Leaving Lucas by Shannon Hart

Part 2

If you missed Part 1, you can read it here.

Not that the apartment we were at was actually still home. It was just a nearly vacant place that was formerly our home for almost four years.

“Lucas, what are you doing here? I thought you had that big dinner,” I asked, not daring to even turn around to look at him.

“I already give them my notice yesterday, so they assigned the dinner to Franco instead.”

“You gave them your notice? As in you quit?”

It felt as if my heart stopped.

“Well, yeah. We’re moving to Atlanta. I had to, right?”

As quickly as I could, I crumpled up the letter I had begun to write and tossed it out the half open window.

I turned around, praying in my head to somehow make the soon-to-happen conversation be less painful for both Lucas and me, and looked at him bravely in the eyes.

Brave on the outside that is. Inside, I was shaking like I was naked in sub zero weather.

“Lucas, I can’t let you do this,” I said.

He wasn’t even looking at me. Instead, he was scanning around the room. His eyes stopped at the two suitcases I had right beside the desk I was sitting at.

“Are you going somewhere?”

The actual conversation hadn’t even begun yet but I already had a tear or two escape from my eyes and roll down my cheek. I had no idea how I was going to actually get through the entire conversation without breaking down and crying like a toddler.

“I’m leaving for Atlanta today,” I said, wincing, terrified of Lucas's reaction.

“What do you mean? I don’t understand. I’m not packed yet. Do we need to leave so soon?” He raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding where I was going with all this.

Who could blame him? It wasn’t like I truly understood everything either.

“You don’t have to leave. I do,” I answered.

So much for hoping my prayers would be answered. That sentence alone brought on an unbelievable amount of pain for me.

“I can’t let you come with me to Atlanta.”

Instead of screaming at the top of his lungs like I thought he would – or like he always did in the past – Lucas laughed. He laughed like I told the world’s best joke ever.

“Why are you laughing?” I asked, part confused and part angry.

“I’m laughing,“ he tried to say in between his chuckles, “because… because you’re insane! Because you’re a whack job and I feel like I don’t even know you anymore!”

“Stop laughing! This isn’t funny!” I demanded. I had my arms crossed tightly across my chest and whatever pain or fear I had earlier about the whole issue had quickly turned into rage instead.

“Oh I’m sorry. You don’t think it’s funny that you demanded that I go with you and then broke up with me because I didn’t want to? You don’t think it’s funny that I realized how much I love you and how much I want to be with you so I propose to you but you don’t say yes? And come on, you have to admit, it’s hilarious that I quit my job and rearranged my life so I can move to Atlanta with you, but now you don’t want me to go with you!”

He kept using the term funny and hilarious but he wasn’t really laughing anymore. It was more of a sinister sneer or something. It was something I’ve never seen him do before.

“I don’t think it’s funny at all, Luke.”

“Are you sure? Because you seem to be taking everything so lightly.”

I shook my head. “Please don’t think like that. If anything, this is the hardest thing I’ve had to do in my entire life.”

Ideally, this would be a conversation to have while sitting down. But with all my furniture already gone, I had no choice but to lay everything down on the table – without actually having a table.

“Look, Luke, this isn’t easy for me to say but let’s just be honest with each other. You don’t really want to do this.”

“Oh, you’re a mind reader now? You can read whatever is in my head?” he replied sarcastically. “You could make a good living off of that!”

I felt my blood begin to boil, but I told myself I needed to keep calm. The only way we could get through this is if one of us kept sane, and with him being all busy throwing snide comments at me, I figured that I was the only designated sane person in the room.

“So, you’re telling me you really want to do this? You really want to leave your job, move all the way across the country with me to Atlanta and leave your friends, your family and start from zero? You truly have no doubts about doing this?”

To be continued... What do you think of Leaving Lucas so far? What do you think will happen? Share your thoughts in the comments section. Thanks!