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Sometimes the ring fits perfectly, but the person who puts it on your hand doesn't know how to love you properly. Sometimes young love crumbles moments after you decided that spending forever with one person isn't as intimidating as you thought it was going to be. Life has a funny way of kicking us when we are down. Of pulling us up off our knees just to shove us back to the ground.
"Jo wait!" I can hear Finns heavy footing running through the gravel of the ally as I walk through the foggy street. I can't will my feet to move faster. No matter how hardly I scream to myself to run so he won't catch up they stay stuck at the same slow pace. "Let me explain." His hand grabs ahold of my wrist causing me to jolt back.
"I don't want to hear it." I mumble. "Not now." I slide the ring off my finger and place it in his hand gently wrapping his fingers around it. "Maybe one day years from now I will see you in the street. I can tell you why I came to talk to you at the betting shop instead of waiting for you at home, and you can tell me how you thought of me the entire time you were inside of her. How my name slipped off your tongue as if by instinct. How you felt guilt, but that guilt wasn't strong enough to stop you because after are you are a Shelby man. And I'll tell you I love you Finn Shelby. I'll tell you that standing here right now is the hardest thing I've done, but not the hardest thing I'll do."
"Jo let me speak."
"No I'm not done." I cut him off placing a finger to his lips. "The Finn Shelby I know wouldn't have let it get to the point I saw. The Finn Shelby I know would have ran out of that room. I left Finn. I was gone for two months. Maybe I don't know you after all." I kissed him gently both of our tears wetting each other's lips as we embraced in the ally. I wanted to yell. To have my voice shake. To show him this was tearing me apart inside, but my voice refused to give up its calmness.
"I was sending her away." Finn cupped my face. "Look at me Jo. Please look at me." I kept my eyes shut. Even if he was lying I would believe him if I opened them. His eyes would trick me. "Josephine I'm begging. I'll get down on my knees."
"I watched you kiss her Finn. She was standing in her underwear." I opened my eyes slowly. Yep there it was that boyish gaze that caused my cheeks to burn red and my heart to beat ten times faster. "Why should I believe you?"
"Because he's telling the truth. He told me about you but I thought I could tempt him anyway," the women from the office stood a few feet away from us. "I've never met another man in small heath who would do that. You're a lucky girl." She left us there and I didn't know what to do.
"You know me Jo. For fuck sakes you're the only person in all of small heath who really knows me."
"I'm I'm sorry I didn't believe you," I stammered wrapping myself around him. "But..."
"No buts I wouldn't have believed me either okay. But Jo like I've told you a million times before you're it. You're all I need. Okay. Just you and I Jo."
"I think you need to make room for one more person in your life Finn."
