Bailey Zimmerman - Where It: Ends

She was the last thing he ever thought he would lose, but as the miles stretched between them, he realized she was also the best thing that ever happened to him—because she had finally shown him exactly what true love shouldn't be.

He had given her a second chance, letting her back behind the walls he had barely managed to build up after the last heartbreak. He thought they were finally mending the broken roads. Then came tonight.

He reached over to the passenger seat and picked up the small box of things she had left behind. He realized he had to bury all these memories, or they would bury him. Bailey Zimmerman - Where It Ends

Just like that, the illusion shattered. The truth hit him like a jet plane screaming across a clear blue sky, tearing through the clouds until the sun came shining down, blindingly bright, on all of her lies. There was no more hiding. There was no more pretending that if he just tried harder, gave more, or fought longer, she would finally choose him.

For the last two years, he had been a soldier in a war he was never going to win. He fought for her on her absolute worst days. When she was drowning in her own doubts, he was the anchor. When the rest of the world walked away, he stood his ground, taking the hits and absorbing the collateral damage of her chaos. He went to battle for her always, bleeding himself dry just to keep her safe. She was the last thing he ever thought

Slowly, he put the truck in gear and pulled out onto the slick, dark highway. His chest ached, and his hands shook slightly on the wheel, but a strange, heavy sense of resolve was beginning to settle over him. He had too much pride left in his bones to let himself be destroyed by someone who didn't care if he survived.

And yet, all he ever really wanted was to be loved in return. Then came tonight

The rain was coming down hard in Louisville, Illinois, but inside the cab of his beat-up Ford, the air was suffocatingly still. He sat with his forehead resting against the steering wheel, watching the headlights cut through the downpour like a searchlight exposing a crime scene.