Love Quotes

+++++++++++

"How many times

Can I break

Till I shatter?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do I look okay?" Kelly asked as they walked back to the church.

"You look fine," Jason replied, knowing she was referring to her make-up and not the fact that she looked completely lost at that moment. He held open the door for her, allowing her to walk inside of the small church. He followed her up the aisle to where Carrie and Ashley were seated.

Kelly slid in next to Carrie, giving her a small nod.

"You ok?" Carrie whispered, leaning towards her.

Kelly placed her hand on her thigh, palm up.

Carrie took it in both of hers, holding it reassuringly. She placed her lips against her ear, making sure that no one could hear, "Let me hold you tonight. I know you don't want me to. I know you want to be strong, but I need to...for me."

Kelly closed her eyes, fighting back the tears as she nodded.

Carrie pulled back, fighting with all she had against the urge to kiss her.

++++++++++

Kelly held onto Carrie's hand tightly as they followed the human procession outside, her heart breaking even further at the sight of the young children from the hospital with tear stains on their cheeks. She took a shaky breath as the small group of people stopped before the grave. She bit down on her lip hard, trying to concentrate on the pain that it caused, instead of the fact that the casket that was waiting above the empty grave was far too small to hold someone that had finished living their life.

She looked up at the feeling of Jason placing a comforting hand on her shoulder, his eyes red. She turned to the other side to see the tears falling down Carrie and Ashley's faces. Kelly sniffed hard, barely hearing the words the priest was reciting. She was thankful for the tears that blurred her vision, knowing that the sight of the tiny casket lowering into the grave was a sight she would never be able to forget.

She opened her arm as Carrie turned into her, burying her face in her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," she cried softly.

"It's ok," Kelly held her closely, tasting the saltiness of her own tears. She wondered if Alex was looking down at them right then. She hoped she was, so she would know just how huge of an impact she had on so many lives. She brushed her lips against Carrie's temple as discreetly as possible, listening as the priest said a final prayer.

"I'm so sorry," Carrie repeated.

Kelly felt her jaw tighten as she fought against the urge to break down right then and there. Instead, she allowed the silent tears to continue to fall as she kept a firm arm around Carrie. She noticed the crowd slowly dispersing around them, but the four of them remained rooted to that spot. She could feel the sun struggling to break through the crowds, and she had the sudden want for rain, feeling as if that were the only proper weather for that day.

The children filed back to the bus that had brought them over from the hospital, and Kelly felt her stomach churn.

Carrie pulled back to look at her at the sound of a whimper escaping, "K-Kell?"

"I'm ok," she replied shakily, bringing a hand up to brush the tears off the country singer's cheeks.

"This is your fault," a quiet yet harsh voice stated.

Kelly looked up to find Alex's mom along with a boy of about thirteen walking past. He had to have been Alex's older brother, she thought as he looked at her apologetically. They had the same eyes.

"Excuse me?" Kelly asked softly.

"This is all your fault," Mrs. Reed repeated. "If it weren't for you, she'd still be here."

Carrie could see the shock and hurt mixing along with the sadness and pain that were already in the Texan's eyes. She felt Kelly's arm tighten around her as she went to step towards the older woman.

"Don't worry about it," Kelly sniffed. "S-she's not worth it."

"We should go," Jason cut in.

Kelly nodded, allowing him to guide her away from Alex's family back to the car. She tried to focus on the way her heels clicked against the pavement, or how the slight wind that had begun to pick up was swirling the leaves around the church yard. She was trying to focus on something, anything that would get her mind off of the fact that a part of her knew Mrs. Reed was completely right.