ATPnovel Chapter 38 - 38: lucian
Chapter 38 - 38: lucian
Jimmy took a swig of his drink, his eyes slightly glassy from the alcohol. "Hey Lucian, I'm actually glad you finally left that Avey girl behind," he slurred, tipping his glass in Lucian's direction. His words were heavy with relief, but also a hint of drunken wisdom.
Lucian, already deep into the haze of alcohol, let out a dry laugh. "Hickup… Yeah, I think I'm finally waking up from that… nightmare," he muttered, his voice slurring. He was swirling the drink in his hand, eyes slightly unfocused. He had been nursing bottle after bottle since arriving at the Black Butterfly, a familiar spot for him and his friends to wallow in their troubles.
After storming out of his house earlier, he had immediately gone to a mobile shop, buying a new phone and SIM card just one more way to cut ties. "No more interruptions," Lucian thought at the time, feeling oddly satisfied. Yet the weight of his emotions hadn't lifted. If anything, they had settled deeper, and now he sat, drowning in his sorrows, letting the alcohol numb everything.
Jimmy and Garry, his closest friends from both lives, had found him here. Even though it was early in the day, the three of them were already several drinks deep, not caring about the time or the stares from other customers.
"Let it all out, man," Garry had said, his voice low with concern. He and Jimmy had tried to stop Lucian after his third bottle, but once they saw how raw his sadness was, they let him keep going. They knew Lucian needed this. He needed to vent, to grieve, to finally unload all the hurt he'd been carrying for so long.
The two of them exchanged glances, silently agreeing that if this was how Lucian was going to heal, then so be it.
"I wasted so much time," Lucian mumbled, barely audible. "Chasing after someone who never wanted me. I was… I was so blind. He stared into the amber liquid in his glass like it held the answers he was
Avey, feeling the tension in the air, knew that both Garry and Jimmy hated her presence. She could see the rage in their eyes, the way their bodies tensed at her approach. But she didn't care. None of that mattered now. All she could focus on was Lucian, who was sitting there, still oblivious to her presence. Her eyes filled with tears as she took in the sight of him.
The once lively and passionate Lucian—her Lucian—was now slumped over, his clothes slightly disheveled, his body reeking of alcohol. His fingers gripped a glass loosely, as if it were the only thing tethering him to reality.
Her gaze dropped to the table, and the sight made her heart freeze. Five bottles—empty. "Did he drink all of that?" Avey felt her stomach churn. Her hand instinctively reached out toward him, trembling as she hesitated just behind his back. "What have I done to you?" Her thoughts screamed, guilt ripping through her like a violent storm.
Her hand hovered, barely an inch away from Lucian's shoulder, but she couldn't bring herself to touch him. She felt so far away from him now, even though she was right there. How could she ever bridge the distance she had created? How could she ever undo all the wrongs?
She tried to speak, but her voice caught in her throat. The scent of alcohol mixed with the sadness radiating off of him was suffocating. "Lucian..." she whispered under her breath, but it barely escaped her lips.
Lucian, in his drunken haze, was completely unaware of her presence. He was mumbling softly, barely able to hold himself up. "I'm done... I'm done chasing after dreams that don't want me." His voice was thick with pain, and it sent a chill down Avey's spine.
"Jimmy, Garry, I'm done, man," he slurred, lifting his glass shakily before setting it down with a thud. "No more of this... I'm not doing this anymore."
Avey's heart shattered hearing those words. "He's given up," she thought.it was real what aunt olivia said her knees felt week almost about to fell down