When Love Breaks by jack

Gratitude and guilt swirled within me, keeping any sharp retorts at bay. I forced a smile, "No worries, it hardly hurts."

He withdrew his hand, letting out a silent sigh before saying, "You should head back home. I just wanted to see if you were alright. Now that I know you are, I can rest easy."

"Alright."

The chill made me sniffle as I waved goodbye to him and headed towards my doorstep.

Thinking back to his asking about the place, I turned around, "Oh, and Mark, I'll make sure to move out as soon as I can..."

Originally, I thought ours was merely a friendship.

But knowing what I know now, I preferred it stayed that way, with no extra complications.

"No need!" Mark cut me off. After a brief struggle, he seemingly conceded, "Just stay put, alright? Gregory lives across from you... not many would dare to stir trouble here. It's relatively safe for you."

"Thank you..."

"Jane, we're still friends."

Seeing my discomfort, he decided to lay it all out, "Don't feel pressured just because I have feelings for you. Besides, you haven't held me back in any way. Now that everything's out in the open, let's just continue being friends. Good friends. You're still the same junior I befriended, and I'm still your senior."Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

"Deal!"

Gratefully, I looked at him, sincerely adding before he left, "Having a friend like you, Mark, is something I consider incredibly lucky."

Being treated with genuine kindness by him, by Christine, was more than enough.

Mark pressed his lips together, glancing at the dark night outside, and muttered something I couldn't catch over the noise of a passing car.

"What was that?" I asked, trying to catch his gaze.

"Nothing." His eyes, deep and thoughtful, looked at me as he slightly chuckled. "I said, we'll always be friends."

Ding! The elevator arrived.

Just before the doors opened, Mark softly said, "You better head back."

"Okay!" I nodded vigorously, feeling an indescribable emotion, as if something would change after this goodbye.

But there was nothing I could do about it.

As he was about to step into the elevator, Molly emerged from inside, surprised to see Mark, "Oh, Mr. Larson, were you looking for Jane?"

Mark nodded slightly, "Yeah. You're... Gregory's sister?"

"That's me," Molly nodded. "Leaving already? Thanks for the other day, by the way. That ibuprofen really helped."

"No problem."

Once Mark entered the elevator and the doors had closed behind him, Molly turned to me, a bit anxiously, "Jane, are you and Mr. Larson... like, in a relationship?"

I laughed lightly, "Friends, we've always just been friends."

Her eyes searched mine for confirmation, "You don't like him?"

"I do."

Seeing her anxiety spike again, I chuckled, "But just as a friend. It's e different from romantic love."

"Oh, oh, okay." Molly seemed relieved, nodding fervently.

Understanding a bit of her concern but not wanting to embarrass the young girl, I didn't pry further.

Instead, I worried about her health, asking, "You mentioned medicine. Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." Molly, usually so outgoing, now seemed embarrassed, almost wishing she could disappear, "It was just that + the other night when I went out, my period started unexpectedly, and I was in pain and made a mess... Mr. Larson happened to be there and bought me what I needed and some ibuprofen."

On the morning of December 24th, before Gregory could come knocking, I was already up.

After getting ready, I wheeled out my luggage, one big and one small.

As the door across opened, Molly saw me, her excitement palpablen "Jane, are you really going back to Vista Town with my brother?"