---

---

The sweet smell of your perfume embraced the white sheets that you cuddled up to just a week before. Frank couldn't take another second lying in the queen sized bed that you two shared. With tears welling in his eyes, Frank rolled out of bed for another day filled with emptiness. There hasn't been a day he's woken up without tears in his eyes since you left.

The apartment you two shared was now a wreck. Your bedroom floor was scattered with Franks dirty clothing. He knew you wouldn't want to see him like this. Weak, Frank reached down for the shirt he had worn the day before. He tossed it onto his body before slipping into a pair of jeans he had gotten a stain on the day before. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he began to head toward the bedroom door. Opening it slightly, he turned to gaze upon what was once your side of the bed. He bit his bottom lip, turning quickly to leave the room before he had a break down.

Thoughts of you swirled his head as he approached the kitchen. Keeping his breathing at a steady pace, he glanced over to the sink. Memories of him wrapping his arms around your waist as you washed the dishes flooded his mind. He offered to give you a hand, but you gave him that sweet smirk that made him weak and rejected his offer.

Frank felt silent tears starting to drench his cheeks that were already damp from crying himself to sleep that night. He quickly wiped the tears away with the back of his wrist. Your sudden absence from his life was not only shocking, but also unfair. He didn't understand why you had to leave him. Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he found himself staring at the faucet on the sink. He sighed, grasping the car keys that were on the counter and headed toward the front door. Slipping on his worn out sneakers and jacket, he prepared to set foot into the bitter December weather for the first time in a week.

Frank drove in complete silence while fighting the tears that were collecting in his hazel eyes. The eyes you couldn't ever seem to break your gaze away from were once full of life. Your heart would shatter if you witnessed how empty and lifeless they had become over this past week. Frank glanced to the passenger seat and remembered the way you would put your bare feet on the dash during the summer. With the windows down, your perfectly curled black hair would dance in the wind as music blared through the speakers. No matter what, your hair always seemed to stay perfectly styled. Shaking these thoughts away, Frank saw his destination, the Benjamin Franklin bridge, approaching ahead.

Frank placed his car in park. He took a deep breath while slipping the keys in the pocket of his jacket. He stepped out into the bitter weather, lightly shutting the car door behind him. He stood there for a moment overlooking his surroundings before starting his hike up the walkway platform. From a distance, Frank didn't realize what an uphill battle that would be. He found himself standing between Philadelphia and his home state of New Jersey.



Cautiously, he walked to the edge of the pavement and grasped the chest high blue railing. Far beneath him was the below freezing water of the Delaware river which was crashing angrily against the rocks of the shore. He took a sharp breath, inhaling the cold dry air. Frank has had his heart broken before but this was different type of heartache. He knew you were never coming back.

He gazed straight ahead at the city that sat before him. The coastline was dull and un-animated. He's never seen the beautiful city of Philadelphia so lifeless. An eerie feeling swept over him, feeling as if he was the only person in existence. Philadelphia no longer felt like home. You were the only reason it felt like home. If it wasn't for this city, he would have never met you. He would have never experienced such love that people dream about having. Without you, he had no reason to be in Philadelphia. Without you, he believed that he was nothing.

With a faltering voice he spoke, "I'll stay here forever waiting for you."