Chapter 139: Chapter 139

Liam didn't know how he got home.

One moment, he was watching Logan disappear into the distance with a smile on his face as he answered Chase's call. The next, he was standing in front of his apartment door, his keys trembling slightly in his hand.

Throughout the drive home, his mind hadn't been on the road. Every thought kept drifting back to Logan... his smile, his gentle rejection, and the way he'd smiled the moment Chase called. It was a miracle he had made it home safely.

Taking a slow breath, Liam unlocked the door and stepped inside.

Silence greeted him.

The apartment had never felt this empty before.

He tossed his keys onto the coffee table. The metallic clang echoed through the quiet room before everything fell silent once again.

He stood there for a long moment, staring blankly ahead.

His mind refused to move on.

Instead, it replayed every single moment he'd spent with Logan today.

The movie.

The walk through the park.

The snacks.

The way Logan had smiled after opening the bag and realizing he still remembered all of his favorite treats from high school.

"I honestly don't know what to say right now."

"I can't even believe you still remember these things."

Liam closed his eyes.

That smile...

It was beautiful.

It made every year he'd spent loving Logan seem worth it.

A small smile found its way onto his lips, but it lasted only a few seconds.

His expression slowly crumbled as another memory forced its way into his thoughts.

"Thank you for caring about me for all these years..."

"I'm sorry I can't return your feelings."

His chest tightened.

Liam slowly went to sit down on the couch before burying his face in his hands.

"So this is what rejection feels like..."

He laughed softly to himself.

The laugh sounded empty.

He'd prepared himself for Logan to reject him. He'd repeated it in his head countless times before confessing.

He has a boyfriend.

He's happy.

Don't expect anything.

He'd known the answer before asking the question.

So why did it hurt this much?

Why did it feel like someone had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart until he could barely breathe?

He leaned back against the couch and stared at the ceiling.

"If only..." He whispered.

"If only I'd told you back then..."

Maybe things would've been different.

Maybe Chase would've never existed in Logan's life.

Maybe...

A bitter smile crossed his lips.

"Too late."

His eyes wandered toward the bookshelf in the corner of the room.

After a moment's hesitation, he stood up and walked over to it.

On the very top shelf sat an old storage box he'd brought back with him after returning from overseas.

He hadn't opened it in years.

Slowly, he lifted the lid.

Inside were little pieces of the past.

Old notebooks.

A school festival wristband.

A few certificates.

Some faded photographs.

His fingers stopped on one picture.

It was a candid photo from high school.

Logan was laughing at something outside the frame, sunlight falling across his face.

He looked so carefree.

So beautiful.

Liam gently brushed his thumb over the picture.

"You haven't changed at all..."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"You still smile the same way."

Another memory surfaced.

A younger Logan standing in front of him after he'd been cornered by bullies.

"You okay?"

Two simple words.

Two words that had changed everything.

No one had ever stood up for Liam before.

No one had ever cared enough to ask if he was alright.

Except Logan.

From that day onward...

Liam's world had quietly begun revolving around one person.

He smiled sadly.

"You were my first friend..."

"My first love..."

"And the only person I've ever loved."

A tear rolled down his cheek before landing on the photograph.

He quickly wiped it away.

"I really tried to move on."

"I really did."

"When I left the country, I thought maybe... just maybe... I'd forget you."

He laughed quietly.

"What a joke."

Not a single day had passed without him thinking about Logan.

Not one.

His phone suddenly vibrated on the table, breaking the silence.

Liam placed the photograph down before going to pick it up.

It was a message from one of his friends.

"Hey, man. We're all heading to Eclipse tonight. You coming?''

Liam stared at the screen.

Normally, he would've ignored it.

Tonight...

Being alone felt worse.

After a few seconds, he typed a short reply.

''I'll be there.''

The club was louder than Liam remembered.

Music blasted from every corner while colorful lights danced across the crowd.

People laughed.

Couples danced.

Friends raised glasses together.

Yet somehow...

Liam felt more alone than he had inside his apartment.

He sat quietly at the bar, swirling the drink in his hand.

One glass became two.

Then three.

One of his friends eventually noticed how unusually quiet he was.

"You've been staring into space all night." His friend chuckled. "Who broke your heart?"

Liam forced a smile. "No one."

"Oh please." His friend laughed. "I've known you long enough to recognize that face."

Another friend leaned over.

"Forget whoever it is."

"There are plenty of people out there."

Liam looked down at the amber liquid in his glass.

Plenty?

He almost laughed.

There had never been plenty.

There had only ever been Logan.

No one else had ever made his heart race.

No one else's smile had ever stayed in his mind for years.

No one else mattered.

After a while, Liam quietly excused himself.

The noise inside had become unbearable.

He stepped outside the club and inhaled the cool night air.

For the first time all evening...

Everything was quiet.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

Almost without thinking, he opened Logan's Instagram profile.

Liam scrolled through the pictures until one finally made his thumb stop.

A recent picture of Logan and Chase.

The happiness on Logan's face was impossible to miss.

Liam stared at it for what felt like forever.

His chest tightened again.

"Why him?"

He whispered the words into the empty night.

"What does he have..."

"...that I don't?"

His fingers unconsciously tightened around the phone.

He wanted to hate Chase.

He really did.

But deep down...

He hated himself even more.

He'd been too afraid.

Too weak.

Too late.

He slowly closed his eyes.

"I won't interfere."

He whispered the words like he was trying to convince himself.

"If you're happy..."

"...then I should be happy too."

Silence answered him.

A few seconds passed.

Then another thought quietly crept into his mind.

One he immediately tried to push away.

But... what if Chase wasn't there?

Liam's eyes snapped open.

His breathing hitched.

"No..." He shook his head. "I shouldn't think like that."

He wasn't that kind of person.

He loved Logan.

He would never hurt him.

Never.

He repeated those words to himself several times.

Yet...

The tiny seed had already been planted.

He looked back down at Logan's smiling picture one last time before locking his phone.

His gaze drifted toward the dark sky overhead.

"I've loved you for too long to give up now."

His voice was calm.

Almost frighteningly calm.

"I don't know what I'll do..."

"But I can't lose you."

"I just can't."