~Elise~

I felt tears running down my face. Everything around us seemed to blend together. I didn't care for anything other than the boy in front of me.

The boy that I had imagined a future with. The boy I loved. The boy that I knew was going to make someone so happy one day. The boy I knew I had to leave because I loved him too much.

The boy that was a man.

~Zach~

Even if she thought this was goodbye I couldn't let her leave me.

I loved her too much and I was willing to fight for her.

She was a mess, she had problems, she doubted me sometimes, she had a habit of overthinking, but even with it all I loved her too much to let her go. We had already been through so much, that I just couldn't let her go.

~Elise~

I needed to let him go. Wasn't there a saying that said if you love someone a lot, you let them go.

And if they love you just the same they'll come right back to you.

I loved Zach.

I was willing to let him go.

But I knew I couldn't keep him anymore.

~Zach~

She said she loved me so many times before, why did she want to leave me now?

She said she loved me.

Why did she lie?

Was she lying?

Why would she lie about those three words.

Where those three words empty.

Those three empty words.

~Elise~

I let go of the kiss. Letting go of our past, our present, and our future.

~Zach~

"I love you Zach." She whispered. Those four words. The three weren't empty, this was more. They were four words. Four words filled. Filled with love.

"Please don't leave me." I whispered to her. I opened my closed eyes. Tears were running down her face, blood was falling down her legs, her hair was tangled, her lipstick was messed up. She was beautiful.

"I can't hurt you again." She chocked on tears.

"You'll hurt me by leaving." I whispered towards her.

"A broken heart can be fixed, scars never leave." She whispered. Then she pulled herself away from me and jumped out the window. I ran to the edge of the window, she was running down the street and in seconds she was gone.

If only she knew how wrong she was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note

End of Book 1.

It's a short story, and I'm actually editing it (that's why a new Rome chapter was added) for a contest. I ended it like this because it needs to stay under a certain word count.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you stay tuned for the next book. Because their story isn't done.

Finished: May 6, 2017