Why I stayed

Part 5

The world imploded. Kate can't be dying; she just can't. She hasn't done anything wrong; it should be me who is dying. Without her, I'd already have been dead. 

I stumbled and reached for a tree to steady myself. Kate was the one who stopped me from jumping, the one who taught me how to laugh again. Without her, I'd be nothing; she was my kind half... My only half worth having. 

She broke down even more, now sitting with her back up to the trees and legs pressed tightly against her chest.

Neither of us spoke, it was as if I had forgotten how. The weight of what Kate had just said tore at me, the words echoing in my head.

Less than a minute passed, but it felt like years since I was asleep, with a blissful ignorance, my only troubles being schoolwork and whether I'd be able to make it to robotics club the next day. It felt like I was falling back into the hole that Kate dragged me out of, the one that I struggled and almost failed to claw my way out of.

It was Kate who managed to gather the strength to speak. "I wanted to tell you, but I didn't know how."

She paused, tears streaming down her face. "Whenever I wanted to tell you, I froze, I couldn't bring myself to do it."

I don't know whether I was genuinely offended, or the stress of the situation caused me to think irrationally, but her statement angered me, filling me with the false strength that I hadn't had minutes ago.

"Why didn't you tell me, were you too afraid I would leave?" I growl accusingly. "Or did you think I would go back to the way I was before you met me?"

Kate, seeing my anger, rose to my challenge, rage filled her eyes, making her look dangerous with the moon reflecting off her eyes. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to save you pain!" She screamed at me, pain replacing the rage in her eyes.

She lowers her voice "I didn't tell you because I love you." Kate begins to cry.

Her confession washed over me. All anger I had fled that very moment. I begin to walk over to her, and try to comfort her "Kate I..."

"Shut up" she yells, water plastered against her face. 

"Kate please" I plead, tears now flowing down my face as well.

"Go, Leave!" she screams, picking up a sizable rock and throwing it at me. 

I turn and run, I probably shouldn't have left her alone, I should have stayed, but at the time I needed to think things through myself.

Halfway down the trail, I began to reason, but as I was deciding whether or not to turn around, an overgrown tree's root grabs my foot. The last thing I remember is the ground suddenly rushing towards me and my voice screaming.