Bailey Zimmerman - Where It Ends -

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.

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.

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. Bailey Zimmerman - Where It Ends

They had tried to fix it so many times. The mended fences, the quiet promises whispered in the dark, the tears that swore things would be different. He had ignored the warning signs. Everyone else could see them—those glaring red flags waving violently in the wind. His friends told him to walk out that door, but he was blinded by hope and crippled by a memory of who they used to be.

And yet, all he ever really wanted was to be loved in return. For the last two years, he had been

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. When the rest of the world walked away,

He looked at the road ahead, wiped his eyes, and exhaled a long, shaky breath into the cold air. This was where it ends.