Dancing With The Devil

how to save a life.

It was time to leave. Time to move on.

I packed only the things I needed in a backpack before leaving America for good. I still had a whole mansion at home and a billion dollars in my name so there wasn't much that I needed to take with me. I had a flight to Sicily in a couple of hours and I had already said goodbye to all my friends. Luke was the only person I still needed to see. He was the first person I felt truly happy with and he was my lighthouse in a sea of dark. Being with him made me weak and I began to lose the real me. The me that I've worked so hard to forget these past months. Too bad the past is catching up to me and it's a race I wouldn't win.

I flung my backpack over my shoulders and took one last look at my apartment before leaving. Even if I wanted to come back to America, there's a chance I might not even be alive if a war happened to break out at home.

Luke had picked me up one last time in his Mustang which smelled of lemon and pinewood. The sun had finished its pilgrimage across the horizon and there was a new moon tonight. The streets felt darker than usual and the cold air hit differently. I stared out the window into the city. The only light came from the traffic lights and the light from the windows of other apartments.

We chose a restaurant that was quiet enough to talk but loud enough to drown out everybody else.

"I wish I didn't need to go back home but I do" I began.

"Yeah... you do" he gave in. He took a deep breath and looked away sadly.

"I was kinda hoping you'd fight me on that one," I said, a small chuckle leaving both of our mouths.

"Before I met you, I was doing whatever I could to keep Darden out of my head. I went out drinking and partying every night... That was my escape. But then I met you and the thing I realized is, I'm your escape and as long as you're here with me, you're not gonna go home and face your family. That's the only way you're gonna get through this"

"I really liked being here with you" I smiled, taking his hand in mine.

"I'd keep you here forever if I could, I really would... but that'd be for me, not for you"

"You deserve better than I can give you. I have a life that will never be able to put you first and you deserve first" I said. My voice shook and I was trying my best to hold in my tears.

"We were great together," he said, sadly behind watery eyes.

"We were," I said nodding. We spent a few hours eating and talking. I tried to enjoy every little piece of him, knowing that I probably will never see him ever again. For someone who changed my life so much, it didn't seem fair to leave so abruptly but I had a life I could never be free from and Luke deserved a girl who had nothing holding her back.

He drove me to the airport, following me to my gate. "I know as a girl from Korea with nothing but a really crappy past, dating a hot Chicago firefighter guy is kind of crazy but... considering all that, I think we made it work"

"I don't regret it for one second and I'm not sure if I'd be in one piece right now if I hadn't met you" he smiled, holding me tight by the waist.

"I know I wouldn't be"

"Then I'd say we had the most successful relationship in history"

"I love you, Luke. It feels so weird to say that when we're saying goodbye" I pulled him into the tightest hug I've ever given anyone.

"I love you too, Grey" his arms wrapped tightly around my body. His heart beating against my chest, his stubble rubbing my cheek. He planted a deep kiss on my mouth. I savored everything there was about him. I've loved very few people in this world and I don't know if Luke was just my distraction or if he was just temporary lust, but I knew for sure that I loved him.