seriously romantic: somebody else’s sky by jessica hawkins

it’s been almost two years, and manning endured the worst to keep lake safe. to keep her innocent. nevermind that the circumstances that condemned manning had stripped that away from lake already.

it’s been two years, in somebody else’s sky and nothing has changed. everything has changed. lake and manning still can’t stop their connection, their chemistry from being felt. but while lake tries to get closer, the more tightly she tries to hold on to manning and to what she knows lies between them, the more manning pulls away. 

he is still trying to do what’s right. he’s trying to assure the future that everyone has dreamed for her. he knows deep in his bones that he is not meant for lake. the best he can hope for is tiffany, and it’s not really settling when he loves her too. it’s not the same as his feelings for lake. those are unfathomable. the pull of her presence—it’s enough to undo him every single time. 

so he pushes her away. the more she pushes, the more he pulls and it’s a dance that will have no end until manning makes the last pull irrevocable. because there is one way to finally stop the cycle. and as devastating as it is, manning is doing the right thing. it’s the only thing he can do. it’s the only way forward out of the corner he’s painted himself in. 

and what can the future possibly hold for lake and mannng? she’s only just eighteen and has her whole future ahead of her. and he’s a twenty-five year old ex-con with very little hope. 

and yet, even as the story closes, it still isn’t over between lake and manning. there’s too much love and emotion and connection between them for it to be truly over. they are shattered and no longer whole. but perhaps in move the stars there’s a way forward. there has to be, because it can’t just end here.