I Love You By Beth Connolly Published by Beth Connolly at Smashwords Copyright 2011 Beth Connolly Thank you for downloading this free eBook. Although this is a free book, it remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be reproduced, copied and distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy at Smashwords.com, where they can also discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. I love you… That’s how I felt when we met. I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t hate him like I hated the others. I still love him. I hugged Jay close my brown hair swishing as I moved closer to him ignoring the chill of the wind. I held onto him afraid to let go. The cold snuck into my jacket chilling my already pale arms. I had a short-sleeved shirt on under this for the first time in ages; I had expected it to be warm. I kissed his cheek glad for the closeness. I couldn’t remember the last time I had; it had been so long ago. Tears stung my eyes but didn’t fall. I tried to hold them back for a bit and was successful but I knew they would fall eventually. My reality was just too painful not to cry over. I knew this was the end. It always started with love and it always ended with goodbye. “Don’t forget me,” he said his eyes overflowing with emotion and yet not a single tear shed. I love you… I hugged Becca tight crinkling her brown jacket. I could barely hold myself together. Tears threatened to fall at any minute and I had the strong desire to hit myself in the head for letting myself almost cry. Men don’t cry. I sighed. I had to be strong, not just for me, but for her. I knew she was hurting. She had to be; she was in love with me. I sighed again my mouth pulling down in a frown. There was so much that was hurting us. For me it was my love for her that I could never fully understand. I loved everything about her from her long brown hair and the way she changed her hairstyle every day to the way she would grin at me if I said something funny and tell me if I did not. That was the hardest part. I knew that I loved her and that she loved me, yet she was leaving me, just like the last one. They always left, always took a piece of me with them. I’ll never be whole. “Don’t forget me,” I said my heart breaking as I watched her bright blue eyes fill with tears. I love you… I started to pull away but I couldn’t. Jay’s arms held me to him locking me in his embrace if only for that one moment. I felt the pain in the air as we held each other wishing we could suspend time and spend just one more moment together. I almost sighed frowning as I tried to suppress it and the tears. I didn’t want to say goodbye. I was just starting to get to know him and yet I knew I had to, so many things stood in the way. But I knew I was selfish; I always was. We were just friends nothing more and yet here I was wishing that I could stay, knowing that if I could I would. But my parents were waiting, waiting for the life that would be better for them, not me. I love you… Becca tried to pull away but she couldn’t. I wouldn’t let her go and neither would her heart. It made me sad, but I knew she had to leave. Her parents were waiting and I knew she was afraid to keep them waiting especially since now she would be around them even more than she used to be. But something held her back. It’s almost like she didn’t want to leave, like she didn’t want to say goodbye and she didn’t care anymore whether her parents got annoyed or not. I know I sure didn’t want her to go. I didn’t care about her parents. I didn’t care if it bugged them that she was late. All I knew was that it hurt for her to be away from me. To not be able to say her name and have her look at me with those eyes I loved so much, to not be able to make her smile and laugh. “I love you,” I whispered for the last time before hugging her once more. I love you… He told me he loved me; my tears started to fall. They fell silently streaking across my face as he hugged me tight his own tears never showing. I wanted him to never let go, to be locked in his arms forever, a hopeless wish. In those three little words were wrapped so much emotion; love, sadness, grief. How could I ever leave him? How could I move of all things when the one person I loved most of all stayed here? I sighed. I would miss this, miss how Jay held me, how he kissed my cheek. It seemed like only yesterday he was sneaking up on me and scaring me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me close. I looked up at him. His soft eyes were hurting. So were mine. “I love you” I whispered for the last time before hugging him tight and letting go. I looked back as I walked to the car my feet slapping against the pavement. Tears were streaming down my face. People gave me funny looks. They were wondering why a person would look so sad when summer break had just started. But I didn’t care. All I could think about were those three words. I love you… # # # Authors Note: Saying I love you for the last time is hard. You get to know someone special, someone you care about so much and then it just ends. Many things can get in the way, friends, family, even yourself. But there’s always the end. Whether it’s saying goodbye till tomorrow or saying goodbye for forever there’s always the goodbye. Discover other titles by Beth Connolly at Smashwords.com at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bethconnolly214 Other Titles by Beth Connolly: My Run in With a Ghost http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/113279 Addict http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/113428 Ruined Childhood http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/113685 I’m Sorry if I’m Not Pretty Enough for You http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/113689