Hearing what she said, Neil's eyes lit up with a spark of hope. "Great. Once you're better, we'll leave right away!"
"It's not 'we'," Lucy said softly.
He blinked in confusion, clearly not following. "What do you mean?"
"Neil, I'm sorry. You're a part of my past. The moment I saw you, I couldn't stop myself from digging into what had happened back then. That's why... I need to go alone."
Neil looked at her, visibly hurt. "After everything I did for you, you're just gonna walk away like that?"
"It's not like that. We're still friends, and we always will be. I'll always be grateful to you."
"That's enough!" Neil shot to his feet, eyes red, his voice shaking.
He didn't want to hear another word.
"You know I have feelings for you, and you still want to keep me as just
