Tangled in Thorns | A Luke Castellan Story

Chapter 12 - The End of an Era

A/N :  Last chapter before the new season comes out!!

.・゜゜・　　・゜゜・．

Luke's POV :

The lake shimmered under the fading light, and I stood at the edge, lost in thought. Days had passed since I last spoke to Rosalynne—days of awkward avoidance, of pretending like she didn't exist. It was eating away at me. I knew I had to fix it, but the weight of my own mistakes felt too heavy to shake off. Still, I had to try.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, I heard the soft crunch of footsteps behind me. My heart skipped a beat when I turned to see Rosalynne walking toward me. She looked exhausted, like she hadn't slept properly in days, but there was something different in her expression now—a softness that hadn't been there before.

"Hey," I said, my voice low, unsure how to approach this.

"Hey," she replied, her tone matching mine. She didn't sound angry, but there was still a lingering hurt in her voice.

We stood there in silence for a moment, the tension between us thick, but not as sharp as it had been before. I wanted to say something that would make everything right, but the words stuck in my throat. I didn't know where to begin.

"Rosalynne," I finally said, taking a deep breath. "I've been thinking about everything... how badly I messed up, and how much I hurt you. I hate that I made you feel like you didn't matter to me because that's not true. You matter to me more than anything, and I'm so sorry that I didn't show you that."

She looked down at the ground, arms wrapped around herself, like she was trying to shield herself from more pain. "I've been thinking too," she said softly, her voice trembling just a little. "What happened... it hurt, Luke. A lot. I felt like you didn't care. But I've also realized that maybe I wasn't fair to you either."

That surprised me. I didn't expect her to say something like that. "What do you mean?"

Rosalynne looked up at me, her eyes filled with a mix of emotions. "I didn't give you the space to figure things out. I was so wrapped up in my own feelings that I didn't stop to think about what you might have been going through. I blamed you for everything because it was easier than accepting that maybe... we both didn't handle things the right way."

I could feel my heart clench as she spoke, and I stepped a little closer to her. "You had every right to be hurt. I wasn't honest with you—or with myself. I let my fear get in the way, and I pushed you away when what I really wanted was to be close to you."

Her gaze softened, and I saw a flicker of something familiar there—something I'd missed so much. She took a small step closer, and I felt my pulse quicken. "I didn't want things to end like this, Luke," she said quietly. "The truth is... I've missed you. I miss talking to you, being with you. I don't know if things will ever go back to how they were, but... I like you, Luke. I've liked you for a long time. Even after everything, I still do."

Hearing her say those words made my heart feel like it was about to burst. I'd been so afraid that I'd lost her for good, but now... I had hope. "I like you too, Rosalynne," I admitted, feeling a weight lift off my chest as I spoke. "I always have. I was just too scared to admit it because I didn't want to mess things up between us. But I don't want to hide it anymore."

She smiled, a small, tentative smile, and it made me want to reach out to her. So I did. Slowly, carefully, I took her hand in mine. She didn't pull away. Instead, she took a step closer, and my heart raced as I realized we were actually doing this—after all the hurt and confusion, we were taking this step.

"It's going to be messy," she said with a small laugh, looking up at me. "We've already been through so much, and it's not going to be perfect."

I nodded, squeezing her hand gently. "I know. But I want to try. I want to figure this out with you."