"I love you,"
"I know you do. But, Jake, you have to understand. You've changed too much. I can't help that I don't love you. I can't," Cassie said gently.
Jake's face fell so far, tears gently trickling down his cheeks. "Cassie, please. Please." His voice was so wretched with pain, so tortured; it almost brought Cassie to tears. But she had to be strong. Jake couldn't see her cry.
"Jake. I like you. Just as a friend. I'm so sorry, I don't want you to be hurt. But you changed too much. I can't love you. You're just a friend, I can't help it, I'm sorry," Cassie whispered. She gently stroked a tear from his cheek. He was crying so hard, yet so silently.
As she touched him, he turned away. Her face turned stricken as he did. "I'm sorry," she said.
He looked up at the stars. "You can't help it. I can't help it. I'm almost glad you told me. If you lied for so long, it would hurt even more. Hard to imagine that, but I know it would."
He looked at the ground now. "I'll still love you," he said. "I will."
"I know you will. I'm sorry I will cause you so much hurt, but, well…" she dropped the sentence.
Jake didn't know this, but this hurt her as much as it hurt him. To see the boy, no, man now, she had once loved so tortured on her account hurt her. But she couldn't help this. She didn't love him. He was just another good friend.
Jake, though, just lay and thought. He didn't want to see her, or anyone.
"I'm gonna go," he said. "Some meadow, some place in the woods. Just to be alone. I'll tell Marco where I am and he can get me if something goes wrong."
Cassie nodded. "It's for the best," she said.
He began to morph. "See you soon," he said. "I… I love you."
A single tear went down Cassie's cheek. "Goodbye," she half-whispered. And they both knew that goodbye was more than a simple farewell. It was a goodbye to what had been between them, a goodbye to her love.
An owl lifted off the ground, swiftly and silently. As it left her vision, Cassie whispered.
She whispered, "I loved you."
Awww. I could really see this happening, in the later books. I got hooked on heart-break for now, and, well, Teardrops On My Guitar doesn't hurt any. Please R&R.