them."Quince, I don't think there's anything left to say," Luke replied curtly, his voice devoid of emotion. "We both know where we stand."

Quince felt a surge of frustration well up inside her at Luke's dismissive tone. She had hoped that seeing him in person would break through the wall of silence that had enveloped them, but his indifference only fueled her determination to make him understand.

"Luke, please don't do this," Quince implored, her voice tinged with desperation. "We can't just ignore what happened. We need to talk about it, figure out where we go from here."But Luke remained unmoved, his resolve unyielding as he met Quince's pleading gaze with steely determination.

"Quince, I think it's best if we just move on," he replied evenly, his words like a dagger to her heart. "Our relationship is in the past, and it's time we both accepted that."

Quince felt her breath catch in her throat at Luke's words, the finality of his declaration sending a wave of devastation crashing over her. She had known that their relationship was hanging by a thread, but hearing Luke say the words aloud made it all too real.

"Luke, please," Quince whispered, her voice choked with emotion as tears welled up in her eyes. "I know things haven't been easy between us lately, but I still care about you. I don't want to lose you."

But Luke remained unmoved, his expression unreadable as he stared at her with cold detachment. "Quince, it's over," he replied firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. "We both need to move on with our lives."

Quince felt as if the air had been knocked out of her lungs, her chest tightening with the weight of Luke's words. She had hoped against hope that they could find a way to salvage their relationship, but now, faced with the harsh reality of Luke's indifference, she knew that their love had reached its breaking point.

"Luke, I..." Quince trailed off, her voice faltering as she struggled to find the words to express the turmoil raging inside her. "I guess this is goodbye then."

Luke's gaze softened slightly at the resignation in Quince's voice, a flicker of regret crossing his features. "Quince, I'm sorry," he murmured, his tone tinged with genuine remorse. "I never meant to hurt you."

But Quince shook her head, her heart heavy with sorrow as she met Luke's gaze for the last time. "I know," she replied softly, her voice barely above a whisper. "But sometimes, love just isn't enough."

With one final, lingering glance, Quince turned away from Luke, her footsteps echoing down the hallway as she walked away from the shattered remains of their relationship. And as the door to her apartment closed behind her, she couldn't help but wonder if some wounds were destined to remain open, forever haunting her with the ghost of what could have been.