LUCIFER » SIMON MINTER

Chapter 43

I know some of you like to listen to music as you read, so for this chapter I recommend One More Light by Linkin Park.

We entered the lift together in silence, walking hand in hand. The small space was exactly like it was before: cramped, almost claustrophobic, and there was a giant mirror I often used to do my makeup in the morning. Simon fiddled with the keys that were given back to him. They had marks on them that weren't there before, and they didn't dangle against any of Simon's keyrings that he usually had hanging onto it. It was a strange sensation to be here after almost a year. It didn't feel like home anymore, although a couple of months ago, it was.

But over that time I realised a home doesn't need four walls and a roof. It doesn't consist of a room you can sleep in every night. It's the feeling you get when you walk into his arms and feel whole. Home is a pair of blue eyes and bleached blonde hair. That's home.

Without knowing it, I creeped closer to him as I stared at the two of us in the mirror. We looked foreign. We looked older. I smiled and wrapped both my arms around his waist and pressed my head against his chest.

'Well, here we are... again.' Simon giggled as we finally got to our floor. He fiddled with the key some more and as he unlocked the door, I could see his hands shaking.

Walking into our flat made every memory race back into my thoughts; the countless times he'd greet me at the door when I came home from uni, but also the time I ran out through here and left. That was the last time I was here.

The flat didn't smell like it used to. The light scent of cooked pasta still clung to the walls in the kitchen, from whoever lived here before.

There was no furniture left. No real proof that people lived here other than the pasta thing. I wonder how they made the apartment look, and if it was very different to how we decorated it.

Simon's grip on my hand tightened. Together, we walked into the living room. I closed my eyes for a second and I could picture exactly how our apartment was. The couch in the corner that was always covered in cushions and blankets, the dining table next to the windows that led out to the balcony, the coffee table that had messy empty plates scattered across it... There were still scars in the wall from where we hung up our TV.

Before I got too carried away by all the memories, I turned to face Simon. 'We're just here to see if anything is damaged and then we'll leave, okay?' I looked up into his eyes, but I could already tell it was too late.

He sniffed and nodded. Then he let go of my hand and I instantly felt cold and vulnerable. I watched as he spun around and walked into the middle of the empty living room, and sat down on the floor cross-legged. A winter flower. Perhaps a snowdrop.

'You know, when I got back home, I first thought maybe it was because of my weight.' He murmured, letting fresh warm tears slide down his cheeks peacefully.

I sat down next to him and rest my head on his shoulder. 'What do you mean?' My heart started beating at the slight thought of him being insecure, especially because of something I did.

'Like, I thought maybe you didn't like me any more because of my fat body.'

I leaned away and stared at him, horrified. I let my jaw hang open, not knowing what to say.

'I'm sorry,' His voice was barely a whisper and he wiped his tears away.

'Are you serious? And I–I've been so oblivious all this time?' I asked.

I felt so guilty and ashamed. Whenever I was having a breakdown, Simon would know exactly how to help me and make me feel better again. He'd know exactly what to say, what to ask, hell, he even knew how to manage my panic attacks. And here I was, sitting in silence, shocked.

Then I thought of something. A poem, more precisely, that I had read at school recently. I had to base a series of photographs on it.

'Well, as Rupi Kaur said in her Milk and Honey book, 'if you were born with the weakness to fall, you were born with the strength to rise.'' He looked up at me as I recited one of my favourite poems in the book.

He blinked once, and before he could blink again, I pulled out my phone and started playing some music. I stood up and held out both my hands for him so I could pull him up to stand again, just like it says in the poem. 'Dance with me. This is your favourite Linkin Park song, isn't it?' I asked him with a knowing smile.

And so I pulled him back up to his feet, and we danced like maniacs to his favourite songs. I guess this is the romantic part of the story where the couple slow dances to 'their song' and they may share a few kisses in the moment.

We were bouncing around in the light that was shining through the windows, stomping our feet and getting our hair messy as we screamed the lyrics out. That's a better version of the love story, if you ask me.

–

'You know what's strange?' Simon asked as he drove me back home.

'You? Me? Both of us?' I asked and we both laughed.

'No, seriously. You know why the people in our apartment moved out?' He added. I was surprised the people even told him why. I thought usually people just told their landlords they were leaving, no backstory, no nothing?

'No?'

'They were a couple. Emphasis on the were.' He explained. I raised my eyebrows in shock.

'Seems like that apartment just brings bad luck.' I joked. Then my phone vibrated multiple times, and it was only a matter of seconds before the loud screech of an old phone – which was my ringtone – sounded throughout the car. 'Hello?'

'Lu! How are you?' An excited Will was on the other side.

'I'm great,' I giggled.

'Anyways, I heard yours and Simon's apartment was back on the market?' He asked.

'That would be correct.' I wondered where he heard it from, but I didn't ask.

'Well, Gee and I are interested.'

'Actually, we were planning on just–' But I was cut off when Simon threw me a harsh glance. He raised an eyebrow up at me, then we both grinned at each other. 'We'll negotiate the price later.' I told Will.

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Make sure you read the next chapter because things are about to get juicy again 😏

Also an update on how this story will continue: up until chapter 54 will pretty much be the same as before but I'm adding a couple of things, and from then onwards I will be writing completely new Lucifer chapters to hopefully make the story a bit more interesting :) a brand new character will be added too. In the meantime, pls tell me if you find any spelling mistakes in these chapters

Mel xx