Lucas Grey: kicking a pebble Hey, haven't seen you in ages, huh? Miss me?
Oh, hey! Yeah, I did wonder what happened to you.
Well, you know, life happened. Just got caught up in its own twisted mess. But hey, I'm here now, ready to catch up. So, what's new with you?
Nothing much. Still breathing, still doing art.
smirks Well, that's great to hear, sis. Art, huh? You always had a knack for it.
Yeah. I’m happy you think so.
leans in closer, voice lowering Actually, there's something I've been meaning to tell you. It's about what happened back then, when we were kids.
takes a deep breath Look, I know it was a shitty thing to do, but I need to apologize for what I did. I can't keep it inside anymore.
What are you talking about, Lucas?
reaches into his pocket, pulls out a crumpled piece of paper I stole this from your room when we were kids. I know it doesn't excuse what I did, but...
eyes widen You...you took my painting?
tears well up in his eyes I know, I know. It was a fucked-up thing to do. But... I kept it all these years because...
sniffs, wipes away tears Because I wanted to make things right. I wanted to give it back and apologize, but I was too damn proud. I guess...
voice softens You guess what, Lucas?
takes a deep breath I guess I was scared of losing you. I knew what I did was wrong, and I was afraid that you'd never forgive me.
pulls Avikodi into a tight hug Fuck, it feels good to finally let this go. I'm sorry, sis. I really am. Can we start over?
How about a fresh start in Michigan?
grins Hell yeah, let's do it! Michigan sounds perfect. We can finally escape this damn town and make a new life for ourselves.
Sounds good. There’s this lake house in Michigan that looks amazing.
claps his hands excitedly A lake house in Michigan? That sounds incredible!
Are you sure? You don’t have anything holding you back?
Nah, nothing's holding me back. I'm ready for a change. Let's do this! starts packing his belongings
picks up the painting Here’s something to remember us by.
pauses, looking at the painting You know, that painting... it always reminded me of us. How we used to be so close before everything went downhill.
I know what you mean. It’s the last painting I did before we lost each other.
puts his hand on his heart Damn, it's like an emotional map, you know? It shows where we were, where we've been, and where we're going.
puts the painting carefully into a protective frame I'll hang this in our new place, as a reminder of how far we've come and how much further we still have to go.