Healing Hearts ✅

37. Bittersweet

Valentine's Day. It was a day I was both dreading and impatiently anticipating since me and Lucas made plans to see each other.

"Are you sure you'll be okay spending the night alone?" my mom asks for the hundredth time tonight. I roll my eyes. Both my parents felt bad for me after my break-up with Lucas. Neither of them know that I was the one who made the decision for him and neither of them know why. They both just think that for some reason losing this job was more detrimental than losing me.

"I'll be fine" I insist. It wasn't like I was actually going to be alone anyway. Lucas was going to be here in less than an hour. Of course, we weren't going to be having a normal Valentine's Day but it'll be better than being alone.

"Honey she's practically an adult" my dad chuckles. "She'll be fine" he insists and I nod in agreement as my mom lets out a deep sigh.

"Fine" she concedes. "But call us if you want us to come home early" she adds and I nod in agreement, waving them off as they walk out thr front door.

I let out a deep breath and hop off the stool, grabbing my phone and finding a text from Maya.

PEACHES: Huckleberry told me he's seeing you tonight. Make up with him already!!! I love you both and support your decisions but I miss Rucas 😕

RILEY: We're gonna talk but no promises. I love you too Peaches xx

I send off the text and head upstairs to get ready, slipping into a pair of jeans and a white button-up, long-sleeved shirt. I'm running a brush through my hair when the doorbell rings and I release a deep breath. "It's just Luke. You'll be fine" I murmur to myself before heading downstairs to greet him.

I pull the door open and my heart skips a beat. He's wearing a pair of jeans and a blue plaid shirt and he's holding a damn bouquet of roses. "Luke" I breathe out.

"Just because you aren't my girlfriend doesn't mean you don't deserve flowers" he smiles causing my heart to flutter as I take the flowers from his hand.

"They're beautiful" I compliment.

"So are you" he replies, walking inside beforr I shut thr door behind him. "How've you been?" he asks as we walk to the kitchen.

I debate lying. I think about telling him that I'm great, that not being near him is having no effect on me but I can't. It's impossible to lie to him. "I've been better" I admit. "I miss you" I add honestly and he nods in agreement.

"I miss you too" he agrees, grabbing my arm and pulling me in front of him. "We need to talk."

I nod in agreement and take his hand, leading him up to my bedroom and locking the door in case my parents decide to make a reappearance. "Do you wanna go first?" I ask, wringing my hands together as I make my way towards my bed and take a seat. He nods, grabbing my desk chair and rolling it so that it stops in front of me before he takes a seat across from me.

"They don't think my mom will make it the rest of the month" he admits and my breath hitches in my throat. I knew it was inevitable but I thought she had more time than that.

"Luke" I begin but he cuts me off.

"You leaving me isn't going to change my mother's prognosis. You leaving me is only going to leave me isolated and alone when she passes. I cannot live without you and it wasn't fair of you to make that decision for the both of us."

I take a deep breath, trying to keep my tears at bay. "I'm sorry. I-I am so sorry" I cry and he sighs, moving onto the bed beside me and wrapping his arms around me. "I was only trying to make the mature decision and letting you go felt like the most mature way to handle everything."