𝐁𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄 & 𝐂𝐋𝐘𝐃𝐄. ˡᵘᵐᵃˣ

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐗𝐈𝐈

Lucas smiled gratefully and walked down the street without looking back.

            AS SOON AS HE LEFT the place, he went to fulfill his greatest wish. He had been away from home for seven years. Why wait any longer? He had nowhere else to go. So he went to his real home.

His first wish after his release was obvious. It was to see Max. So Lucas was on his way to the women's prison in Texas.

He had called the prison ahead of time to schedule the visit so that he could arrive as quickly as possible and be directed to the visiting room. And so it was.

He couldn't control the sweat that insisted on running down his forehead. He could feel his entire body vibrating with nervousness. He could have sworn he was going to faint. As if he were at the altar and the bride was about to arrive. 

He had been hiding in the dark for so long. A darkness he hated. But now he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The light he had prayed so hard for. He had begged for forgiveness and mercy had descended upon him. He had finally found the light whose rays penetrated his skin and filled his lungs with life.

"Lucas?" A familiar voice murmured in the distance, as if asking a question whose answer was already known, but he couldn't believe it was true. This time the voice wasn't on the other end of the line or echoing in the back of his mind. It was there, it was close. Closer than ever.

Hearing the voice paralyzed him. Although his legs wanted to run to meet her, her bright blue eyes met his and time stood still.

All his life he had lived in darkness, hiding his sins. But it was in the darkness that he found his light. She was the light that lit up his life.

"Max?" He finally murmured, letting her name slip from his lips like a whisper. It really was her.

As soon as the guards finished removing her handcuffs, she ran toward him, and he did the same.

Their bodies crashed against each other in a tight embrace. Lucas lifted Max's body slightly due to the intensity of the moment. It wasn't long before their chests exploded with emotion and they burst into tears.

Time stood still. It didn't matter if the people in the room were watching them curiously, nor did it matter where they were. Nothing around them mattered, just them. They sobbed into each other's arms, releasing all the pain and longing that had been trapped inside them for all these years. Even if they weren't sure yet, they knew for sure in that moment that they were each other's home. Their aching and longing hearts beat strongly together, healing each other.

As they slowly broke the embrace, still standing in the middle of the room, Lucas stroked Max's face, wiping away the tears that soaked his soft skin.

Time had passed. Seven years had passed. Older, more mature. She was no longer a girl, but a woman.