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“Not anymore, Lance Just face it: this was fun, but it’s time we both face the real world You’re just a kid, and I’m your stepmother What did you think would happen?”

I take one step toward her, and grabbing her ar down her face, and I brush the back ofher cry hher feel like this, and the worst fucking part is that I don’t even knohere to direct e

“Do you want to knohat I think? I think that I love you I think that I want to be right here, close to you” She shuts her eyes, and I feel her close to the breaking point Soh she’s on the verge of sobbing I pull her into ht, my hand on the back of her head We re in silence as I hear her heart steadily beating againstif I believewords “Whatever it is, it’ll be okay… I love you, that’s all that matters”

She remains in silence, but then two heartbeats afteraway her tears, she looks me in the eyes, an icy kind of deter aroundpowerless

“But I… But I don’t love you I never did,” she says, the words cutting through htens insideinto ice It can’t be true… It’s just not fucking possible She loves me, I know it

“You’re lying… Why are you saying these things?” I ask her, feeling as if soround fro

“Lying? You’re just a kid, Lance I never loved you,” she repeats, the words hittingtank and then shot ht now “You’re nice to look at, and you sure knohat you’re doing between the sheets… But that’s all there is to it What do you think I was going to do? Throay a stable life because of a fling with a kid?”

I stand there, lued to the floor as I take in her words I’, but I do not co all this? And why the fuck is it getting so hard to breathe?

“Then… why did you pretend? Why did you fake it all this time?”

“I never thought you’d actually believe all that It was just… a fling So more And now, it’s time for it to be over”

With that, she walks pastme with her shoulder I don’t turn as she leaves the kitchen, not even bothering to close the door I re what to do Everything was going so great… And now this

I think of going after her, but to what fucking end? She see e had, and I can’t force her to fucking love me

I take two steps toward the counter and uncap one of the whisky bottles lass, I pour ulp Then I pourtreathover me

What the fuck do I do noas a fucking idiot! What the fuck was I thinking? She’s right… Whatever we had between us, it was doo start She’sfather to give us his blessing? Did I expect the whole world to fucking applaud as we broke all sorts of taboos? How could I be so fucking naive?

But then I reme to e… Maybe it rong, but it was fucking bound to happen