Unarmed

Chapter 28

Author's note: This one's a short chapter. I'll be sure to make 29 a bit longer!

Chantelle's POV

Dear Chantelle,

Thank you for the last 8 months that we've spent together. You taught me what it's like to love deeply and fiercely. Things did not go the way either of us expected and I am so sorry that I was the cause of that. Please know that I will miss you and that I will always love you.

-Lucas

I hold Lucas'  letter to my chest as I sink down to the floor of my living room. When I woke up this morning, it was tucked under my front door. I know that I made my choice in this relationship but I am still hurting. I keep replaying everything in my head and wonder if I acted too quickly.

I allow myself to cry it out then pull myself off the floor. Today needs to be a productive day. I am tired of all the crying I've been doing.

I head to my bedroom to tuck Lucas' letter under my pillow then open up my laptop.

I accepted Cosmo's offer two days ago to relocate to San Francisco. My first day in the office is in a week which doesn't give me a whole lot of time to find housing. Thankfully Cosmo is providing movers and a truck in a couple days but it's up to me to find a place to live. I open up Zillow and begin my search.

Five hours later, I've found a place to live. It's not the most extravagant place but it's very close to where I'll be working. It's a tiny studio in downtown San Francisco and less than a mile from work.

This is the fresh start I've been looking for, I think to myself as I close my laptop.

Lucas' POV

I'm happy to see that all my furniture has made it to my new place before I have. The last 13 hours have been absolutely exhausting and I'm ready to knock out.

I look around my new apartment and I'm pretty content. It's loft style with an industrial feel, thanks to an uncovered brick wall. There's a kitchen with new appliances and a bathroom on the first floor. Up the spiral staircase is my bedroom and another bathroom. It's pretty simple but nice at the same time. My favorite part is the large windows that overlook downtown San Francisco.

While my furniture is where it needs to be, there are several boxes just sitting in the living room. I grab a box labeled "PJs" and lug it up the stairs. Then I head back down and grab one of my suitcases packed with my toiletries. Once I've unpacked all that I need for the night, I turn on the shower and undress.

Stepping into the shower feels amazing. I feel the stress of the last week leave my muscles as the hot water pours down my body. Closing my eyes, I relax into this moment, letting every stressful feeling leave. It feels good. After about 10 minutes, I finally start to actually shower. I quickly soap up from head to toe then rinse off. I'm out of the shower 5 minutes later then throw on a pair of boxers before jumping in bed.

I grab my phone to set my alarm. While I don't start work for another week, I want to get into a routine of waking up early. Plus I need to start unpacking and grab some groceries. My phone screen lights up and the wallpaper is a picture of Chantelle and I. It's a photo of us in my bed that we took the first time she spent the night. We're both smiling from ear to ear and I can't help but smile a bit when I see it.

I look at the photo for another minute before it hits me that I should probably change the wallpaper. I take one more long look at the photo before switching my wallpaper. It's now one of Apple's generic wallpapers, a grey screen with little circles.

I sigh as I set my alarm for 6am then place my phone back on the nightstand.

This is all new territory but a part of me is hopeful for what the future will bring.