The Pain Of Love

"Run!" Karen screamed as I ran down the hall towards her, "get away. You're not safe here!" I came to a halt next to her as she concluded her words. "I can't leave you here alone Karen," I said quietly. "You have to leave," she spoke with equal volume, "If they find out you've been hereÐ'..." "That doesn't matter to me. I can't leave you here alone. They'll find you." "I know," she said through her tears, "but you have to understand how I would feel if you got involved in this." "I already am involved in this!" I replied, feeling angry at the tragic evils that were tearing us apart then. "You need to leave, for me," she softly repeated. I knew that I had to leave, understanding how she felt, and I turned and walked away. "Thank youÐ'..." she whispered through her tears. She heard no reply.

Some say our meeting was a coincidence, but, much like luck, coincidence is rare in my life. At first our friendship was just a normal friendship. Later on, however, it seemed like she was pushing me away. I would often ask why she wasn't talking to me, but she just said she wasn't feeling well. I didn't doubt that. I just wondered why.

"Karen, don't you want to talk about this, or tell me why you're leaving?" I sputtered out as she walked towards the door, her bags struggling to stay in her arms, as I was. "I need to get away from you. If we stay together, you'll regret it." She was trying hard not to let tears roll down her soft skin. "There's nothing that would make me regret being with you. I love you." I was trying equally hard to keep her with me in the cold silence of my lonely room. "If I stay, it will just be more painful when we're torn apart," she replied. "You know I only live for today, Karen." She left with a lack of words. I stared at her, watching her go. I couldn't bring myself to stop her.

Time passed, and I tried many times to contact her, still not understanding why she left. Finally, when I thought I had found where she was staying, I drove as fast as I could there. When I arrived, I tore out of my car, and then was stopped as if I had run into a brick wall. On her porch there were two men. They had not seen or heard me, since the driveway to the hotel was very long, and I had parked at the sidewalk. I slowly got back into my car and drove one block down. I parked under a shady tree, and tried to walk slowly, but I found myself sprinting. I managed to gain control of myself as I came to the beginning of her driveway. I was angry that I had not run faster, for the men were gone. I ran to her room and busted in. It was empty.

"Karen!" I shouted as I ran towards her. "Why did you follow me here?" She cried in despair. "I had to find you," I said, "I needed to know you were all right." "But, you need to leave; they're here." She said solemnly. "Damn," I said, and looked around. I saw three of them. I held the pistol I had brought, and pushed here to the side, flinging myself around to get a few shots

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