'He's too good for this,' Juliana had said. And, as Zach seemingly accepted that Jo was leaving without even a farewell letter, nothing was ever as true as those words. A deep sense of shame coursed through her, leaving her unable to meet the beautiful blues of his eyes. Leaving was awful, but so was betraying their relationship by sleeping with three others — one as recently as last night. She hadn't ever deserved his love.

She brushed the snow off the sleeve of her coat, desperate for something to focus on other than 'where to, then?' Like he knew, too, that this was the path they were on. Like he knew she was always going to abandon him. Like it was okay to do so.

"The States," she answered honestly, her cheeks red from shame. "I leave in a few hours."