I close my eyes, breathing through the pain I know I'm about to inflict upon both of us.
"Red—"
"There isn't an us that looks like last night. I'm sorry, Blue, but this has to end," I interject, pinning my gaze on hers.
"You love me?—"
"It doesn't mean we can be together."
"It does."
"No. It doesn't. The risks are too great, and I won't take them on. And I need you to accept this," I demand.
Her mouth trembles before she clamps it shut. "So that's it? You're tossing me to the curb?"
"Please don't take it as rejection. This is just our reality," I reply, hating myself and our situation.
Tension builds.
She quietly begs, "Don't disappear on me."
The request hits harder than anger ever could. The air between us hums, tight and dangerous.
I claim, "I'm not disappearing. I'm standing where I can see what's coming."
"And leaving me here."
"I'm giving you room to choose a future for yourself."
Her laugh is brittle. "My future is with you."
"Unfortunately, it's not. There are too many obstacles."
She looks at me for a long moment, then warns, "If you push me away, don't expect me to wait for you to change your mind."
The image of her with another man pops into my mind and slices through me. Still, I respond, "I won't. And I wouldn't ask you to wait."
A wounded expression flashes over her, and it breaks my heart. She sputters, "H-how can you say that so easily?"
My throat tightens, and my stomach churns.
Don't leave any room for her to think we have a chance.
We don't.
It's for the best that we have a clean break.
"I love you, and that's why I have to end this now." My throat burns as I force the words down.
Blue's eyes lock onto mine, wide and shattered, her chest rising and falling in quick bursts. The silence stretches, thick and unforgiving, until I can't stand it anymore.
I turn away and put on my clothes. Then I go into the living room, my legs heavy, to the chair where my jacket hangs. The leather creaks under my fingers as I snatch it up, the zipper clinking softly against my buckle. I shrug it on, the fabric settling over my shoulders like a barrier I desperately need. Each movement pulls me further from her, and I turn and get to the front door.
"Red," she calls out, her voice cracking on the edge of desperation.
I pause, my hand on the doorknob, but I don't turn.
"I need a final kiss. Please," she says in a desperate tone.
