Page 78 of Revived

Because love fucking hurts, and that pain never goes away completely.

“You deserve to be happy, Luke. You deserve to love again.” I just watch her, letting her say her final words to me. “I think you’re just angry that you’d finally felt something for another woman for the first time. You’re scared…”

“Scared? You think I’m fucking scared?”

“Yeah, I do! You were finally feeling…”

“Feeling what?”

“Alive! You were living for the first time in five years, Luke! I think a part of you died that day with Hannah…”

“Yeah, it fucking did. And now…”

“Now your heart is pumping, your mind is reeling, and your feeling everything that reminds you that you’re still living and you’re fucking scared!”

My chest rises and falls before I stand tall, clench my fists at my sides, and utter the last thing I need to. “You’re fired, Rachel. Now get out.”

Her mouth falls open in shock, her head shaking from left to right, before she finally turns and exits the garage, not saying another word before she leaves.

My entire body falls before I sit on the workout bench, hanging my head between my shoulders and finally letting the tears fall. Fuck this. I’m not made for love. I had my shot, and it was taken away from me. She doesn’t deserve a guy like me that’s this fucked up. She deserves someone who will appreciate her and love her with every fiber of his heart. And no matter how hard it is to let her go, knowing she was slowly taking over mine, there will always be a portion of my heart that will belong to my wife, and I can’t imagine letting that part go—ever.