I reached up with my finger and traced the scar over my eyebrow, remembering when that was the greatest hurt I'd ever known.

And while it is hard enough to take away something that makes a person happy it's even more difficult when it seems like it's the only thing.

You're not a sucker. You're just nice. You give people the benefit of the doubt.

Are those the only options? Nothing or forever?

Because you can never go from going out to being friends, just like that. It's a lie. It's just something that people say they'll do to take the permanence out of a breakup. And someone always takes it to mean more than it does, and then is hurt even more when, inevitably, said ‘friendly' relationship is still a major step down from the previous relationship, and it's like breaking up all over again. But messier.

That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking.

The truth about forever is that it is happening right now.