This is a serious problem. Once I start writing, I just want to write more. I think I've been bitten by the fanfic bug ;)
Disclaimer: This story is mine. Characters aren't.
Notes: The lyrics contained in this chapter are from the song "Always" by Saliva and "Chocolate" by Snow Patrol.
Chapter 3 - Run
Luka wandered aimlessly down the street, his hands in his pockets. Pain gripped his heart with every step as he thought of what he had lost, what he had gained, and what he had lost again…
Danijela. Marko. Jasna. His life and his love. Taken from him without reason, dooming him to a lifetime of nightmares and an inability to open up to anyone.
He missed them so much it hurt. But he loved Sam with all his heart. And now… everything had changed. He had hurt the one person he loved the most and she had hurt him right back.
I hear…
a voice say don't be so blind…
it's telling me all these things…
that you would possibly hide…
am I…
your one and only desire…
am I the reason you cry…
I left my head around your heart…
why would you tear my world apart…
Luka did not know where on earth to go. Certainly not back to his apartment. Abby's? He chuckled self-deprecatingly. He had left that nightmare behind him long ago. Hop on a plane back to Gillian? Yeah, that would go spectacularly well, he thought morosely. I'm back to being alone.
Stricken. Empty. Destroyed.
Spotting a familiar bar up ahead, Luka began to walk towards it. His day would be spent in misery, clutching onto a drink here, his hope extinguished. Back to the way it was before.
It was his turn to run.
Sam climbed slowly into the car, having spent the remainder of the day watching tearjerker films like Titanic, Gone With The Wind, Pay It Forward, and Moulin Rouge. The apartment was now littered with tissues. Masochist, she berated herself glumly.
Turning the key in the ignition and pulling out of the carpark, Sam sped out onto the highway to pick up Alex from school.
She knew Luka would not come back that night, if he did come back at all. She had hurt him terribly and now he was doing what she normally did best – running. Guess he's learning from the master, she thought ruefully. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
As she drove, she thought about what he had said to her that morning. As much as she hated to admit it, she could see his point. An image of Steve flashed across her mind, taunting her. I was never happy with Steve, she realized. And when he left Alex and me, I blamed myself. My whole life I've let him manipulate me, stop me from truly being happy. And it took Luka to make me see it. And now he's gone. Hell, I couldn't even tell him I loved him, I was that pessimistic.
Way to go, Taggart, she thought to herself as she pulled into Alex's school. You accused Luka of not opening up to you, but you… you're afraid to let him love you. Killing the engine, she sat in silence, wondering how things went so catastrophically wrong.
The school bell began to peal moments later, jerking her out of her reverie. She watched as clusters of excited students began to stream down the front steps of the school building, chattering animatedly about their plans for the weekend. Sam spotted Alex's familiar sandy blonde head in the crowd, hunched over in feverish discussion with his friend Nathan. Spotting his mother, he said a hurried goodbye and darted over to the car.
"Hi, Mom!" he said, jumping in and carelessly throwing his bag into the back seat.
"Careful, buddy," Sam said reflexively, her heart not really in it. She started the engine once again and began to reverse.
"Is Luka at home?" Alex asked.
"I thought you weren't talking to him," Sam pointed out quickly, trying to avoid telling her son about what had happened that morning.
Alex sighed softly. "I know. But I thought a lot about it today. What you said. About how you and Luka and me are a team?" He smiled at her. "I get it now. Luka did what was best for me. I just miss Dad a lot, that's all. Besides, I can't play Halo on Luka's Xbox if I'm not talking to him, right?"
Sam forced a laugh, trying to keep up the façade. "I guess not," she smiled.
"So, he's at home?" Alex asked impatiently.
Sam looked at her son. The last thing she wanted in the whole world was to hurt him. He had been through enough already. Now was not the time.
"He got called into work," she lied, her heart breaking. "There was a big road accident. He should be home… later."
"Cool," Alex grinned, turning to the window and watching the passing traffic.
What have I become?
Truth is nothing yet
A simple mistake starts the hardest time
I promise I'll do anything you ask this time…