Page 243 - It Ends with Us

for the military. He knew tha t a casual friend shi p would nev er work

bet ween us. It would ha ve been too painf ul.
Apparent ly, tha t ha sn’t cha ng ed.
“Goodbye, Atlas.”
Saying tho se words again tea rs me up almost as much as the firs t
time I ha d to say them. He winc es and then turns and walks to the
door like he can’t lea ve fast eno ugh. When the door closes behi nd

hi m, I walk over and lock it, then pres s my hea d agains t it.
Two days ago I was asking mysel f ho w my life could possibly get any
bet ter. Today I’m asking myself ho w it could possibly get any worse.
I jump back with the sudden kno ck at the door. It’s onl y been ten
sec ond s sinc e he walked out, so I kno w it’s Atlas. I unl ock it and open
it and I’m suddenl y pres sed agains t somet hi ng soft. Atlas’s arms wrap
tight ly around me, des pera tel y, and hi s lips are pres sed agains t the

side of my hea d.
I squee ze my ey es shu t and fina lly let the tea rs fall. I’ve cried so
many tears for R yle over the past two days, I ha ve no idea ho w I still
ha ve any lef t for Atlas. But I do, bec ause they ’re falling down my
cheek s like rain.
“Lily,” he whi spers , still ho lding me tight ly. “I kno w thi s is the last

thi ng you need to hea r right no w. But I ha ve to say it bec ause I’ve
walked away from you too many times witho ut saying what I rea lly
want to say.”
He pulls back to look down at me and when he sees my tea rs, he
bring s hi s ha nd s up to my cheek s. “In the future . . . if by some
miracle you ev er find yoursel f in the position to fall in love again . . .
fall in love with me. ” He pres ses hi s lips agains t my forehea d. “You’re

still my favorite pers on, Lily. Always will be. ”
He rel ea ses me and walks away, no t ev en need ing a res pons e.
When I close the door again, I slide to the floor. My hea rt feel s like
it want s to give up. I don’t blame it. It’s suffered thro ugh two sep arate
hea rtaches in the course of two days.
And I ha ve a feel ing it’s going to be a long time bef ore ei ther of

tho se hea rtaches can ev en beg in to hea l.