Guarded

||twenty-six||

"What do we need to talk about?" I reply, glumly.

"Before I say anything, I need to know that you know that I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else and I wish that I could never lose you." I nod in understanding. "Good. Then I have some...news." I notice how he doesn't say whether it's good or bad. "I got a big scholarship to a university over in Dublin. I have to go back to Ireland."

I take a step back. My lip quivers, but I don't let the tears out just yet. "How long have you known? How long have you been keeping this from me, Niall?"

He sighs. "I got the letter after we got back from Burbank. I'm so sorry."

I bite my cheeks. "And you just decide to tell me now? I can't believe this, Niall! You knew how I'd react." Niall looks down at the floor, biting his bottom lip. "So, you're leaving? That's it? We're done?"

"No, I don't want to break up with you. I think we can make it work long distance." He walks closer to me.

"Long distance never works. This is why I never wanted to love you, Niall. I knew you'd hurt me. Go to Dublin, live your dreams, find some other girl's heart to shatter into little pieces." The tears in my eyes blur my vision and I run back into my room.

"Cassie, please."

"Leave Niall, it's over. You've done the inevitable once again. You hurt me."

"You're not the only person who's hurting, you know. Do you know how much it kills me to leave you? I never want to let you go. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I love you," he says through the door.

"Just go away," I snap back.

"I will wait for you. I will wait for you because, honestly, I don't want anyone else." I hear him walk out the front door.

I knew he'd hurt me. I knew it would end up just like I said it would. Now I've got nobody to love.

My mother's gone, my boyfriend's moving to another country, my dad's still a douche living in Burbank, and I still have no idea where the hell I'm going with my life. I'm not even sure if I want to go to college anymore.

So, I sit here, in my cold room, crying, all alone. No one to love. No one to give love to. I'll never give love to anyone else, because I don't want to feel the way I'm feeling right now. Empty, cold, like there's a pit in my stomach, and very, very lonely.

~

another update bc it's short and the last chapter was short, too.

comment, say how much you hate this chapter, (I do too) vote, and take a mint on your way out :-)

-Anna xo