She runs her fingers through her hair and he notices how the streaks sparkle in the sunlight. How he'll miss her beauty. "Leah? I need to talk to you." She smiles and moves closer to him, putting her head on his chest. "Leah, I'm in love with Emily." He avoids looking at her face, knowing that what he sees will break him. He wishes it were different, he wishes he could keep his Leah, he wishes it weren't Emily's face he sees when he kisses Leah. But he knows he can't save her, not this time. "Sam, no you're not. You're just…feeling insecure. It's alright baby I'm sure we can work around this." She wonders if he notices how much work it is for her to keep her voice from breaking on every word. "No, Le, this is real. I just don't love you…like I used to." She bites her lip to keep from sobbing. He can't be doing this, prom in next weekend, they were talking about getting married after she graduates, they were in love, they were…in…love.
She gets up and walks away, it's impossible for her to stay there. Not with him, not anymore. She gets far enough away that she thinks he can't hear her. Then she breaks down, sobbing, screaming and shaking. She falls to the ground and huddles into a little ball, holding her knees to her body; she lets out a blood chilling sob. He hears her, knows how broken she is, but he also knows there's nothing he can do about it. He starts to pray to a god he never believed in, anything to help her. "Please, please let her be okay. One day." He whispers to the sky. He could never regret her, but he does regret what he's done to her. He wants to stay, he really does. But wanting and wishing never got anyone anywhere. He walks away and watches her harden over the next month. He watched helplessly as her beautiful care free face turned bitter. He watched her heart build a shield, and he hurt for her. Because no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't keep the pain from her eyes. Sometimes what Sam Ulley really wants is the past.