with her bag and the book on the table.
He’s still in love with her, still hoping.
She’s been in witness protection this whole damn time.
I lift a hand to the screen, tears dripping from my jaw and soaking my neck.
“She had to, Dean.
“You gotta know she was keeping you safe.”
But he can’t hear me.
He’s too busy sitting at the corner table,
staring out the window, checking his watch,
heartbreaking himself.
I shake my head,
another cry rushing out of me.
“She didn’t want you in the mess she was in.
“She didn’t have a choice!”
For all we know Elia could be dead.
Scene blacked out just as her ex-husband pulled the trigger.
“C’mon, Elia. Be alive, be alive.”
The store closes, all the lights go dark.
Dean steps out into the pouring rain, sad.
He glances up,
and there’s Elia.
She’s frozen on the sidewalk,
and they lock eyes.
Her: “You came back for me?”
Him: “How could I not?”
Her (voice cracking): “I didn’t want to.”
Him (walking toward her): “I know.”
Her (walking toward him):
“I wanted to tell you.”
Him: “I know.”
