Charlotte ➵
It's been a year since I've done this, and it felt amazing to be doing it again tonight.
The stars were bright, the lights and muffled noise of traffic added to the emphasis of New York. I would stay like this forever if I could. Finally, everything felt like it could be normal. But I know it wasn't, because two people were gone.
"It's pretty out here, isn't it?" I say, the breeze tickling my skin, raising goosebumps. It wasn't a warm breeze, but I didn't mind it, sitting next to Luke radiated enough warmth.
Luke is clearly distracted, as he plays with my fingers lightly, nodding.
I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder. "I know it's hard for you. It's been hard for me too. But what happens, happens."
Luke bites his lip, purposely avoiding my gaze. "It's not fair." He whimpers.
I lower my head, watching the breeze lift up my skirt slightly.
"Calum never deserved to die."
"Tyler didn't either." I remind him.
"Actually, I don't know if I would say that. Yes, I'm so grateful that he broke free of Derrick's grip to save you, but he's done awful things in the past. More so to you than to me. He was the one who murdered your father. How could you forgive him?"
I bring my hand up to trace his scruff along his jawline. "Remember when you told me you had done awful things in the past too? I forgave you. Obviously, if you were still a bad person, I wouldn't have, but you changed. And I could see that. It was only fair to forgive you, because I wouldn't want someone to remember me by my past. What's done is done, you can't change anything except for yourself."
He nods, licking his lips, finally turning and pressing his lips to mine.
Luke moves slowly, his hand moving to my lower back, rubbing it slightly.
I wrap my arms around his neck, bringing him in even closer, molding our bodies together.
This kiss feels hungry, and needy. I bring my hand up to his hair, tugging it slightly.
He lets out a whimper, our tongues touching. It feels as if this is the last kiss I'll ever share with him.
Luke finally pulls away looking in my eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it go, laying us both down.
We were up on Ruby Heights's roof again, and it was probably sometime near midnight.
He closes his eyes, shaking his head. "It's not fair." He mumbled. "Calum never owed me anything. Especially not his life. I should've been the one to die that day. He had so much more potential than I had. So many more people cared and loved for him. Everyone loved Calum. He was always willing to help, always trying to cheer people up."
"I could say the same to you, Luke. Don't sell yourself short. Of course Calum deserved to live. I hate that I can't see his smile and his chubby cheeks again. But that doesn't mean that in turn, you should've died."
"No, Charlotte, you're only saying that because I happen to be the one you fell in love with. You're clearly biased. You don't understand. Calum has been a brother to me ever since we met, basically. He forgave me and stuck to me and helped me even when I left my family and joined Derrick and his gang. He knew what I was doing was wrong, but he knew the real me. He knew my real intentions, my real feelings, and even though he followed me through my horrendous past, he still managed to see the best in me. That's hard, Charlotte. Parents are usually the only ones who can see that, and even my parents gave up." He rambled.
