Cigarettes & Valentines

January 19th.

"It was a cold, dark night.
When I saw you, my eyes lit with a spark deep inside.
A love, I live for, I can't hide.
Baby, baby, you make me feel just fine.
Let me dance with you just one more time.
I don't want to have to say goodbye, you're gonna be on my mind all night."

My eyes filled with tears as I read the crumpled sheet of paper with lyrics written messily in Billie's writing.
He'd showed them to me two nights ago and I'd stashed them in my jacket pocket and forgotten until now that they were there.
Now, after reaching in to find my car keys, my cheeks red and tear-stained, I found the lyrics he'd written for me.
It was a brutal reminder of the love I just lost.
My dark brown eyes overflowed with more tears I tried to hold in.
I yanked open the car door, getting in and shutting it tightly.
I tucked a long, black dreadlock behind my ear, sniffling.
Starting the car, the radio resumed it's station, and I put the car in drive.
My throat tightened when I heard the chorus of Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, his voice cutting right through me in heart-wrenching agony.
Little drops of tears trembled on my chin as I turned the radio off.
My heart ached as I drove through Oakland with blurry eyes, away from Billie.
I left a piece of myself behind that night.