Always You and Me

by Dani Atkins

‘Please, Lily. For me. Go and see him. Listen to what he has to say. And then, when you’ve heard it . . . forgive him. And then forgive me.’

There is probably a special place in hell for people who lie to someone who’s dying, and I was already halfway there.

I learnt that you can’t outrun grief because it always knows where to find you, but you can keep yourself so busy that it can only squeeze into the gaps of your life, instead of burying you under an avalanche of sadness.

‘Nobody wants to hear about him. They don’t ask you what he was like, or what were the things he loved. No one wants to know what made him laugh or drove him crazy. They edit him out of every conversation because they believe it’ll be too painful for you to talk about him. But really, the most painful thing of all is never getting to talk about him.’

Lily. I’ve always loved you. There’s never been anyone else in my heart except you. And yes, I know this is the worst possible time to be telling you this. But better now than after you’ve gone through with it. I had to come. I had to stop you marrying the wrong guy, even if he is Mr Right, Mr Nice Guy, Mr Good Guy. He’s not the one you’re meant to be with. You’re meant to be with me.’