"Zoey," His voice shocks you. He's standing by the entrance to the girls dorms, even though it's after curfew. His voice is strained, sad. And you know without looking, his eyes are the same, because he knows. He's always known. "We need to talk."

Your heart stops, and breaks just a little. But still, still, your breath is a sigh of relief. A broken hallelujah.

"I know why you're here, Erik." She says, coldly. And you wonder; Did she ever have a heart? Before any of this, did she ever love you? Her face is marred, scared with pain. A pain she seems to carry constantly with her. You hoped you could be her redemption. You thought you could save her. From all who would use her, abuse her, mislead her. Stop any and all harm that could ever come to her. But you weren't strong enough. And then it disappears. She makes her face a mask. A mask that hides her face. A face that hides the pain. A pain that eats her heart. A heart that nobody knows.

And now, on top of it all, you must hurt her. Because you see, in her numb, chilled, tear stained eyes, the girl you loved is dead. Buried. She died long ago. Left in her place is what Zoey needs to be. A vessel, for others to use. The Goddess created her for one purpose. And Zoey, your Zoey, wasn't strong enough to withstand.

I'm holding on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground

When you love, the highs are the highest, and the lows are the lowest. You thought once that you would give up anything for this girl. But the woman in front of you is not that girl. Merely the shell. Still, you can't help but give her one last chance.

"Zoey," You nearly choke on her name. "Zoey, please." You hold out your hand to her, knowing she understand the significance. You could leave. Leave with her and never come back. Away from them all. Away from Nefret. Away from Loren, Heath, Stark. And eventually, she would come back. Your Zoey would be reborn, if only you could get away from it all.

"We can leave Zoey. We can leave it all." Please. Your eyes plead, please, take my hand. Swear to me, that it's me. That I'm the one…

She looks at your hand, and you see your Zoey in her eyes. She wants to leave. She's crying to be let free. To be released from her duty. To be redeemed.

You can be that redemption.

A small, shaking hand reaches out to clasp yours.

And then you both see it. In the distance. In the fog. Shadowy and impending. You have felt its presence. The thing that is coming. The evil that has been everyone ever present motivation. It's funny that something that could unite so many together as one force is also the driving wedge between so many lovers. Her hand retreats just the littlest, and you panic.

"I love you, Zoey." You reassure her. "More than you could imagine, but I cannot go on with this. Pretending everyday that I don't know what's going on, that I haven't seen you together, that I haven't heard you together." I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. "Just say you'll be mine, and I'll keep you safe. We'll leave. You'll never have to see him, or any of the others again."

Her trembling hand jerks back, her eyes widen in fear. Immediately you realize your mistake. Losing them all scares her. They are her safety net. She is nothing without her earth, her air, her water, her fire. Without her soul.

"I-" For the first time in a long time, her voice shakes, and she is just a scared girl, too young to be involved in this world. "I can't, Erik… I can't. Please understand, I love you, Erik, but I need them. I need them…"

Your hand drops.

Your shoulders slump.

Your eyes prickle.

And just maybe, your heart breaks a little more, if I can. Hard to imagine, considering the shambles it's been for months.

"I'm sorry."

I'm hearin what you say but I just can't make a sound
You tell me that you need me
Then you go and cut me down, but wait
You tell me that you're sorry
Didn't think I'd turn around, and say...

It's too late. You realized that now, as you walk away, without her. It's too late to save her. It's impossible to change her. The goddess made her that way, because it's what she needed to be. The goddess crafted you, to be part of her. But you won't take it anymore. You won't be a part of the Goddess's manipulations and games anymore.

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

"It's too late, Zoey," You breath, "It's too late." As you sigh, the wind carrying the words back to her, even the relief in your voice. Relief that you never knew would come with walking away. And you are, relieved. It's over, not in the way that you wanted, not in a way that isn't painful, not in a way that doesn't make you want to go back to ignorance, to run and cry and accept her apology. But in a way that tell you that for the first time in a long time, you have control of your life, and heart, again.

I'd take another chance, take a fall
Take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
But it's nothin new
I loved you with a fire red-
Now it's turning blue, and you say...
"Sorry" like the angel heaven let me think was you
But I'm afraid...

You would go back. You would. But it's too much. Too late. You had hoped that it would have a happy ending. That this would fix everything. But you realize how naïve that was of you now. How could a situation like this have a happy ending? One way or another, is some aspect, it was going to end badly. But you deluded yourself into believe that there was a middle ground. Or, at very least, that you meant enough to her. But life isn't a fairytale, and sometimes, the sad endings are the ones that mean the most, that impact our lives the most, that teach us the most. For a long time you had ignored it, trying to keep your love strong, but with every little lie, every meeting, every second of deception and treachery, the bond died a little.

"It was always you Erik." She whispers. But you never stop or hesitant. The words are closure, and nothing else. "It was always you."

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late