The silence stretched between them.
Lilly and Jerry—two people who had seen death, caused death, lived among death—now sat here, unable to make sense of the one loss that actually hurt.
Lilly swallowed the lump in her throat.
“I thought I could tell you that time would heal this. That one day, you’d wake up, and the pain would be gone.”
Jerry gave her a hollow stare, waiting for her to continue.
“But that would be a lie.”
Her voice broke slightly, but she pushed through.
“The truth is… you won’t wake up one day and magically feel okay. You’ll carry this pain with you. Every damn day.”
Jerry’s jaw clenched. He knew that already, he knows deep down he will never get over losing his love right before it could even blossom.
Lilly reached out and placed a hand over his.
“But you’ll learn to live with it,” she whispered. “Because that’s what Chloe would have wanted. She didn’t fight this hard, endure this much, just for either of us to fall apart when she’s gone.”
Jerry let out a ragged bre
