“I think you’re making a mistake.” Sadness fills his tone. “I love you, Aspen. You know that.” But does he? Because if he did, he would understand why I’m ending things. Hell, he would want me to end things. He’d want me to go off to college and date guys my own age. He’d want me to be independent, so I know that life can exist without him before I try to build a life with him. He’d want me to be free…because expecting a teenage girl to carry the weight of a secret relationship with a married, older man isn’t fair. What it takes out of me isn’t fair.
