Vivian went to the hospital that morning. The bed was empty.
"Lucus, my body! It isn't in the hospital bed anymore! Someone stole me."

"Like your husband." Lucus was writing something into his book.
"What are you doing?" She asked as she peeked into his book.
"Counting days. You said you wanted to know my age."
"You're doing it because I asked?"
"Do you know how long has it been since you've been sleeping?"

"Like two weeks I guess?"
"Close enough, it's two months" He said.
"Wait what?"
"I know, time is confusing for the dead"

"I'm not dead" She looked into his eyes. He looked away into the book.
"I know"

Kirito sat on the sofa as he poured his drink. He now had a long, unkept beard and baggy eyes. Vivian's body lay still on the bed. He picked up the drink glass and went towards her.

He sat beside her and pressed her head "I still can't get drunk." She just lay there. Her hands were softer now and so was her skin. Her lips were a pale tint of pink and her eyelids were dark. Her pulse was slow and he couldn't hear her breathing under the ticking of the machines surrounding her.

"How much did I try to not make love a necessity and how badly you made me fail."
Suddenly, his phone began ringing. He looked at the caller Id and his face turned sour. He picked it up "What?"

"Kirito. Do you really wanna break up" It was Erika. It had been two months till she finally called.
"Yes."

"I have been thinking about it a lot and I thought that maybe we should meet up, atleast one last time? I want to be sure of things between us"
"Okay"

"My body!" Vivian hugged her body "Ew, what's all this stuff around it?" She looked at all the wires and tubes.

"A life support. Humans have evolved" Lucus stood beside her. Kirito passed right through him and took out his coat from the cupboard.

"Kirito is going somewhere!" Vivian shouted "Yes" Lucus as he looked at him. Kirito picked up his phone and looked into it. Vivian wrapped her arms around him "Have you been eating properly?"

He walked out of the apartment and locked the door "He smells of alcohol." Vivian said as Lucus just stared at her.

'Kirito, have you been drinking?' Vivian thought.

'He has, a lot' Lucus thought and looked at his book.

"Let's follow that drunkard ass! What he gets into an accident" Vivian shouted and began to run when Lucus held her arm. She stopped and looked at him.

"Lucus?"
"Do you really want to follow him?
Lucus stared at the ground as his grip around Vivian's arm got stronger.

'Let go, Lucus' Fate said in his head 'You can't change what I've written. It's against the rules.'

"If you go, something will happen."
"What?"
"I don't feel well, Vivian. Don't go." Lucus said as his eyes turned grey and he looked at Vivian. She looked at him and moved closer to him "What is he hiding?"

Kirito sat in front of a table with food on it and Erika sat opposite to him. It seemed like an expensive hotel-- A fancy place for dinner.

"So, aren't you gonna click pictures?"
"Not today. Today, we'll eat together." She smiled.
"Can I go back home?" He asked.
"Not yet" She ate her salad.

Vivan and Lucus stood together in the room, Vivian's hand in his and her eyes closed. He looked at her face.

"Is Kirito with some other woman?" She asked and he suddenly broke off from a daze.
"I will show you"

Kirito and Erika walked out of the hotel together, on the footpath. By that time, it had started drizzling "Can you drop me home? It's pretty dark."
"You have your car."

"No, I came by foot. It's near my new apartment. You won't leave a girl alone at the night, would you?" Erika took out an umbrella from her purse.
As they walked down the street, Erika talked and Kirito just listened.

"She's in coma, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"It's been two months already. I've read people who don't wake up after a week usually never wake up"

"It's only her now, for once I want to be honest. She gave up her life because she couldn't bear to be touched by another man, so I must not touch another woman either."

"It hurts because... I still love you." She pressed her hand on his face.
"I think I've grown addicted to you, even your cold eyes are burning me"

She dropped the umbrella and kissed his lips. He looked at her as she closed her eyes. 'Make it your farewell kiss then' He thought as he closed his eyes and she put her tongue in.

Vivian and Lucus stood at the other side of the road. Lucus stood behind Vivian and stared at her back as she looked at them. Lucus had a sad expression "Vivian--"

"Actually, I kind of knew it. Men are scum afterall. Can't believe I still trusted him blindly." Vivian said.

Lucus said nothing. He just stared at her. "This is why I didn't wanted to fall in love. It took every piece of me to keep a fire burning-- A fire that burned me. And now it hurts." She said as she pressed her chest "Something hurts. I wonder if it's because of the rain that it looks more sad."

"It's a human's heart" Lucus said as it rained slowly.
"It's so strange" Vivian said "It hurts more than it did when I died. Talking is difficult. Smiling is painful. My mask is now coming off."

He looked at her and then at his book "That's why I told you to stop" 'And now she's gonna cry her eyes out' He thought and looked at her. Vivian looked at Kirito and Erika leave towards her apartment.

"Lucus, I have a wish." She said.

"Yes?"
'Okay, I didn't see this coming'

"Kill me. I wanna die, no more going back. I want death."
The thunder clacking above them grew stronger as Lucus looked at her.

"Vivian?"
"I'm sure."

- To be continued

Lucus || Vivian Hiomi
My Heart Hates Me