If He Had Been with Me

by Laura Nowlin

Stay. I whisper to him. Stay in the car. Stay in this moment. Stay with me. But of course he never does.

they open and unfold, their petals drooping downward, dying just as their lives have begun.

In the end, my decision comes down to one thing: I think Finny would forgive me. It wouldn’t be what he wanted for me, but he would forgive me. And if I continue to try to survive without Finny, there are paths I could go down that he would think were much worse than this.

But the temptation to be close to him one last time is too great for me to resist.

And I come into this room and lock the door behind me.