“Son—“
"She ended it," he said. “And she was right to. She deserves better than what I was giving her."
His father cleared his throat. “You're being too hard on yourself?—"
"Am I?" Luke stood, chair scraping against the floor.
"I don't want it to be over," he said. The admission felt like ripping something open. "I want her back. I want to fix it. I want to be better than the man who treated her like something to be ashamed of.”
His mother's face had gone pale. "Luke, think about what you're saying?—"
He grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair. "I've been thinking about nothing else since I got here.”
"If you pursue this," his father said carefully, "people will talk."
"Let them."
"Your reputation?—"
"Fuck my reputation," Luke said.
His mother gasped.
"Grace Hart," he continued, voice steadier now, "is kind. And smart. And braver than I've ever been. She built a life in this town despite everyone treating her like she's toxic.”
He met his father's gaze. Then his mother's.
"And I had her," he said. "I had her and I lost her. Because I was a coward."
His parents were looking at him like he was crazy.
“I have to go," Luke said.
He didn't wait for a response.
He walked out of his parents' house, out into the cool night air, and stood on the porch for a long moment, breathing hard.
His hands were shaking.
But something in his chest felt lighter.
He didn't know if Grace would forgive him.
He didn't know if he could fix what he'd broken.
But he knew that he had to try.
Because a life where he got to keep his reputation but lost her?
What would be the point of that?
Luke turnedonto his street out of habit, but then kept going, jaw tight, hands steady on the wheel like he could hold himself together by force alone.
He drove to Maple Street instead.
Not to knock on her door—he had no right to that anymore. Just to... see. To know she was safe.
Even if she'd never know he'd checked.
