Black nails running through green hair, pulling it back out of my face. I look down at his sleeping face and sigh. What am I going to do? He doesn’t deserve this, this false love I’ve given him.

“Zack” I murmur sadly, gently stroking his back.

He’s beautiful, short auburn hair, large, deep brown eyes with skin like coffee and cream. 5’9” he is a mere two inches taller than me, but so much more graceful and elegant. He weighs 135lbs, and you couldn’t find the fat with an electron microscope.

Me on the other hand, not so pretty. Shoulder length green (originally brown) hair, brown eyes and somewhere around 150lbs. Ugh.

“Zack” I say again, louder. “Wake up babe.”

He groaned and snuggled deeper into the covers, as though to deny the waking world.

“Zack!” I say shaking his shoulder a little roughly.

“What? What’s it?” Zack inquires sleepily, trying to pull me into his arms. He frowns as I resist.

“What’s wrong?” He asks.

“I can’t keep doing this to you.” I say.

“Do what? What are you doing?”

“Lying. I can’t keep lying to you or me.”

“What are you talking about? You haven’t been lying to me, have you?”

“Yes, I have. I’ve let you think that I love you, but I don’t. Not in the way you need me to.”

I feel the tears slide unbidden down my cheeks as I see what I’ve done to him. I couldn’t have destroyed him more if I’d left without a word. At least then he would have had hope. Now he doesn’t have even that.

“Zack.” I whisper.

He jerks away as though stung.

The look on his face tears me up inside and I reach for him, pulling him into my arms.

“You have to love me, you have to!” Zack sobs as I hold him.

“I do, but not like you mean. False love is worse than no love. I couldn’t bare it if I destroyed your chances for real love. I’ve been incredibly selfish letting you think this was real, but I honestly didn’t realize how far the lie had gone ‘till you asked me last night to marry you. I let you hope, let you think that there might be forever in our future. You deserve better than this, I should have told you this last night. I thought what harm could one more night do? I should have let you know. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry babe.” I say kissing him and crying.