A/N: This is my first completely angsty fic. No glimmer of hope at the end. At all. I wrote it in an hour on May 14th after reading Invisible by Pete Hautman. It actually made me cry, and not many books do that (the first book that made me cry was Where The Red Fern Grows).
Disclaimer: (probably isn't needed but, meh) I don't own Uglies, which is proved by Shay not being old, fat and ugly by Smokie standards.
"I can go with you."
"No."
"I…I don't think you should go by yourself. You've barely mentioned-"
"Paris," There's an edge in Tally's tone. She'd learned to master her anger after her baby was born, but Paris is still wary when she used that tone.
"I'll go by myself."
Paris sighs and runs a hand through his hair, his pretty face showing slight frustration. Then he looks down at three-year-old Jane and smiles.
"Come on little girl, let's go play a game."
Tally smiles as he daughter grins up at Paris and walks away with him. Tally had had a huge battle with Maddy when Jane was born, but Jane was worth it.
And she always will be.
Some Rusty customs had survived to Tally's time. Graveyards were one of them.
Tally makes her way across the large graveyard to two tombstones tucked in a back corner. They're side by side. One is newer, but slightly darker, more weathered, scarred.
They both mark the final resting places of Tally's loves.
Tally kneels in front of the graves, memories flickering in her mind's eye.
One challenged millions of years of evolution and kissed Tally on the night before she ruined his life.
One was Tally's first kiss after she turned and had brought her back to a harsh reality she had forgotten existed.
One had fathered Tally's daughter and dies before finding out she was pregnant.
One had died during the commencement of a war that made Tally realize her true purpose in life.
Both had said those three all-important words and meant it with every fiber of their beings.
I love you.
Tally feels the familiar prickling in the back of her eyes and lets the fall and run down her cheeks.
Three words rise from her throat and die in her mouth, even though she parts her lips to speak them. She presses her lips together and swallows the thick sadness that accompanies the words, though the taste still lingers like dark chocolate aftertaste.
The silence around Tally is heavy with what isn't there and what is unsaid. Her three unsaid words echo silently and deafeningly though her mind.
I miss you.
A/N: If it moved you to tears, review. If it didn't, review. If you hate it and me, review. I'm dying for some. Seriously. Now click the doggone thought bubble!