Aftermath

When Quince finally stepped through the front doors of his house, he was thankful that his mom was at work. He threw the keys to Princess on the round dinner table in the kitchen as he slid into the hardwood chair. Quince dragged his palms down his face, rubbing his eyes and glancing up at the clock above the stove. It was just past midnight, and his clothes and his skin still had the dryness of the saltwater.

It's really over, isn't it? He thought to himself. The tears had been threatening behind his eyes to pour over since he had that one final look at Lily as the separation ritual was being done. She'd been floating just across from him, the gorgeous, chaotic girl he loved, with her eyes sparkling as she watched him get escorted to the surface.

He slammed his fist down on the table hopelessly, finally letting the tears overflow from his eyes. There was nobody around, no immediate person to put on a front for, or anything. Shit, it hurt. The fact that Lily didn't want him there, that he would have sacrificed everything for her in that moment, but it didn't matter. His actions and his feelings and his words couldn't change her mind. And it wasn't even that it wasn't reciprocated, or maybe it really wasn't, but that damn magical bond gave him so much insight to Lily. He really thought that she was beginning to feel the connection and love him, too.

Lily Sanderson spent nearly four years in Seaview, and now it would never be the same without her.

Quince let himself cry at the table in the dark kitchen. The refrigerator would whirr every now and then, or he would hear a car rolling on down the street, but he was alone with his feelings and his tears. For a while, there, he really thought this might not all end in heartbreak. He had hoped that they could find a way to make it work, whether it was keeping the bond and Quince truly moving his life underwater or some other magical loophole. But now his only princess was his motorcycle. And not even a salty, lukewarm bath could heal his feelings.

The weekend dragged on for Quince. He barely made it to his shifts at the lumberyard. Not even because he overslept, but just because emotionally, he didn't want to do anything. When he saw his mom, he felt guilt for being so aloof and disappearing so frequently. She knew so little about him and Lily, he had only said that the two of them had "something" going on. He wasn't the type to really open up to her, but his mother wasn't dumb. She knew that Quince had been crushing on her for years, but she only briefly mentioned her concern about his feelings. She didn't want him to get hurt.

But now, they were back to barely ever seeing each other since they each had work at opposite hours of the day. She would leave him notes in the kitchen, and he would take the trash out. That was their routine.

On Monday morning, when it was time to return to school, Quince was still barely functioning. He was already dressed and running on the late side by the time he stepped into the garage to get on Princess, and as he was pulling her out of the garage, past his mother's car, he noticed two newspapers on their side of the lawn. Habit told him to pick it up and bring it next door, return to Ms. Hale as he had always done. But Lily wouldn't be there, he couldn't tease her or dream of holding her. Lily was gone.

As much as it hurt, Quince still longed for the familiarity of it all. He propped his bike up with the kickstand and then walked across the grass, up the stairs and then he brought his knuckles up to the front door. He heard some noises from inside before Ms. Hale opened the door, looking up slightly at him with a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Quince," she spoke quietly, as if it were a pleasant surprise to see him again.

"Good morning," he said, forcing a small smile on his face. He held out the bundled newspaper plastic, feeling like an idiot for doing this. It'd been so long since Ms. Hale had a house without a particular teenager living in it. He knew there had been a time where she was just a neighbor who did nice things for him and his mom, but he didn't really remember what that was like. "Uh, found this on our lawn. I...I thought I'd bring it over for you."

"Thank you," she said, letting go of the door to take it from him. She looked at him and studied his face. "I'm sorry, Quince, for the way that things turned out between you two."

Quince shrugged in his leather jacket, reaching one hand up to scratch the back of his neck. He hadn't come over here for sympathy, but, then again, maybe it was still nice to hear. "Yeah, it's...it is what it is."

"For what it's worth," she said, holding the paper in both hands as she stood there. "She came back over the weekend to say goodbye, and she's torn up about it."

Quince's lips pressed into a flat line, wondering to himself how that was supposed to help. He was torn up about it, too, but just because she went through with the tough decision didn't make him feel any better. She still did it, and meant it. "Thanks," he replied, mostly because he didn't know what else to say at the moment. He gave a small smile to signify his departure, gesturing back toward his motorcycle. "I better get going to school."

"Of course, I need to get to the studio," she answered, nodding. "Good luck, Quince."

He nodded and turned to walk down the front steps, jamming his hands into his back pockets. She's torn up about it, he thought to himself. Even if it hurt, even if Lily regretted it now (something that he still kind of doubted), their bond was broken. And her life was underwater, she didn't want him there. He wasn't going to be visiting Thalassinia ever again.