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“But I don’t want to end it this way,” he said

“Well, I don’t want to end it, so neither of us are happy” She pushed past him and crept into the roo to keep Ben asleep

When she crept back out, Jesse was still there She walked past hi

She resolved at that round by the door, that her life would no longer be dictated by anyone else Her life as a leaf in other people’s streams was over

She was here in New Springs and she would stay Make a life for herself She had friends A job she loved And she would not pine after Jesse Filht have been if he’d loved her as much as she loved him

She brushed the hair from her eyes and marveled at how calm she felt No tears No hysteria A bone-deep pain radiated through her body, but she could e her own pain far more than she could handle Jesse’s

She turned and found hi stretched past endurance

She smiled tremulously “Good luck to you, Jesse”

“Julia—” He gasped, reaching for her

She shook her head and held up her hand to stop hiht rupture like a popped balloon

“I aain” She sed “I hope that you find so breath of air, seeing so clearly what Jesse was too pained to see “I hope you can forgive yourself for those things that happened to you that were out of your control I hope you can forgive yourself for Mitch and those men in the crash”