The Psychic Within

Chapter 28: Chance

My shoulders slumped under the weight of my guilt as I crept out in the main room.

Luc was busy at the stove, humming happily to himself. He had no idea that moments before we had made love—could I call it that anymore?—I had been thinking of leaving him. Afterwards, I had lingered in the shower, attempting to let the soothing warm water unwind the knots in my head. 

It hadn't worked.

I had never been in this position before. Before Luc, I had only ever dated Rick and that breakup hadn't exactly been normal, scorched furniture aside.

But it all came down to one thing...

Do I still want to be with Luc?

There was no clear answer to that. I watched his back as he worked, the lines of his strong shoulders visible underneath the simple white tank. I tried to picture the scene in my head: my things packed, us standing together in this empty room, looking into his sad eyes. I don't think we're right for each other...

A sharp pain that shot through me, driving right between my ribs and making me gasp. My eyes welled with a sudden onslaught of tears. The thought of leaving him was too much—I still loved him.

But sometimes loving someone wasn't enough.

I blinked my tears away. A relationship was more than just love. You had to invest time, effort, care... Which was something Luc hadn't been doing.

Except for today.

He looked up, noticing me lurking at the door.

"Hello again," he said, a bright smile already on his face. "You had a long shower."

"Yeah," was all I said, quickly blinking my tears away. I didn't want him asking questions. "I got lost in my thoughts."

Luc nodded knowingly. He knew my habit of taking long showers when I needed to think.

"Hopefully nothing too terrible," he said. "Anyway, I'm glad you're out. I was starting to get worried that breakfast would get cold." He stepped aside to reveal a plate stacked with freshly made French toast. Two more slices were sizzling in the pan.

My mouth began to water shamelessly.

"Why don't you take a seat?" Luc said, nodding to our little kitchen table that was tucked in the corner.

My gaze followed. To my surprise, the table was fully set. Not just plates and forks, but placemats—when had we gotten placemats?—and patterned napkins, a fresh pot of coffee, and even a small bouquet of flowers arranged in a vase.

I headed over, somewhat stunned. When I came to the edge of the table, I noticed something else. Next to one of the settings was a glossy white box. It was the phone that Rick had given me yesterday. And sitting on top of it was a brand new SIM card.

I picked up the SIM card. "What's this?" I asked, turning back to Luc.

Luc was shovelling the last pieces of toast onto the plate, so it took him a moment to look up. When he did and his eyes settled on what was in my hand, his smile faltered. He brought the plate over, placed it on the table then stood before me.

"It's an apology."

"What do you mean?"

His gaze dropped to the floor. "I'm sorry how I reacted yesterday after Rick came by. I was being a..." he took a deep breath, "...real dick."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I wasn't going to put it that way..."

He smirked. "Well, it's accurate. And it made me realize something."