Prologue

brian pulled up to the cemetery and stopped the car. he glanced at nick,"do you want me to go with you?"

nick shook his head,"i wanna see her alone. ill be back in a few minutes okay?"

"no problem."

"thanks rok," nick said leaning over and giving him a quick hug. he picked up the bouquet of stargazer lilies from the back-seat and got out of the car. he shut the door and took a deep breath before heading to her gravesite.

brian sighed and watched him for a moment before driving off.

after a few minutes nick found the site he was looking for. he glanced at the headstone and sighed. he lightly kissed each one of the flowers before laying the bouquet across the top of the headstone. he knelt down beside the grave and sighed.

"hey emily, its me. last time i was here i promised you that i would stop coming as much...well...its been a week, i think thats long enough." he sighed and traced the letters on the headstone,"i know its been six months but i still miss you. your here because of me, because i was driving the car. maybe if i had paid more attention i would have seen that guy but i SWEAR he came out of nowhere." he sighed again,"but i know your up there looking down on me and telling me that you believe me so thats all that matters."

"the guys keep telling me i need to start dating again but i dont know. i mean, we were meant to be together. me and you. not me anyone else." he started to cry a little ,"i dunno. maybe ill just spend the rest of my life alone because theres no one that could ever replace you. at least not to me." he managed to smile and wiped is eyes,"i will make one promise to you though, ill be in paris on my 21st birthday and i know your gonna be there with me. you promised me that already."

he glanced at his watch and stood up,"i gotta go cause bri is waiting for me but ill be back next week."

he brushed the dirt off of his hands, kissed two of his fingers, and pressed them against the headstone,"bye em. i love you."

emma looked at amanda and tried not to laugh,"you know, we didnt have to come to the mall."

amanda made a face,"no its okay. you need an outfit for your job interview. besides that, this is basically only the second time youve been out since the surgery."

at the mention of the word "surgery" emma adjusted the scarf around her neck,"thats not true."

"oh yeah, then when was the last time we went out?"

"um...for your birthday...."

"exactly and that was six months ago. emma you cant be scared of coming out just because your scared someones going to see your scar and make a big deal out of it. have i ever done that?"

"no but you dont count. youve been with me through the entire thing. from me getting sick and the whole surgery and everything."

amanda shook her head,"stop making excuses. look, i have this friend at work and i want you to go out with him. hes a really nice guy and you need to get out."

"but i--"

"please...."

emma sighed,"fine. when should i c--"

"hes picking you up tonight at 7."

emmas eyes widened,"what?!"

amanda smiled innocently and lead her to the nearest dress shop,"come on. we have to get you ready for your date."