The Last Letter

Claire pushed her hair back behind her ear as she held back tears. She told herself that she wouldn't cry, and that she would be strong for her boyfriend. The young blond girl was only 16 years old, and there she was standing in front of the love of her life holding back tears for his sake.

They had been together since she was 14, and even though they were so young, they knew it was love. They never got into a fight in two years, they argued about small things but they normally worked it out in a matter of minutes. The two of them got along so well, and they were always together.

Elias and Claire were the kind of couple that spent so much time together that they started to look like each other. Claire noticed it, she noticed that her boyfriend's eyes started to turn more honey colored like hers instead of their usual medium brown color. Elias said she was just seeing things, until they took a picture together and he saw it for himself. They had the same exact eyes, and in some pictures they shared the same exact wide smile. At first it freaked him out, but after a while it became quite adorable to him.

Elias' mother never really liked Claire, she thought that she wasn't good enough for her only son. Mrs. Richards was never mean or cold to Claire, but she didn't let her stay the night in her house. The only time the couple got to spend the night with each other was when they rented a hotel.

Elias' never wanted it to be that way, sneaking off into hotels just to have his lover wrapped in his arms all night. He wanted to be cozy and warm in his bed and just have the chance to hold her. He understood and was okay with the fact that Claire was young, and not ready to take their relationship to the next step. Elias honestly just wanted to have her warm body next to his. That's all he ever wanted.

Claire sniffed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't want you to go," she said quietly, barely able to speak.

Elias forced out a smile. "I know, my love, but I have to. Please don't cry. I can tell that you're about to...your chin always scrunches up before you cry. Hey, hey you know that I love your smile. Please smile for me?" he asked, trying to keep his girlfriend from breaking down.

The blond tried her best to give a genuine smile, but all she could do was stop frowning. Her heart just hurt so badly.

She had given her virginity to Elias the night before he was set to leave. It was intense and special, and everything that she thought it would be. Elias was so careful with her, and he made sure that everything was perfect. Claire had no regrets about what happened, she just wished that they could make love one more time before he had to go.

"I'm sorry-" she tried to speak but her boyfriend held her chin with his thumb and pointer finger and shook his head.

"Don't be sorry, you have nothing to be sorry for. I know this is hard, it's the hardest thing I've ever had to do but I'm doing it for us. I wouldn't do anything that would hurt you, you know that. This is the best thing for us, for our relationship. I...I know you might not believe me, and maybe you're right, maybe there is a better way but-" he paused to bite his lip. "...but this is happening and there's no going back. In my heart I know this is the right thing to do. Because when I come back, we'll have the most perfect life. I promise you it will be perfect Claire."

The young girl looked into her boyfriend's eyes with such a broken expression. She had barely been able to get through his nine weeks of boot camp, she had no idea how she would last a half a year without Elias by her side.

"I don't want a perfect life Elias. All I want is you. I don't care about anything else. Just you. My heart is broken," she said, clutching her chest.

"Shh please don't say that. This is not goodbye forever-" as he spoke those words they heard an announcement that his plane had arrived. "...when I come back we'll have a few months to catch up and be together until I have to leave again, and when you turn 17 we'll get married, like we talked about. This is the best thing for us, Claire. I'll have great benefits and I'll be making good money. Just trust me okay? I wouldn't make a promise to you that I couldn't keep. I'm promising you that all of this pain and separation will be worth it. When I'm back for good we'll have our whole lives to be together and we won't have to worry about anything."

Claire nodded and blinked a few times to keep the tears away.

"I know. You're right, I know. I just wish things were different. But you have to go now. Just please be careful and write to me whenever you can. I hope that this isn't as horrible as I think it's going to be," she said with a frown. "But I trust you Elias. And I love you so much. You have no idea how much I really love you. I'll be counting down the days until you're back in my arms."

Elias smiled and stepped closer to her so he could wrap her small frame up one more time. He smelled her hair and kissed the top of her head sweetly. "I love you so much Claire Marie Donovan. I will miss you so much my love."

Elias held Claire's face in his hands and kissed her like he meant it. He didn't want to stop kissing her, but eventually he had to. The older boy pulled away from his lover and just stared in amazement at how beautiful she was.

He picked up his bags and walked backwards until he needed to turn around. Claire's heart broke even more as she knew she wouldn't see him for six whole months. It would seem like such a long wait, but sacrificing a few months at a time meant they could spend forever together without any worries at all.

Claire was a mess for weeks, she barely ate and barely slept. She didn't do much of anything except wait for the mail to come to see if Elias had wrote to her. The only days that she was happy were the days that she got a letter from him. She never took Elias' dog tags off, she slept with them around her neck and she showered with them. Wearing them made her feel closer to him in a way.

She hoped that Elias didn't lose the pictures of them that she hid in his duffel bags, she wanted to know that he could see her whenever he wanted. Claire didn't want him to miss her as much as she missed him. She knew he had other things to worry about.

The teen received a phone call a week before Elias was supposed to come home. It was a beyond devastated Mrs. Richards calling to tell her that Elias had been killed. Her Elias was only six months deployed, 18 years old, and so full of life...and he was killed in action. Claire's hand trembled and she whimpered as she held the phone. She held onto that phone for hours even after the conversation had ended. She couldn't put the phone down. She couldn't believe that Elias was really gone.

Her heart ached and she didn't know what to do or how to react. Her first thought was to grab a bottle of pills and just end her own life so she could be with Elias, but then rational thought set in and she just sat on her bed and cried. She knew that Elias wouldn't want her to die, he would want her to live and embrace his memory. And she did.

Claire thought about Elias every single day. Months went by and she still cried. Her heart still wept. There was nothing anything or anyone could do to heal her. She was forever changed by Elias' death, and she knew that she would never be the same. All that filled her mind was Elias' last spoken words to her, and especially the last things he said to her in his letter. She would never ever forget Elias Richards, and she would never ever love anyone the way that she loved him. He was her hero, her Marine, and the love of her life. She would never forget that.

Dear Claire,

Hello my love, this will probably be my last letter to you before I leave to come home. It's been a grueling six months, but I got through it because of you. You are my life Claire, and I really cannot wait to come home to you. I miss your beautiful face and your perfect smile. I miss everything about you. I miss having you around and I miss listening to your bad jokes. I'm kidding, you tell the best jokes, I promise. God I miss your laugh too...I just miss everything. I have to go now because I need to be up in a few hours, but I just wanted to write this in case I didn't have time before I left. Stay strong angel, I love you.

-Elias