"I should have never let you go," he whispers, the lump in his throat threatening to suffocate him as his nose flares and his eyebrows rise and strain to keep the tears at bay. "We lost so much time."

His voice cracks under the strain and he closes his eyes, letting the tears fall. He never quite got over her death in any healthy or meaningful way the first time around, that much is fairly apparent right now.

He hides half his face in the makeshift pillow and reluctantly loosens his grip on her.