It was time, it had to be. Last night when I saw her. When I saw Emily. She was wearing a blood red dress, and as I saw her smile and climb into the car with Mason. She smiled, my smile. She only ever smiled like that around me. And now she was going to dances with Mason.

I knocked on her front door, my heart beating so fast I almost thought it had stopped.

Emily answered the door, her black hair brushing the tips of her shoulders. She smiled.

“Ty, I didn’t see you last night.”

I nodded, “Yeah I didn’t- I didn’t go.”

Emily gave me a small smile, “I missed you.”

If only she really had. I bet she didn’t even think about me once.

“Emily,” I started stepping closer to her, “There’s something important I need to tell you.”

Her smile vanished, “Is everything alright?”

Not really, but it never has been.

“Emily, I-I love you.”

Emily gasped, stepping over the threshold and shutting the door behind her.

She gave me a forced smile, “Ty, that’s. It’s really-um. . . That’s I.”

You don’t love me, yeah I know.

“I always have,” I say, letting her eyes tell me what she’s really thinking. It’s Mason, she likes Mason.

Emily took a quick breath, “I care about you Ty. I do-but I love Mason. . . it’s Mason-It’s always gonna be Mason.”

If this is what it felt like to have my heart ripped from my chest then, I understood why everyone made a big deal about it.

Emily turned around and opened the door, “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

She closed it the loud sound echoing in my ears. I could hear the faint sounds of the crickets cropping like it was a perfectly normal night. Like it was a good night.

I stared at the light grey paint of Emily’s door. My heart was that color, dull and broken. All the color drained from it, all the life.

I could feel a tear sliding down my cheek, the cool winter breeze blowing it off.

I took a deep breath, wiping under my eyes.

I couldn’t move, what was I supposed to do? I had told Emily I loved her and I was supposed to go on living like everything was fine? She loves Mason. Mason!

She’d never love me, she’d always love Mason. I was stupid to think that her perfect smile and night black hair would ever stand next to my pale minty eyes and light brown hair.

And even after I had been rejected, by the only girl I’d ever love I still couldn’t help loving her more.

I hate it. She had broken my heart, killed my only hope of having a good life and I loved her. Maybe even more than before.