Chapter 29

Saying Goodbye- Rated T

I would've had this up sooner, but other stuff got in the way. Anyway, enjoy and feel free to review.

Sonic and Sally lay in each others arms, breathing heavily and satisfied like they always were. She had a smile on her face and was gently nuzzling his neck and he was praying his heart wouldn't decide to suddenly freak out. As the movie they ordered went off, a message from the hotel popped up on the TV, thanking them for placing their order. *Hee* "Thank you." Sally said, giggling.

"No problem." Sonic said, cupping her breast gently and kissing her. "So what do you want to do now?" Sonic asked. Please don't say you want to go again. He thought. He wasn't sure if he could handle another round. "Want to go down and check out the casino?" Sonic suggested.

"Can we get something to eat first?" Sally asked. "I'm a little hungry after that." She said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and standing up. "Mmm." She moaned as she almost lost her balance but managed to catch herself. Sonic watched as she walked to the bathroom, eying her as she rounded the corner. He looked over and again, he saw the tell-tale spot that she had finished and he smiled, satisfied she had been satisfied. While she was in the shower, Sonic sat up on the side of the bed and flicked the light on; he reached over and grabbed his phone. I wonder if Tails is up? Sonic wondered. It was a little after nine and he wanted to thank him for the gift. Sonic dialed his number and waited. *Ring* *Ring* *Ring*

"Hello?" Tails said as soon as their phones connected. "Hey Tails. I'm not bothering you, am I?" Sonic asked. "Nah. Just getting ready for bed. What's up?"

"I just called to thank you and Cream for the little gift you guys gave me and Sal." Sonic said. "Hey, no problem. We were all wondering what to get you and decided why not get something nice for you guys." Tails said.

"Hey, me and Sal are fixing to go down and get something to eat. I just figured I'd call and say thanks."

"No problem." Tails said.

"Alright. Talk to you later." Sonic said. Tails hung up and Sonic set the phone down and walked into the bathroom. The shower doors were clear but he couldn't see anything because it was steamed up. He was still naked and opened the door and stepped in.

They both had more fun that first night than they had in the last month. They took a hundred each from the five hundred they'd been given and tried their hand at Blackjack. After an hour of playing, they managed to win. It was only ten bucks, but they were happy.

The second day was spent mostly in their room, watching TV, then going down and catching the shows that the hotel put on every night. It varied from the standard classic rock band on one night, to a comedian another night and so on. On the fifth night, they decided to stay in and take a break. "How much did they say it was gonna be?" Sally asked as Sonic hung the phone up. They had decided to order room service that night instead of going down to the buffet or the restaurant and deal with the crowds. The buffet was always packed, but the restaurant was a little more tame and was quiet once you were seated, but it took almost an hour to get a table.

"He said it be about sixty bucks." Sonic said, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Sixty!" Sally said in disbelief. "I know." Sonic said. "I'd rather go to a burger joint or som-" Sonic stopped mid-sentence and bolted upright.

"Sonic?" Sally asked, wondering what made him jump like that. It was the moment he'd been dreading. The chest pain had returned and it was bad. "Get... my... bag." He said, struggling to speak through the pain. "What's wrong?" Sally asked, panic welling up in her. "Just... get the... bag!" He said again. It felt like someone was reaching into his chest and squeezing his heart as hard as they could. His left arm was numb and he was dizzy. Not again! Sally thought as she jumped up and went around to his side of the bed; she grabbed his bag and rummaged through it.

"It's the bottle... with the... red pi... pi... pills." He stuttered. His breathing was beginning to slow down and it was hard for him to take a breath. Sally pawed through his clothes and found the bottle and opened it.Sally cracked the bottle open and held one out to him, and he reached out and took it. Even with him unable to use his left arm at the moment and his right arm beginning to mess up, he managed to pop it in his mouth but it hung up in the back of his throat.

"Wa... wa..." He couldn't speak and mimed taking a drink of water and Sally got up and went to the mini-fridge and grabbed a can of soda, and rushed back over to him. She cracked it open and held it up to his mouth and he took a drink, a little running down the side of his mouth. Sally started to lose it as she watched him have another heart attack in front of him. Fortunately, a minute later the pill took effect and the pain began to ebb; unlike the last time, which took twice as long to work as it was supposed to, this one held the quickest time.

"Are you OK? What happened?" Sally asked, tears streaming down her face. As the pain subsided and he began breathing again, his worst fear came true. He was caught and he would have to tell her now. "Sonic?" Sally said. "Are you OK?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine." He said, giving her a smile. "C'mon. We need to get you to the hospital." She said, getting up and pulling on his shoulder. "Don't have to." Sonic said without budging. Sally let go of his arm and turned around. "What the hell're you talking about?" She asked. "Having pain like that usually means you need to see a doctor."

Sonic wiped the sweat from his forehead. "No. Sit down. I... have to tell you something." He said. She was still worried and wanted to drag him out of the room and force him to go, but something told her to sit, which she did. "What is it?" Sally asked. He looked her straight in the eyes. "This... isn't easy for me to tell you." Sonic began. "I don't even know where to begin." He took a deep breath and finally, after holding the truth from her for so long, told her everything.

"That's pretty much it... I'm sorry. I can't tell you how sorry I am for keeping that from you." He said; he turned to look at her, and she had no expression on her face, it was blank. Sally couldn't believe what she had just heard. The Doctor said my heart's failing and There's nothing they can do for it. She kept hearing those words running through her head over and over again. "I'm sor-" He stopped as she fell into him and buried her head in his shoulder and cried, something that had become second nature to the both of them a long time ago.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" She asked through pained sobs. Sonic felt himself begin to lose hold of his emotions as well. "I'm sorry. I just wanted you to have one moment where *sniff* you were happy and didn't have to deal with anything like this *sob*." He said, starting to cry along with her. They fell into each other's arms and wept for a couple of hours until each fell asleep.

The following morning wasn't the most pleasant either had faced. They wanted to say something, but neither could find the words. The sorrow was thick in the air as they both dressed and began to fully shake off the past nights slumber. "Think we should get out of here?" Sonic asked, the first one to speak that morning. Sally didn't reply, instead offering a nod. They gathered the clothes they had tossed casually on one of the chairs and stuck them back in their suitcases. "Looks good." Sonic said and they shut the lights off and left, locking the door behind them.

It was a quiet walk down the hall to the elevator, a quiet ride down the five stories to the ground floor and a quiet walk to the front desk to check out. The clerk behind the desk saw them coming and gave them a big smile, something they both just loathed at the moment. "Good morning." She said cheerfully. "Checking out?"

Sonic nodded and he handed her their room key and swiped it through the computer. "Okay, your final charges are $49.99." She said with that cheerful, sickening smile. Sally took her credit card out and handed it to her and she ran that through the machine. It beeped a couple of times and the clerk handed the card back to Sally. "Okay. Thanks for staying with us and we hope to see you again."

"Thanks." Sonic said half-heartedly; Sally just nodded and faked a smile. They went out to the front and had the valet bring their car around, which she described for him. "Sure thing ma'am." He said with a smile and radioed for someone to bring it around. Oh God, just make it stop. Sally thought. Ironically, Sonic thought the same thing. They both just wanted to get home and be alone. When they brought the car around, Sonic and Sally both threw their suitcases into the back, quickly tipped the valet a $5 and drove off. The drive home was made in silence.

When they pulled in, Sally shut the car off and undid her seatbelt. "I'm gonna go in and take a nap." She said. "Okay." Sonic replied, neither in the mood to do much talking. She got out and went in, flicked on the A/C and went straight back to their room. Sonic took the bags out of the back and let them fall on the floor where he dropped them. He went in and laid down on the couch and flicked the TV on.

Since it was just after twelve that afternoon, there wasn't much on. "Fuck." Sonic said, turning the TV off and tossing the remote down on the coffee table. It didn't matter anyway. He wouldn't have been able to watch it even if there was anything good on anyway. Maybe I should go in and check on her. He thought. He got up and went over to the bedroom door and laid a hand on the knob. As he turned it and opened the door, Sally was lying in the middle of the bed, her back turned to the door. She was crying softly. God how he hated seeing her like this. "Sal?" He said softly as he walked into their bedroom. She didn't even bother to turn over.

He walked over and sat down and put a hand on her. She turned over and sat up, tears running freely down her face. She fell into him and he held her in his arms. "I don't want to lose you. I'm not ready yet." She sobbed. "I know." He said softly, her tears soaking into his shirt. "Hey." He whispered, grabbing her chin and lifting her gaze to his. "It'll be okay." He said, wiping the tears away. "I'm not gone yet." He smiled and she let out a laugh in reaction. "I'm still here and I'm going to be here for a long time. So how about we stop this whole crying, feeling sad thing and just forget about it?" He said.

When she was feeling down, Sonic never had to say very much, and like always, she felt better. "I'm sorry." She said. "It's ok." He replied, gently giving her a kiss.

Things had calmed down and they both managed to move past it. They both managed to fall into some sense of normalcy and now neither brought it up. But of course, it was always in the back of both of their minds. But he kept taking those pills, clearing the fluid that kept building up in his body. One night, he had a bout with it and quickly took one of his pills, which managed to clear it with ease. After a few minutes, she turned to him and asked, "You gonna be ok?"

"Yeah. You go ahead and go back to sleep." He said, getting up and going over to the door. "Alright." She said, laying back down. "If you need me, just call me." She said. He walked out and went into the living room and turned the TV on. He wasn't sure why, but he liked to be alone after having one of his bouts. Sally asked him about it, and he couldn't give her an explanation why. He just said he did. She nodded and accepted that.

One Month Later

It was August and they had both settled nicely into married life. Of course, it was just like it had been before, only now they had a piece of paper that said they were married. And now that Sonic had told Sally the truth, she began to deal with it, and accepted it. It wasn't easy, but neither of them saw the point of being sad about something neither of them could change. They tried to live life to the fullest and enjoy what time they had left together, but it wasn't easy. The excess liquid had began backing up in him more often now, which made something as simple as walking into a marathon. Now that the truth was out, he finally went back to see Dr. Anderson under Sally's urging, which wasn't very hard. Unfortunately, there wasn't much he could do for Sonic but examine him and give him a stronger water pill. Sonic thanked him and after that visit, he decided that since nothing further could be done, he didn't want anything more to do with Doctors unless he was forced to. Sally agreed and again, they went about their lives.

They went out more often. To dinner, a movie or just sitting out back in the field that ran behind their house. They always did that at night when the moon was full. One night, they decided to take in a little outdoor theatre and were sitting out back. Sonic's lungs were finally clear and he could finally walk without having to take a rest every few minutes. That night, they as they lay in the grass looking up at the stars, Sonic reached over and kissed her. On pure response, she kissed him back, which led to a session of heavy petting.

They hadn't been intimate with each other since their honeymoon. Since he had been having problems more frequently, they both decided to take it easy and not cause any extra stress on him. But that day, he had been feeling really good and it would both do them some good.

When he went under her shirt and began to feel around, she stopped him. "Are you sure you want to do this?" She asked. He nodded. "Yeah. I think I can handle it. Besides," He tapped his pocket. "I've got one with me just in case." She said, giving her a smile. She kissed him again and started to get up when he stopped her. "No. Let's go right here." He said.

She gave him a funny look. "Here? Outside?"

"Yeah." He grinned. "You can't see back here from the road and there's not a house for miles." He said. It was like they were the last two people on earth; they actually had to drive for a few minutes before they saw another house and besides that, he had always wanted to do it outside. Even though she knew they were alone, she looked around and satisfied no one was watching, agreed. Sonic continued where he left off and Sally reached down and began fiddling with his zipper.

Later that night

"Sal!" Sonic called out for her as he woke up with a sudden, sharp pain in his chest. She was dead asleep, but upon hearing her name called out, she woke up in a split second. "What?!" She looked over at Sonic and immediately knew what was happening. Sonic was trying to open the bottle with his pills that controlled the chest pain, but was struggling with the cap from the pain. She quickly grabbed it and opened it for him and put one in his mouth and he chewed it up and swallowed it. It was bitter, but the taste was better than the alternative.

"Ngh!" Sonic yelped as a sudden bolt of pain shot through him. These were the worst. On top of the crushing feeling, it felt like he was being stabbed by a knife that was on fire. Sally held his hand as the pill went through his system, reassuring him that she was there and wasn't going to leave his side. "Ngh!" Sonic yelped again as another bolt shot through him. This time though, his body tensed up and jerked up off the bed a half inch. Shit! Sonic thought as his body began tensing up and his vision began to get blurry. He was cold and sweating as well. "Sal." He said through clenched teeth, struggling to talk through the pain. "What?" She asked. "I lo... I love..."

"Sonic!" Sally yelped as he suddenly went limp and passed out. She reached out and shook him, but he didn't respond; his body shook with every little movement and Sally grabbed his wrist and felt for a pulse; nothing. "Oh God!" She cried out, frantically reaching up to his neck. "Please?" She pleaded and felt around his neck; nothing.

Sally reached over to the nightstand on her side of the bed and dialed 911, hit the speakerphone button and tossed it close by and began performing CPR. The phone began ringing and she began compressions, ten at a time, then pinching his nose shut and breathing twice into his mouth. "911, what's your emergency?"

The paramedics arrived a little over five minutes after Sally had called 911. When she unlocked the front door so they could enter, she was out of breath, tired and crying; she had been doing CPR up until the EMT's had arrived. They asked her where Sonic was and instead of telling them, she pointed back to their room.

There were two of them, one pushing a gurney and the other carrying a small vitals monitor in his hand. They rushed back to their bedroom and immediately began looking him over. "Start a line." One said as he began hooking Sonic up to the monitor. "Lips are blue. No breath sounds." The other said, taking a visual inspection. In less than a minute, the EMT had Sonic hooked up and when he flipped the portable monitor on, it powered up, followed by the sound of a long, steady beep. "Flatline." EMT one said. He reached under the gurney and grabbed another machine out from a storage area under the gurney and set it on the bed. Sally recognized it as a small defibrillator.

EMT two began pulling out the large gel pads, placing them on Sonic's chest and EMT one began prepping the defib. Sally was now in tears and she was about ready to lose it as she watched her husband fighting for his life. "Ready." EMT two said, finishing readying Sonic for the shock.

EMT two placed the paddles on Sonic's chest. "Clear!" He shouted and as soon as EMT one was clear, two pressed the buttons on the paddles. The shock went through Sonic, causing his body to jump off the bed a good four inches, finally coming back down on the mattress with a soft thud. The monitor showed a flash of activity from the shock, then continued to display nothing.

"Again." One said. "Charging to 600." Two said. Once it was ready, he shocked Sonic again, his body convulsing and coming back down on the bed. Still nothing. They tried one more time, and after getting nowhere, One looked at Two and said, "Let's take him in." Two nodded and they both picked Sonic up with ease on the gurney and pushed Sonic out of the house. Sally quickly grabbed a shirt, her purse, keys and her phone and followed them out to the ambulance, locking the house up behind her. They loaded Sonic up into the back and Sally tried to climb in the back, but Two stopped her. "Sorry ma'am. You can come, but sit up front."

She nodded and went around to the front and climbed in. Luckily, she could watch Sonic from the front seat as Two worked on him. One climbed in and radioed the hospital that they were coming in. He started the ambulance up and as he put it into gear, he said "Hold on!" as he flipped a U and floored it, the lights and siren flashing as they sped off to the hospital.

Sally watched as Two inserted an I.V. into Sonic's arm and injected some kind of medication into his system and put an oxygen mask on his face with a large blue bulb on one end which he squeezed to force oxygen into Sonic's lungs since he wasn't breathing on his own at the moment. Sally, tears falling from her face and head spinning, reached into her purse and took her phone out and began to send a mass text to the others that simply said: 'Hospital'.

The ambulance pulled up to the hospital in five minutes and they unloaded Sonic from the back of it and rushed him into the ER. He was taken back and Sally told the nurse what had happened, then they began working on him. Please let him be ok.

They got him hooked up to the monitor and when it showed he was still flat lining, they grabbed the big defib machine and wheeled it over to Sonic's bedside.

"How long's he been down." One of the nurses asked. "About ten minutes." One said, continuing to work the oxygen mask. "Damn." The nurse said softly. That wasn't a good sign.

"Charge to 700." The supervising Doctor ordered and she did. The machine whined up and when it was fully powered up, they shocked him again. The monitor flickered again, but still showed no improvement.

Sally fell to her knees, crying. She turned away, unable to watch any longer. She didn't know what was worse, watching everything unfold in front of her, or the fact she couldn't do a damn thing about it. "Charge to full." The Doctor ordered. The nurse reached over and turned the machine up to full, and once it was charged, the Doctor discharged it again, causing Sonic's body to rise and fall, hitting the bed with a thump. Everyone involved looked up at the monitor and saw that there had been no change and the Doctor tossed the paddles down on the bed, disheartened and shaking his head. "Time of death... 2:18 a.m." The Doctor said, taking off his gloves and tossing them in a trash can against the wall. One of the nurses nodded while the other one began to unhook Sonic from the monitor. "What're you doing?" Sally asked, pulling herself up off the floor and rushing over to Sonic's bedside. "You can't stop. You can't..." She trailed off, looking down at Sonic then back up at them.

"I'm sorry." The Doctor said. "He's been down too long-"

"No!" Sally cried. "There's got to be something you can give him! You can't give up." She demanded. The Doctor went over and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, but we did everything we could." He said and with that, he pulled the curtain that surrounded the bed closed. Sally, tears in her eyes, held the man she loved in her arms, his lifeless body shaking with every sob that emanated from within her. "I love you." She whispered as she held him tightly. "Please don't leave me. Don't leave me."

Meanwhile

"Where is he!?" Knuckles asked as soon as he barged through the door. The nurse that was working behind the desk looked up, started by the sudden outburst. "Excuse me?" She asked. "Sonic! Where is he?" Knuckles asked again as the others walked through the door. The nurse, who had seen them before, recognized him. "I'll go check." She said and disappeared through the doors that led to the ER's exam area. "I don't like this." Tails said. There was a strange feeling in the air, something that none of them could figure out. "I know what you mean." Shadow said. "Something's wrong."

The nurse came out a few second's later, her gaze cast down on the floor. The four of them didn't like the look on her face. "The Doctor will be out in a second." She said and sat back down at the desk. "Something's wrong, isn't there? What is it?" Knuckles demanded. The nurse looked back up at him. "The Doctor will explain everything." She said and went back to her duties. The feeling of uneasiness began to sink in to all of them; Tails especially.

*Thoom* The doors behind the desk fling open and the ER's supervising Doctor walked out. The nurse looked up at him and nodded. "Hi. I'm Dr. Wilson. I take it you're all friends of Sonic?" He asked; they all nodded in unison. "What happened?" Knuckles asked. The Doctor took a quick, deep breath and let it out. "Would you all come with me please?" He asked, motioning down the hall. "It's bad, isn't it?" Tails asked. "Please, this way." The Doctor asked again. Everyone immediately knew that something had gone terribly wrong and they all began to brace themselves for the worst.

They followed Dr. Wilson to a room down a hallway and the five of them packed the room. "It's serious, isn't it?" Shadow asked. Dr. Wilson nodded. "What happened?"

"When you're friend was brought in-" Shadow stopped him cold. It was obvious the Doctor was trying to tell them in a delicate way, but Shadow just wanted to get it over with; a trait that they all shared. "Don't beat around the bush. Is he ok?"

Dr. Wilson shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you're friend didn't make it." Tails turned into Cream and buried his head in her shoulder, his sobs muffled by her shirt. They both sat down in the only two chairs that were in front of the desk. Knuckles and Shadow held back, but they shed a few as well; a rare sight for either of them. "From what his wife told us, we believe he suffered a heart attack before he was brought in and when he arrived, every attempt to revive him failed. I'm sorry. We did everything we could." Dr. Wilson said.

Shadow nodded. "I'll uh, let his wife know that you're here." Dr. Wilson said and left the room. When he came back, they were all standing outside the office. "Where is she?" Knuckles asked, expecting Sally to be following the Doctor. "If you'll follow me, I'll take you to where she is." Dr. Wilson said. The others nodded and followed him. After walking for a couple of minutes, they turned down a hallway and walked to the end of the corridor. The closer they got, they began to hear the sounds of sobs coming from one of the rooms.

"Here we are." Dr. Wilson said, waiving an arm toward the door. A small gold plaque sat on the wall next to the door that read, 'Quiet room'. Dr. Wilson knocked lightly on the door and a second later it opened. Sally, still weeping saw the others and she rushed out and Shadow, being the one standing in her path, fell into his arms. He grabbed her and she began to cry again. Dr. Wilson nodded and walked away and they walked into the room and shut the door behind him.

The room was simple, just a couple of couches, a few paintings on the wall and a plant. Nothing special, but it wasn't set up for a party. Tails, Cream and Knuckles took a couch and Shadow and Sally took another one.

"It'll be ok." Shadow said. Sally nodded, wiping her eyes. "I know." Sally mouthed, unable to really speak. "At least he's not suffering anymore." She said.

Some time later

"You can pick up his belongings from the front desk in the ER; I'm sorry for your loss." The nurse said, taking the papers Sally had to sign and sticking them under her arm. "It's ok." Sally replied as the nurse got up and walked out of the room. "Huh. They act like he's just a piece of property." Sally grunted, wiping away a few residual tears. The papers she had to sign were the agreement to release his body for the autopsy and some other official nonsense, waving her right to sue the hospital and whatnot. They gave her the opportunity to see him one last time, but she refused; a good choice considering the state of mind.

Now that that part was over, the only thing left to do was grieve. It was quiet in the little room they had all been shuttled to and they all stood up and headed back down to the ER. The entire walk was quiet and when the got to the ER's front desk, Sally told the nurse on duty that she was there to pick up Sonic's things. "Of course." The nurse said and went into the exam room. She came out a few seconds later, carrying a plastic bag with everything Sonic had been wearing. Sally saw it and she immediately began to tear up. Shadow took it and put it behind his back so he or anyone else could see it. "Let's just go." Sally said quickly, dabbing her eyes with a tissue that had already become soaked.

As they got out to their cars, they all said their goodbye's to each other and promised to meet up later on, and as Tails and Cream went to get into their car and Shadow started to take off, the noticed Sally standing outside hers, keys in hand and face warped in tears. Oh God. Shadow thought as he, Tails and Cream headed over to her. "I can't..." she sobbed, the keys dangling from her hand. Tails nodded over to their car and Shadow gently put an arm around her and walked her over to their car.

"We'll give you a ride and come back for your car, Sal." Tails said. She nodded and crawled in the backseat and broke down again. There was no way she was able to drive after what had happened. The drive back, like the last hour was quiet, quick outbursts coming from the backseat and eyes wiped dry. Tails pulled the car into the driveway and they all climbed out, Shadow helping her to the door. They walked in and another wave of sadness came over all of them. It was weird not seeing Sonic waiting inside for them or doing something around the house and tears ensued. Sally walked in and tossed her keys on the desk, but she missed and they fell to the floor.

"Thanks for bringing me home. I don't think I could've made the drive back here." Sally said. "Don't worry about it." Cream said.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Shadow asked, holding the bag of Sonic's clothes. Sally grabbed it and put it behind her back. "Thanks. If you guys don't mind, I'm uh... I'm gonna go lie down for a while." Sally said. "We can stay here with you for the night if you want." Cream offered. Sally smiled weakly. It was nice and showed how much they cared for her. "Thanks." She said. "But I'll be alright." She said, which was her way of saying 'Leave me alone right now'. Everyone nodded and left; she slowly walked back to her room, head slumped as she disappeared to the back of the house.

Sally went into the bedroom and locked the door behind her and sat on the side of the bed, the bag of Sonic's clothes in her hand. She tossed it beside her and her eyes began to water from the sight of it, but she forced herself to reach out and open the bag. She set it upright and when the bag opened, she grabbed the shirt Sonic had been wearing; it still had his smell on it and she held it to her face and took a deep breath. It reminded her of him and eased the pain somewhat and she took her own shirt off and pulled his on. Next, she took his shoes out of the bag. They were old and worn down after years of use. Sally tried to get him to throw them out, but he argued that he loved them and he wouldn't give them up for anything. Looking back now, it was a silly argument and she'd let him have a thousand pairs of those shoes if it meant she could have him back. She laid them gently on the floor, tossing the bag in a corner. At the bottom of the plastic bag, was a smaller bag which had his wedding ring. She took that out and tossed the larger bag in a corner and tore open the smaller bag and after holding his ring in her fingers, she laid it on the nightstand next to the bed. She was still weeping slightly as she threw her pillow on the floor and grabbed his and put it under her head as she laid down, it too having his smell.

As Sally lay on the bed, which felt cold and empty without him next to her, she grabbed his ring and held it in her fingers, turning it over and over. On her nightstand was a picture of him and her. The same picture of them sitting underneath the large tree in the front yard when they had first bought the house. She grabbed it and stared at his image; more tears began falling. I love you. She thought as she held it close to her body; she cried until she fell asleep.