That's not really the implication. It's from Adrian's perspective. It's psychological. Adrian saw them as soulmates.
The 'love' is twisted. Both of their minds were broken beyond repair. Like Romeo & Juliet, it's a love story where the love itself is romantic but not lasting or sane.
The balloon is probably a metaphor. It's empty, but a floating balloon is light. Letting go of a balloon is release.
So the final page with the little girls is that they have been released from their suffering.
mmm I like your interpretation better. I think it’s open enough that there can be more than one interpretation, but the vibe I got was, in large part, how like “truly in love” they tried to act like the couple was, how Lawrence literally died for Adrian, etc. It gave me the vibe of
like “they died so now they can be together in the afterlife”.
IDK. I definitely understand your interpretation and I prefer it.
Honestly I would say Lawrence did love Adrian honestly. I mean, what's there to say? He was a teenager in a very bad situation, had an emotional turmoil, and came across death. Everything he was feeling inside him reached peak boiling. Whether it's a genuine romantic love or not, it was what he truly feels at the moment.
For Adrian it's even more so. He was mentally unstable in the first place. Whatever he's feeling, even if the other person is of age, would be twisted.
Everything centers around twisted love here. They were never gonna have a normal "happy ending".
i ressent the implication that they were like, soulmates and live happily together forever in the afterlife or some shit. mc is literally almost twice the age of lawrence, who is 14 - a child.