“I changed my mind. Get out of my house now. I'll set your things on fire and mail you the ashes.”

“Being on that pitcher’s mound, it’s the one thing I’m really good at. The one thing I haven’t fucked up. And when I’m on the field, everything else fades away. You know?” He turned to look at me, his eyes craving understanding. I smiled and he continued. “It’s like my mind is clear when I’m out there. It’s not about my mom or my dad or the stupid shit I’ve done. It’s about me, the ball, and the batter. It’s the one place in the world where I feel like I’m in control. Like I have a say in what happens around me.”I stopped my head from nodding in agreement once I realized that I was doing it. “I feel that way when I’m taking pictures. Anything that I’m not seeing through my lens fades away in the background. And I get to frame my picture any way I choose. I get to dictate how it looks. What’s in it. What isn’t. Behind that lens I have complete control in how things are seen.”He smiled, his dimples indenting his cheeks. “You get it.”

“This doesn't change anything," I stammered, my defenses fading."It changes everything." He sounded so sure of himself as his soft lips silenced my weak protest.”

“I am so fucking in love with you I can't see straight. I don't love her. I'll never love her. But I fucked up and now I have to pay for it. I'll never forgive myself for hurting you," he said. "Or losing you.”

“I'm losing my f**king mind. I've already lost my heart so I guess in a way that makes sense. I'm so f**king lost without you”

“I feel like someone ripped out my heart and smashed it with bricks. It hurts. I hurt. And I'd gladly take your hurt too if it meant that you'd be okay. I'd do anything for you.”

“I recognized you instantly. All of our lives flashed through my mind in a split second. I felt a pull so strongly towards you that I almost couldn't stop it.”