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I held my breath Her words see, her voice filled with urgency "Please open the door, Tristan Please let me back in Come back to ainst one another over and over again "I could’ve killed him"

"You wouldn’t have," she said

"Go away, Elizabeth," I said "Please, just leave ed foruntil I see you I’ until you letthe door wide open "Go away" My soul rung with a sudden, wild homesickness as I stared into her eyes My stare faltered off toward the ground, unable to look at the one thing that one, Elizabeth" I would just hurt you You deserve more thanI couldn’t look at her anymore

"I do," I said "You can’t save me" I closed the door and locked the shed oncefor an explanation, begging for answers to all the unknown questions, but I stopped listening

I stared atthe blood, unsure if it was Tanner’s or ers, under , and I couldn’t see a way out

I wanted him to knoas sorry I wanted him to know I shouldn’t have snapped I wanted it all to be a dream I wanted to wake up and have my family back I wanted to wake up and never kno much hearts could truly break

But mostly, I wanted to let Elizabeth know that I loved her Every second Every minute Every hour Every day

I’th to leave the shedElizabeth on the ground, wrapped in her winter coat "You should’ve gone hoed

I bent down and lifted her intoto ainst hter as I carried her into her house "It does matter It matters a lot"

I placed her in bed and turned to leave her room She asked me to stay with her, but I knew I couldn’t My ood place Before I left her house, I stopped in her bathroom to clean the blood froether aggressively, trying to get all the blood off I couldn’t stop I kept scrubbing, adding one

"Tristan," Elizabeth said, breaking me from the trance I was in She turned off the faucet, took a towel, and wrapped ers in the cloth "What did he say to you?"