Serenity Falls(101)

Tears flow freely now. The happiness written all over his face, crushes my soul when I realize that I’m about to shatter his heart. The velvety texture of the rose petals sticks to my knees as I kneel down in front of him. “Wes, I love you more than you will ever know. Like you, I didn’t plan on meeting my soul mate when I came here this summer. I didn’t even believe in soul mates until I met you. There’s been this hole in my heart for so long, but now it’s filled, thanks to you. You did that. You gave me peace,” I whisper. When he goes to speak, I shake my head to stop him and take a deep breath. “But… I don’t need a proposal. We can make it work. Somehow, someway.”

I watch as a myriad of emotions flicker in his eyes. Love and joy turn into hurt and confusion. But the one I dread seeing the most, the one I know will become permanent—hate. “What are you trying to say, Kenleigh?”

“Never in all my life did I think I would be lucky enough to find someone as wonderful as you. The past couple of months mean more to me than you will ever know.” I sniff back the tears, because I know I am breaking his heart, the same heart he gave freely to me. “I don’t this want this summer to end, but more importantly, I don’t want us to end.”

I turn my head away from him. My hair sticks to the rogue tears that continue like a torrential downpour on my face. “But?” he grits out through clenched teeth. His grip tightens around my hand, encouraging me to go on.

“I can’t marry you. I love you, yes, but I’m too, we’re too—”

“You can’t, or you won’t marry me?” he asks, cutting me off in a hard tone.

My face falls. I cannot bare to see how much he will hate me after this. “I can’t. Not right now,” I whisper on a shuddering breath.

“Well then…” He trails off, dropping my hand on my lap. I lean back on my heels and slowly lift my head as I watch him stand. With a hand on his hip, he runs the other through his blond hair, hair that I love to run my fingers through, hair my fingers will never feel again. “Isn’t this just fucking perfect? I confess my love to you. I give you my heart, not just half, but the whole damn thing. For what? To propose to you and be fucking rejected?” he asks. His gaze drops to mine as he laces his fingers behind his neck. “Is this what you wanted?” A single tear escapes his eye as his gaze holds me captive. “To hurt me?”

“No! I w-would never want to h-hurt you. I love you. If you would j-just listen to m-me—” I stammer through my sobs.

“I don’t… I don’t want to hear it. I thought we wanted the same things.” His voice is hoarse as he wipes away more tears that have broken through the barriers of his long dark eyelashes.

“I do. Just not r-right…”

“Save it. I can’t do this. I love you, but you just broke my fucking heart. I don’t care about your reasoning. When it comes to love, that’s one fucking emotion I do not fuck with.” He sneers. His hands fall from his neck as he walks around my slouched form—away from me, from us.

My chin drops to my chest, my hair falls around me, shielding me from his hurtful words. I try to take deep breaths as sobs consume me, but all I can do is gasp for air as he walks away. In the distance, I hear his voice one last time. “Goodbye, Kenleigh.”

Right now, I know that last statement just sealed our fate, and a deep gaping hole will be left in my heart forever.

I don’t know how much time passes, but I know Wes left. He didn’t just leave me; he left our memory behind too. I remember hearing the screen door to the house slam against the wooden siding. Not long after that, I heard his truck start and his tires squeal, taking him to where, I don’t know. I wish he would have given me the opportunity to explain, but he didn’t, and I can’t blame him. I shattered his heart. Now, I’m left here with a million ‘what ifs’ running through my mind. I knew my rejection of his proposal was going to hurt him, but didn’t he see that it hurt me, too? If I‘d had an inclination that he was going to ask for my hand in marriage, maybe I would have thought my answer out differently. Maybe I would have said yes. Just as the image of tears running down his face hits me like a ton of bricks, another round of uncontrollable sobs hits me.

Warm, consolatory arms wrap around my shoulders as Mrs. Sandy’s scent engulfs me. “It wasn’t supposed to end like this.” My words come out muffled as Mrs. Sandy presses my head against her chest.

“I know, Dear. I know,” she whispers against my hair.

“I love him. I do. I never meant to hurt him.” Another sob breaks free, and I’m left trembling with the fear that I will never see him again.