Fallen Out of Love
By Jo

~*~*
When you're standing in deep water,
And you're bailing yourself out with a straw.
And when you're drowning in deep water.
Well it's these little times that help to remind.
It's nothing without love.
~*~*

They sky was the color of slate and the air was icy, but Jayla and Lance stood still.  They didn't dare move.  They were locked in an embrace in which they both knew that if they let go, the other person would be gone forever.

Jayla tried to speak, but found that the words just wouldn't come.  So, instead, she moved her head from his shoulder and placed it gently upon his forehead so she could gaze into his eyes.  Her friends always told her that the eyes were the window to the soul, and she for the first time witnessed this.

Lance's soft sea foam green eyes were pink from his silent sobs and not as clear as they normally were.  She saw in him all the love he had for her, all the plans they had made to be together, and the desperation he had to hold on to the last moments of their lives together.

~*~*
You find yourself falling down,
Your hopes in the sky,
But your heart like grape gum on the ground
~*~*

He was genuinely hurt.  They had been together for 2 years and 6 months.  He proposed to her the night of their half -year anniversary, but she turned him down.  She wasn't in love with him anymore.

She loved him, but somewhere along the line had fallen out of love.  Jayla knew deep in her heart that she would never be happy if she married him.  That was last night, it was now 4 am and the two still stood motionless in their embrace.

It was like they were both clutching to their last breaths, their last moments on earth.  In a way they were, the instant one or the other let go, they would be ripped out of each others lives forever.

~*~*
It's nothing without love, love, love.
It's nothing without love,
It's nothing without love.
~*~*

The sky began to lighten slowly and the wind stirred the trees in the early morning.  Jayla's mind drifted back to a few short hours before and Lance's proposal:
"Jayla.I love you with all of my heart.  You know that right?"  She nodded.  "We've spent 2 and a half years together, and they have been the best years of my life.  Would you do me the honor, Baby, of being my wife, my angel, my goddess, to love and cherish for all eternity?"

Jayla stepped back from his grasp and thought a moment to herself before replying.  "I love you Lance.  I love you with all of my heart, but somewhere during these past few months I fell out of love with you.  The sparks are gone, Lance, they haven't been there for ages now.  I think it best for the both of us if we just let go, and move on.  Let's not live in the past."  She had tears in her eyes, and he nearly collapsed at her words, but in a desperate attempt to salvage anything they had left, he took her in his arms and just held her.

~*~*
When suddenly everything fades or falls away.
'Cause the chains which once held us,
Are only the chains which we've made
~*~*

A bird flew overhead and nearly collided with the pair taking Jayla out of her trance.  She looked one last time into the eyes of her first love. "Goodbye," she said softly before turning to get into her silver mustang.  Lance just stood there dumbfounded.  Nothing had really sunk in until now.  She was gone, out of his life forever.  She was his everything, and without her he was lost.  "I Love You," he mumbled almost to himself.  She was already in her car and starting the engine.

She didn't hear him, she didn't want to, it would have hurt her too badly, she wouldn't have been able to walk away.

Lance watched her drive off through eyes glazed with tears before turning to walk inside.  As he turned the skies opened up and it began to rain.  They seemed to know how he felt.  He turdged slowly back to his house.  He really thought they would be together forever, but he would never take love for granted again.  That is. if he ever loved again.

~*~*
We've compromised our pride,
And sacrificed our health.
We have to demand more;
Not of each other
But more from ourselves.
'Cause when you're standing in deep water,
And you're bailing yourself out with a straw,
When you're drowning in deep water
And you wake up making love to a wall
Well it's these little times that help to remind.
It's nothing without love, love, love.
It's nothing without love.it's nothing
Without love. nothing, nothing at all.
~*~*

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