Photograph | l.h.

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

Luke

"Because the me that loves you," she gulped. "Is the me that remembers you."

With each word she spoke, it seemed as if an eternity had passed. His eyes blinked with each word she said, and although he heard the words she was speaking, for some reason his brain was not processing them. He understood what she was saying, however a part of him did not.

"Lillian," he choked, tears threatening to spill from his already bloodshot eyes.

"I'm sorry Luke," she cried. "I tried so hard, so god damn hard to force myself -"

"Stop," Luke breathed, his voice just below a whisper. "I've heard enough."

Throwing his head in his hands, Luke silently cried to himself. His chest heaved up and down, as his tears poured into his hands. He felt a head lean on his shoulder, which only made him want to cry more. Slowly bringing his hands away from his face, Luke cringed. His hands were soaked from tears, while his cheeks were as well.

"I'm so sorry." Lillian sobbed, her voice cracking with each word that escaped her mouth.

"You lost your memory," Luke spoke after a few moments of silence. "You don't remember me, and that isn't your fault."

"But I want to remember you," Lillian whispered, her words barely audible. She stared into Luke's soul with broken eyes, and in that moment, he wanted nothing more than to grab her face and kiss her. However, he knew that was not realistic; and that it would not fix anything. In fact, it may have just made their situation worse.

"Fuck," Luke mumbled, his lips quivering.

"I don't know what you want me to say,"

"Just - Just don't say anything. It's just going to make this worse." he snapped, although he did not mean to.

Lillian's facial expression changed. Her lips turned into a frown, while her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. Overall, she looked as if she was hurt, and that pained Luke. He did not want her to be hurt, even though a part of him felt as if she should be the one hurting, considering that within the past thirty minutes, she had hurt him.

"You don't have to be mean about it," she stammered, confusion clear within her choice of words.

"I'm sorry. Fuck, I didn't mean to snap." Luke rambled, feeling his cheeks heat up.

Lillian sat back against the brick wall, relaxing her shoulders. Luke noticed that she had been tensed up, however he did not say anything about it. He watched her every move, from her slowly sitting back, to her carefully tilting her head up so she could look at the sky. He paid attention to each and every way Lillian moved her body, mesmerized with the way she portrayed herself. He was undoubtedly in love with Lillian Collier, and although it was clear that they had just broken up, Luke knew that he was going to love her for a long time; if not forever.

Ten minutes had passed. Lillian stared up at the sky, her eyes not once leaving the moving clouds. Luke's eyes stayed on her the entire time, and despite the fact that it may have seemed creepy, he did not care. Luke felt as if he had a right to stare. Each time his eyes flickered from each part of her body, his mind was flooded with memories.

He stared at her hair, which reminded him of the time that he was taking photos of her outside. It was a windy night, and her hair was flying all over the place. This made it difficult to take any photos, however Luke did not mind. He thought she looked beautiful, even though it was hard to see her face due to her hair being in the way. He took many photos that night.