Luc's life sucks. He is absolutely sure he's got the shittiest superpower ever and he's doomed to die a virgin after a lonely hermit life. But everything changes when he meets Fort - a perfect guy with perfect hair and a perfect life.
It's a story...
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21.1 Luc
"God, Lu! You okay?" Mark runs to me. "You scared the shit out of me." He holds the railing with both hands, bending over and breathing hard.
"Sorry," I say, though I'm certainly not. "But it was you who didn't pick up his phone and disappeared for the whole night."
"Just a couple of hours," Mark corrects, but at least he has the decency to look guilty. "What are you doing here?" We are on an old railway bridge. From here, under the thick blanket of dust and smog, the city looks like a mirage in the distance. A huge loaded barge is slowly floating beneath us.
"I needed some air," I say.
"On the bridge?" Mark is looking skeptical. I just shrug. We just stand here quietly, looking at the dark brown water. "You may hate me and hit me," Mark says, "but I got to ask. Blame it on the adrenaline and sleep deprivation. You weren't going to jump, were you?" Mark's voice is breathless and desperate. I roll my eyes and shake my head. Mark puts his hand to his chest and throws his head back. He breathes out, "Thank God."
"I'm sorry," I say, this time I mean it. "I'm sorry for everything." I look down at the dark water of Chao Phraya.
"Lu." Mark moves a little closer. I shake my head.
"No, really," I say, looking up at him. Mark looks tired and wrinkled. His hair looks like he blow-dried it with a jet engine. "Sorry for making you worry. And sorry you had to deal with all of this. And with me. And I'm really sorry about yesterday. I was so stupid."
"Hey. It's okay. I don't mind."
"Can you just fucking accept my apology?"
Mark smiles and nods. "Apology accepted."
I take a deep breath. This is far from over. "Thank you for taking care of me," I say.
Mark opens his mouth to argue again but then quickly closes it. He clears his throat and says, "You are welcome." We stand in silence for a few long moments. I bite my lips, not knowing how to say all the things I want to say, all the things I need to say. "So you remember," Mark says. And it's not even a question.
I nod. Everything is still a mess. All the memories of the past six months were shoved back into my skull, and it's a lot. I tried to organize them, put them into different boxes with labels, and open them one by one. Just like Fort's video diaries. Date by date. But my organizational skills equal the engineering skills of a sloth. In the end, I decided to leave it, hoping, everything will eventually set to its right place.
"Did you talk to Fort?" Mark asks, slowly and cautiously. I shake my head. There's still too much mess in my head, still too many questions and confusing gaps.
I bite my lip and swallow the heavy, sticky lump of fear in my throat. "I didn't want to kill myself," I say, and it sounds like a question. "Back then." I can't bring myself to look at Mark, so I stare at the city of angels in front of us instead. Mark starts to say something but cuts himself off. "I think I wanted to kill the Forgettizer and everything evil in me. I was so sick of being scared of myself. I was so sick of watching people get hurt because of me. And I... I just didn't see another way. I guess. But I hurt you anyway." I take a deep breath and shake my head. "I'm so stupid."
