The Bloomer Legacy: 9.38 Our Place

Vito arrived at the Bluffs to see no trace of other people, much like the other days. He sighed. This all seemed much easier when he first envisioned it. He’d been so sure that destiny would do its part if he went to their spot. The place they’d fallen for each other, and promised they’d do whatever it took to keep their relationship going.

A promise he broke just a year later.

But he was so young. How was he supposed to know what he had was so special, when he’d never experienced anything else back then? Evidently, it wasn’t all that special to Louis, since days had gone by and he hadn’t paid a single visit to the place where it all began.

Vito shook his head. He knew he didn’t deserve Louis. He couldn’t blame him for moving on. He had gambled on luck being on his side one more time, but clearly it had run out.

At the very least, the sunset looked beautiful that evening. Vito sighed yet again. He was young, successful, good-looking, and happened to be in the most stunning place he knew of, while watching the sunset. Objectively, there was nothing to complain about. So why did it all feel so empty?

He should have brought his camera, he thought. He could have simply detached himself from his surroundings, separate himself from it all by putting a lense between him and the world. It usually worked when he felt hollow.

Not that he’d usually deal with this kind of lighting. Sunlight was way too fickle. His studio lights were far easier to work with, always artificially manufacturing just the kind of setting he needed. He chuckled to himself bitterly. Sounded reminiscent of his life.

As if to prove his point about the outdoor light being unreliable, a shadow cast over him. Vito looked to his right towards the source of the darkness.

“Are you stalking me now or something?” Vito’s heart skipped a beat at the sound of the familiar voice.

“Louis… you’re here.” He said softly.

“Well, I do live in Windenburg.” Louis sounded agitated. “What’s your excuse?”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you since the day you re-appeared in Newcrest. So I came to the place that reminds me of you the most. The Bluffs, at sunset.” Vito explained.

“You do realise how far out of touch with reality that makes you sound, right?” Louis frowned. “Oh, I just felt like reminiscing about an old fling of mine, so I casually jumped on my private jet to watch the sunset at the other side of the world… wow. What planet do you live on, Vito?”

“Oh come on, you know that’s not true,” Vito shook his head. “You know I don’t have a private jet. I bought the plane tickets, just like anyone else.”

Louis smirked, but he didn’t say anything.

“More importantly, you were definitely not just a fling.” Vito continued. “You were the opposite. Nothing in my life has ever had more substance than what you and I had.”

Louis almost laughed.  “And that statement is supposed to make you look appealing? Pfft.”

“Why did you come here tonight then?” Vito changed the subject.

“Definitely not to run into you,” Louis shrugged. “Seems like it’s impossible to shake you wherever I go now, huh? I just wanted a bit of peace and quiet, to… think.”

A smile spread across Vito’s face. Perhaps all wasn’t lost yet.

“Nothing stopping you from that. Just pretend I’m not here,” Vito said eagerly. “I mean, that’s what I was doing before you came here anyway. So I won’t bother you. We can both just… sit and ponder. Quietly.”

“Well shut up then, will you?” Louis sighed as he sat down next to him.

So they sat there, watching the sunset without a single word.

Vito’s heart was beating fast. It almost felt like back when they were together and shared the perfect kind of silence. Not the awkward kind. The kind you can only share with someone who you’re really comfortable with, since there’s no need to keep talking just to fill a void. Because there’s no void, and just being with the other person’s presence makes you complete and…

“Will you quit staring at me?”

Louis’ annoyed voice broke Vito’s train of thought.

“I’m sorry,” Vito told him. “I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. I just… couldn’t help myself.”

“So much for not bothering me…”

“Then why are you here?” Vito blurted out. “Look, I’m sorry for staring. I’m sorry for the way I ended things. I’m sorry for ending things in the first place. I’m sorry for everything! And I’d love to make it up to you… But if there’s not even the slightest possibility that you’d forgive me, then why are you still here, sitting right next to me?”

Louis’ lack of response encouraged him.

“Don’t say there’s nothing between us anymore, because I know it’s not true!” Vito carried on. “It’s the reason why you haven’t turned around the minute you got here and you saw me here. It’s the reason why you came back to the Bluffs tonight. Just on your own, to think. Right in the very spot where we had our first kiss. Because we knew it was something else then, and we still know it now. That’s why you’re here tonight! Because this is our place!”

Louis laughed coldly. “Don’t flatter yourself Vito. I grew up here. I’ve been to the Bluffs plenty of times before I met you. And I’ve taken plenty people here after you, you know. I don’t exactly struggle with getting a date.”

He eyed Vito up and down. “This isn’t our place. It’s just a pretty place. That’s why I’m here. I’m not trying to relive our past.” He concluded.

Vito felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. But he’d controlled himself, and mustered up a fake smile.

“Well, that’s perfectly fine too,” he forced himself to say. “And I agree with you there. We both have a past outside of the relationship we had. And I don’t want to go back to when we were teenagers either. I’m not chasing after the past.”

Louis raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure about that?”

“Yeah,” Vito nodded. “I just want a future. A future for us. And I don’t know what that might look like. It might just be being friends. Or enemies, if you really have to hate me. I don’t know. I just know that my life is better when you’re in it.”

“Well, as long as your life gets to be better,” Louis retorted snarkily.

“I just talked about my life because I wouldn’t dream to suggest your life would be better with me,” Vito shrugged. “But… if you were to… tolerate me… I promise I would try do everything not to make it worse.”

Louis burst out laughing. “You can really tell you’ve always had everything handed to you on a silver plate. You’re terrible at this.”

“I…”

“Shh. Let’s just go back to sitting and pondering quietly, ok?”

They did. The sun eventually disappeared behind the horizon and darkness surrounded them.

Louis hadn’t left, Vito thought. So he couldn’t have been completely wrong. He was almost afraid to break the silence, but he had to.

“Louis… is there even the slightest chance you might actually forgive me some day? That we could maybe start over?” He asked nervously.

Louis examined his face, deliberating his answer. “It’s not like you to beg, Vito.”

“I know, I’m pathetic.” Vito whispered. “I just don’t know what else to do.”

Louis tilted his head. “Well, there is a reason why the saying never say never exists. There’s always a slight chance for everything. But Vito, you’d be much better off if you just learned to accept that maybe, sometimes even you can’t get everything you want.”

Vito paused. Perhaps it wasn’t the most promising response. But at least it was a response, which was a vast improvement on their initial reunion a couple weeks ago. He decided to take it as a positive sign.