Cars pulled up around me, everyone climbing in and going home. But before they did, they all congratulated me. I smiled and said thanks, when really I would have liked not being noticed. I guess losing someone you loved can make something you do have a lot of emotion. I wasn’t expecting to be noticed, playing the piano is normally something I do for myself. I’ve never played it outside of my home.

I watched as cars passed, the blowing wind turning my black hair into a tornado.

I pushed it out of my face, and continued to stand still, watching as everyone went home.

I let myself cry as the final car drove off into the black night. I sat down on the curb, letting my hair blow. I don’t understand why it turned out this way? Why just because of one mistake, he had to leave. I loved him. Or I thought I did.

I closed my eyes, letting the tears fall onto the skirt of my black dress.

I heard the rumble of a car pull up next to me. I pushed my hair out of my face and sat up straight, Mom wouldn hate it if she knew I was crying in public.

The car stopped, the front door slamming hard. I stayed on the curb, it wasn’t Mom it was Ty.

He came over next to me, his green eyes glowing in the moon light. I wanted to hate him. Just because he came here doesn’t mean I’m going to forgive him. He’s stupid if he thinks I’m that pathetic.

“That’s was the best thing I’ve ever heard,” he leaned against the side of his car.

“What are you doing here,” I asked, keeping my eyes away from his face.

“I’m here because I’m sorry.”

Sorry. Is that all he has to say? He told me we couldn’t be friends anymore. He left me. He said that the wooden box we buried was something we did because we were kids. That whatever we wrote didn’t mean anything.

“Your sorry?” Now I looked at his face, it was stained with tears. Tears that wouldn’t have been cried if he had just told me why he had to leave. I knew for a fact that it wasn’t because he didn’t want to be my friend. It was because he was too afraid of losing me. Which he had done.

He put his hands in his pockets keeping his eyes glued to the floor, “I’m sorry.” He repeated like he thought if he said it enough I would given in.

“What do you think sorry means to me?” It came out louder than I had anticipated.

Ty sighed as he straightened up, “It obviously doesn’t mean anything.”

At least he got that right. I stood up, brushing the back of my dress off, “Just because you come here. And bring all of this,” I gesture at his face, “Doesn’t mean I’ll forgive you. Or that I’ll ever forget what you did.”

He nodded, “Emily. I know. I just wanted to try again. It’s been five months. I miss you, I need you. And I was wrong.”

I moved closer to him, his breathing was steady.

“Emily. I’m not going to apologize anymore. I did something because I was afraid. And I still am.”

Afraid? The last time I heard Ty say that was when he was little. He never admitted that. Never. It was the one thing that he thought made him weak. And people told his so. They told him if he was afraid then he wasn’t ever going to be able to live.

“You know what,” Ty kept his voice calm, “At least I was able to admit that I couldn’t do it. At least I can admit when I’m wrong.”

Ty moved closer, his green eyes glued to mine, “Ty, what are you saying?”

Ty closed his eyes, tears falling from his face, “I’m saying that I loved you.”

His words felt like fire, burning my heart.

“Did you ever mean it?” I asked, “Back then?”

Ty nodded, his eyes only glowing greener, “Once. Yes, but only once.”

He loved me. Maybe he still did. I knew I did. I wanted to tell him. But my mouth wouldn’t open, only my eyes could talk. Crying more tears than ever before.

“I’m saying I love you,” Ty whispered, “I’m saying it out loud.”

I wanted to smile, I wanted to hug him. And I would have, but he wasn’t getting me back this easily.

“Ty,” my voice cracked as I spoke his name, “Ty, I’m. . . I’ll consider this if you admit you’ve always been in a position where telling me this. Has been the most difficult thing you’ve ever done. Harder than leaving me. Harder than breaking my heart over and over again.”

Ty wiped his face with the back of his hand, “Emily, telling you this was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But your wrong. This was easier than breaking your heart. Breaking your heart was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

Ty touched my hand, and I felt it, I felt sparks shoot up into the sky.

I smiled, letting my heart take over.

And I knew that was okay. Because it had taken over the moment my eyes met his. The first time I ever saw him, and knew that he was the one who was meant to make my life full of pain, happiness and most of all heart break.