How To Carry On

Different But The Same

In the pov of Tommy

I can't help it. I wish I could be strong for her, like I'm supposed to be. But I'm sobbing, it's all just too much. I'm still alive and Sue is too. Nothing else matters. My tears are half of relief, and half of pure exhaustion from the past few..days? Hours? It doesn't matter. The tears keep coming. Sue puts my head in her lap and her head on my back. I can feel her shaking. I want to tell her everything is okay, and hold her as she cries. But I can't. I hear shoes moving in the opposite direction and I assume the police are giving us some space.

It seems like hours before I run out of tears. Sue lifts her head and gently helps me sit up. She reaches for my hand and grasps it tightly. The way she's looking at me... her eyes watery but filled with nothing but compassion and love. I reach out and touch her face, to make sure she's actually there and this isn't a dream. She puts her hand over mine. She's so beautiful, I thought I'd never see her face again and now she's here, with me. I try to think of something to say, anything at all. "Sue, I-"

When I can't think of anything to say, she speaks. "Tommy, I love you so much," She says, her voice almost failing her. "I-I never got a chance to say it before. I thought I'd never get to tell- I thought you'd died not knowing- not knowing how much I love-"

She starts crying all over again. I pull her close to me. "I love you too Sue." I whisper. "I meant it then and I mean it now even more. I love you."