Duke’s life was already fucking miserable. Add living next door to his ex-boyfriend, who he was still very in love with and who was very clearly over him, on top of all of it, and he was ready to give up on everything, honestly. He was almost in as bad of shape as he had been after Lucas had first broke up with him. He cried himself to sleep most nights, and even then, his sleep was far more restless than usual. The bags under his eyes were dark and lingering, and he’d made such a point of not getting in Lucas’ way ever since they had realized they were neighbours a week and a half ago. Duke’s heart ached in his rediscovered pain, and on shift that day, it really clicked with him: he needed to move.
Essentially the entire walk from the hospital, he had been on the phone with the agent that had found him his current apartment. “Look, I know I’ve only been here a month, okay?” he repeats, tone clearly exasperated as he comes up the hall toward his apartment. “But I can’t live next door to my ex-boyfriend. Imagine just still being completely in love with someone who broke up with you basically ten years ago because he found someone else, and then you move in next door to them only to have it rubbed in your face that they’ve completely moved on.” Okay, so maybe more than he should have been telling a real estate agent and whilst in the hallway to his apartment building, but there was no use in trying to save face at this point. While Duke spoke, he struggled to get his keys out of his bag, his tired brain trying the wrong key in the lock repeatedly until he’s leaning his forehead against the door in defeat. “I just-- I can’t keep having my heart re-broken every time I look at his door, or hear him having sex, or just seeing him, okay? I really can’t,” he mumbles in defeat. || @requicms // @requicmswrites
