Too Late

Too Late
Lucy’s POV

The cold air hit my face the moment I stepped outside the building, but it did nothing to cool the fire burning in my chest. My legs were moving on their own, fast, clumsy, and shaking. The sound of my shoes hitting the pavement echoed in my head, louder than the city noise, louder than my heartbeat.

Tears blurred my vision, turning the world into a watery mess of colors. People walked past me, staring, whispering. I could feel their eyes. I could hear their murmurs even if they weren’t real. That’s her. The girl from the video.

I didn’t stop.

My phone kept vibrating in my bag…Ethan, maybe, or my boss, or someone from the office…but I couldn’t bring myself to look. What was left to say? What was left of me?

I turned down a narrow street, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps. My body felt heavy, every step harder than the last. I stopped beside a parked car, and realized I had picked up the almost empty box before fleeing the scene.

I dropped the box instantly and it fell apart, scattering what little I had left…papers, my favorite pen, a half-eaten granola bar.

My knees gave out.

I sat on the curb, gripping my head, trying to breathe through the sobs tearing their way out of my chest. My throat hurt from crying, my face burned from shame, and my hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Everything I’d built since I relocated to this city, everything I’d worked for, gone.
All because of one stupid man.
One lie.

I’d been stupid enough to believe someone could actually like me. That I wasn’t just…temporary. Replaceable.

My phone buzzed again. I finally pulled it out, hands trembling. It was an unsaved number but I already knew who it was.

Officer Ethan.

Ethan: Lucy, where are you? Please answer me.
Ethan: Don’t do anything stupid.

Too late. The thought had already crossed my mind, over and over, growing louder each time.

I stood up, wiping my tears, and looked around. The street was quiet. Empty. The sky above was gray, heavy with clouds that looked ready to burst.

Rain.
Perfect.

I started walking again, this time slower, my steps steady but my thoughts anything but. Every memory replayed in my head like a cruel movie…Michael’s smile, his lies, his voice whenever he makes those reckless and useless promises, the texts, the pictures, the moment he said, You’re special, Lucy.

Special.

I wanted to laugh.
Instead, I broke into another sob, my chest aching so much I could barely breathe.

I crossed the street without looking. A car honked, brakes screeched, and someone yelled out the window. I didn’t even flinch. I just kept walking.

When I reached the bridge, I stopped.

The city lights reflected off the water below…bright, colorful, alive. Everything I wasn’t.

The wind was strong up there, brushing against my wet face, tugging at my hair. My hands gripped the railing as I looked down. The water was dark, restless. It looked like peace. Like silence. Like escape.

There’s nothing left anymore. Not like I have any family or friends to crawl back to and cry my eyes out in their arms.

I am utterly alone. So what’s the point of fighting? 

My phone buzzed again.

Ethan: Lucy, please. I’m begging you. Don’t do this.

A tear slipped down my cheek as I whispered to no one, “You’re too late.”

I took off my jacket and my bag, my fingers trembling so hard I could barely manage the sleeves. My mind was quiet now. Empty. Like it had accepted what was coming.

Then—

“Lucy!”

The voice cut through the noise of the wind, deep and urgent.

I froze. 

“Lucy, step back!” Ethan’s voice came again, closer this time.

For heaven's sake can he just disappear? Why is he everywhere?!

I turned slowly, my vision swimming. He was running toward me, his face pale, eyes wide, chest heaving. Rain had started falling, soaking through his shirt, plastering his hair to his forehead.

“Don’t come closer,” I whispered, shaking my head.

“Please,” he said, his voice breaking. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I thought I was protecting you. I was trying to fix it first before it reached you. I didn’t want you to see yourself like that.”

I laughed bitterly, tears mixing with the rain. “And look how that turned out.”

He took another step forward. “Lucy, you don’t deserve this. None of it. He used you, and now he’s hiding behind his lies. You did nothing wrong.”

“Tell that to the internet,” I said, voice trembling. “Tell that to my coworkers and boss. Tell that to the woman who sent me a dead rat. Tell that to everyone who sees me as nothing but a slut.”

“You’re not,” he said firmly, his eyes glistening. “You’re not what they say you are. Please, just come down from there. We’ll fix this. Together.”

I shook my head. “You can’t fix something that’s already dead.”

He stepped closer again, slowly, carefully, like I was a wounded animal. “Lucy…”

“Don’t,” I warned. “Don’t come any closer.”

But he did. One more step. Then another.

The wind howled. Rain poured harder. The sound of rushing water below grew louder, matching the pounding in my chest.

“Lucy,” he said again, voice barely a whisper now. “I’m not letting you go. I promise.”

“Why do you even care?! I don’t even know who you are or what you want from me,” I sobbed quietly.

“I want you to live…no…I need you to live,” he replied boldly, like he had the right to want that.

I looked at him…really looked at him…and for a split second, I wanted to believe in him.

But the pain came back just as quickly. The shame. The betrayal. The humiliation.

Tears blurred everything again.

“I just want it to stop,” I cried.

“It will stop. I’ll make sure of it. Just give me your hand, Lucy,” he pleaded, but my eyes were already closed.

And then…my fingers slipped.

The railing was wet, my hands numb from the cold.

Ethan shouted my name as I lost my grip—

And everything went black.