The strangers stared as she had completely collapsed by that point, but no one really knew what to do. Diane Chambers, the most well put together member of the Cheers environment, had now completely fallen to pieces, and in public, and if Sam Malone had witnessed it, it just might have made a difference. Maybe he would have taken back those awful words he would have said to her. Maybe he would have apologized for slapping her. But really, how could a person take back goodbye?
They couldn't, and Diane knew it. Even though she had tried to tell herself on the way out of the bar that she was the one leaving Sam she knew that it didn't really matter… it was over. And it did not end on her terms. Maybe part of the reason for her predicament now was the lack of control- Diane always needed to be the one in control-or maybe, just maybe, she really did love Sam, and once you have given your heart to someone you can't get it back no matter what they say or do to you. You might hate yourself for it, the mind might punish yourself for it, but you just can't stop loving someone just because they tell you those most dreaded words in the English dictionary: I don't love you anymore.
Sam hadn't come out and said it, but he hadn't needed to. It was obvious by the coldness in his voice, the words he chose, his actions- just the fact that he had slapped her was proof enough that the tides had changed in their love. But the realization that he no longer loved her hit Diane just as the snow started to fall on that cold Boston day, and though she knew people were watching, she did not care. She fell to her knees as she tried to make sense of what had just happened to her.
What would happen to her? Would she ever love again? Would she find another job? All of those questions were hitting her on top of the sheer pain of the emotion that comes from a cold and calculating break-up. Her mind was racing and throwing words at her faster than she could process them. She, Diane, a master of the human language, could not understand what her own mind was telling her. Words were coming at her like the rainfall comes down in a Seattle rainstorm. Sam. Over. Lost. Enough. Hate. Broken. Rejected. Afraid. They were simple words, but again, they were all that her mind would allow, and they were some of the strongest words that conveyed the most telling of stories in and of themselves. Those were the words that came out of her mouth when the police officer found her. He looked at her with a mixture of pity and confusion. He'd seen this all too many times before. It was a good thing he'd found her when he did. There were too many bridges here, too many things buildings, too many anything for her to get herself into. She was in good hands now, and she was going to be all right. He'd make sure of that.