She kissed him 
For the first time
For the last time
In the early darkness
Of the morning that had come far too late
Her courage had been shattered
By something not so kind
And he had restored it 
By merely listening
By merely holding her
And by merely being a friend

It was not until now that she found her voice
The voice inside her that said
Love
Let it go
Love
And don't be afraid

They were sitting together 
The library of the boarding school was dark
And they had met there to talk
He had asked her
She had come

He knew she was falling for him
Falling hard
Falling fast
But he could not let it go any farther
He had a secret
Something in his past
Something he could not let go of

She kissed him in the darkness
She thought it was for the best
Her words had failed her
So she turned to her actions

And he gently pushed her away

He told her what he had to
He bared his past to her
And turned away

She stepped up behind him
Lay her hand on his shoulder
And leaned her head against his back

He walked forward
He knew he had to
And she followed

She came to stand in front of him
She stroked his cheek with care
Her soft fingers sent shivers down his spine

She lifted his chin
Looked into his eyes
Saw through his shame
And spoke in a whisper

"I don't care what happened
This is now
Then has passed
And cannot be undone"

He shook his head
And left the room

She collapsed in a heap of skirts and lace
Sobbing to the floor
Her heart rent in half
By the one who had helped it to heal

Not two minutes later
She heard a shot
And ran from the room
To 
Find 
Him 
Dead

She stared at the pistol
Slowly picked it up
And wondered why
And what she should do
If anything

Her tears sprang forth a little delayed
She turned the weapon over in her hand
Took a breath of deep sadness and remorse
Blamed herself for his death
Walked to the window looking six stories down
And thought about the students 
She would have to face
In just a few hours

She took a few paces back
Threw the gun out the window
And shortly thereafter
Followed it