Flashback

Michael parked the car and turned it off. He looked around. He couldn't believe it. It had been so long since he was here. He took a deep breath, remembering the last time he was here. He was with Lina. They were sitting by the lake, the sound of the water lapping against the shore was soothing. They were holding hands. Michael felt so happy. He knew Lina was the one. He thought they were going to spend the rest of their lives together. Lina had always been so happy-go-lucky and he loved that about her. But that day she was quiet, staring out into the lake. "Are you okay?" he asked, squeezing her hand. Lina smiled at him. "I'm fine," she said. "I've just got a lot on my mind." "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked. She shook her head. "It's nothing," she said. Michael felt a knot in his stomach. He knew Lina was hiding something from him and he desperately wanted to know what it was. He knew she was struggling with an inner conflict between wanting to tell him the truth and wanting to protect him from her own secrets. He knew that if he pushed her to tell him, she'd feel like she was betraying him, and he didn't want to do that. But he also didn't want her to keep anything from him, either. He squeezed her hand and took a deep breath. "I love you," he said. "Whatever you're going through, you can tell me. I'm here for you."

Michael felt his heart sink. He wanted to believe her, but he knew deep down that she wasn't telling the truth. He knew that she had feelings for someone else. He felt a rush of emotions inside him; anger, hurt, and confusion. He had put so much into this relationship and now it was all coming undone. He wanted to lash out but he didn't know what to say. He wanted to try and fix things but he knew that it was too late. He felt like he was being torn apart and he had no control over it. He was stuck in this inner conflict of wanting to make things right and knowing it was impossible.

Lina looked away, wiping her tears, "I'm so tired of this pretend relationship. I'm tired of waiting for you to be ready. I'm tired of being the only one who tries in this relationship." She knew she was right, she knew it was time to end things, but the thought of losing Michael forever caused a knot to form in her stomach. She could feel her heart breaking as she looked at him, knowing that whatever was holding him back was keeping them apart. She sighed, her voice shaking, "I know what I should do- what I need to do, but I don't know if I can bring myself to do it. I don't know if I can let go of you." Michael sat there for a long time, staring at the lake. He didn't know how to feel. He was angry, hurt, sad, he was feeling all those things. But more than anything he felt guilty. Guilty for not letting Lina in, guilty for not being able to be the man she wanted him to be. Without a word, Michael made his way back to the van, Lina following from a distance as he heard her up with tears. It was the last time they spent any meaningful time together and the last time Michael came to this lake. As he drove away, the guilt and regret started to take over. He wanted to turn to her and tell her all the things he was feeling, tell her how much he loved her, he wanted to make it all right. But he knew he couldn't. He knew that if he turned back he would only make things worse. He had to let her go, no matter how much it hurt.