I sighed as Frank helped me pack things into boxes but I just found the tears filling my eyes again and I stopped to just sit on the bench in the closet, crying in defeat.

"What's wrong?" Frank asked.

I could tell he's been crying too, even though he tried to hide it. His face was pale but his eyes were red and puffy. His beard had grown out a bit but only slightly.

"I just can't believe this is happening!" I cried. "I thought I'd finally found my life and now it's gone again!"

"We can still be together," he said.

"You've been lying to me this entire time," I said.

Frank got down on his knees in front of me, holding both of my hands.

"It can be different," he said. "We can be different this time. There won't be anything to hide this time. We can be happy together. It'll be different."

"Did you start all of this?" I asked. "Like, be the first one in your family in this business?"

"No," he said. "It started back in the 1920s during the prohibition, my family began making alcohol and selling it and that's when they started getting into organized crime. We really quickly went from a poor immigrant family to one of the wealthiest in New Jersey. After the prohibition ended my family ended up trading out alcohol for drugs and prostitution and...basically it's been happening for a long time now, almost a hundred years and when my father was killed because of the business then I took over."

"Were you ever gonna tell me any of this?" I asked.

"I-I meant to, I really did," he said as he looked up at me with watery eyes. "I meant to tell you after our first date but then I liked you a lot and I was worried that maybe you'd leave me. And then I was gonna tell you but we ended up going to Paris and I didn't wanna ruin the trip and then with the plane crash it wasn't the right time to tell you after. And then we went camping and I didn't wanna ruin that with the big news and then I decided I wanted to propose and I was gonna tell you after the proposal but then classes started again for you and you were just busy. And I was still just so scared that I was going to lose you."

"You would've had a better chance keeping me if my brother wasn't nearly killed," I said. "He still hasn't woken up, Frank."

"I'm sorry," he cried. "I-I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for him to get hurt. I wish I could go back in time to change everything. I wish I could've gotten shot instead of him. I'm sorry."

Frank laid his head down on my lap as he cried. I sniffled, my eyes burning with tears.

"Please, I need you," he cried.

"How can I trust you?" I asked.

"Y-you can't but I can make it better," he said. "I can fix it. I can fix us."

"How?" I asked.

"We can take it slow," Frank whispered, his hand gently cupping my cheek. "We can start over again. We can be happy together again. We'll take it slow."

I sniffled, looking down as I shrugged.

"I-I just keep thinking of all the times you lied," I mumbled. "Our whole fucking relationship is just based on lies."

Frank nodded sadly, his green eyes bloodshot from tears.

"You're doing drugs?" I asked.

"I..." Frank trailed off but he knew he couldn't lie anymore. "Not a lot. I used to more when I was a younger, a dumb teenager but I try to do it less now but it's hard not to. I need it."

"You have to stop," I stated.

"I can't," he whimpered. "I can't stop. Y-you don't understand. I need it."

"You're gonna die from the drugs before you die from the business," I said.

"I-I tried once," he mumbled. "When I was thirty I tried to stop. I thought that maybe everything would be brighter and nicer. I-I couldn't stop. I was sick and shaking. I had a seizure and I couldn't breathe. I needed them to breathe."

"You don't have to go through it alone," I said and he looked at me hopefully. "You can have a  professional help you."

"Why?" He asked. "Why would I do that? It's nicer with the drugs, it's easier."

"You can't live like that," I said. "It's going to kill you. If you don't stop, you will die."

Frank looked at me but it didn't really look like he cared that much.

"Frankie, y-you can't die," I whimpered.

I wiped the tears off my cheeks and took a deep, shaky breath.

"Get help," I whispered. "A-and I need some time to myself. I need to think and focus on school."

Frank's face shattered and he laid his head back down on my lap. I ran my fingers through my short hair gently.

"And after you get clean then maybe we can start over again," I said.

Frank gasped, sitting up straight.

"R-really?" He asked. "You would try again?"

"I-I need time to think first," I said. "And while I'm having time to think you have to get clean. I can't be with you if you're on drugs."

Frank sniffled and nodded and I wiped the tears off his face.

"I don't want to lost you," he whispered. "I love you so much, Baby Boy."

I sniffled, running a hand through my hair.

"How long do you need?" He asked.

"I-I don't know," I mumbled. "But you can't focus on that now, you just need to focus on getting sober and clean."

"I haven't been sober in almost twenty years," he whispered.

"You can do it," I said. "You're strong, one of the toughest people I know."

Frank nodded, wiping his eyes.

"I-I'm gonna try to get clean," he declared. "I want to for you."

"Not for me," I denied. "Do it for yourself. Do it for your future kids. Not for me. Do it for your own future and your family."

Frank nodded and sniffled. He looked tired, he probably hasn't gotten a lot of sleep.

"You're living with Jamia then?" He asked and I nodded. "Okay, I can have Pete come by and help move your stuff."

"No, no, that's okay," I said. "It's okay, I don't want to bother him. I can do it."

Frank nodded, helping me pack up my things. He reached to the bed and picked up my bunny stuffie, Daisy.

"D-do you want to keep her?" He asked.

I looked at the little stuffie that Frank had bought me and I would always cuddle when I missed him. I stared at it, biting my lip. Finally I nodded my head and he seemed relieved that I was keeping his gifts.

"Has anything changed with Mikey yet?" He asked quietly.

"No," I mumbled. "He's still won't wake up and right now they aren't entirely sure when or even if."

Frank looked down sadly, his fingers fidgeting.

"I-I'm sorry," he mumbled. "Did your parents get the flowers I sent for them?"

I nodded. "They told me to tell you thank you, they have them next to Mikey's hospital bed."

"Did you tell them about us?" I asked.

"No, they already have a dying child to worry about so I really didn't want them worrying about me at all when all the focus should be on Mikey," I said.

"My mom feels bad about what happened, she kept telling me to tell you the whole time we were together about the business," he said. "She wanted to give your family like a casserole and a pie or something."

"That's sweet," I mumbled as I taped a box shut.

"She was also wondering if you still wanted to work at the bakery," he said. "She said it's okay if you don't want to."

"I-I just don't think I can," I said.

Frank nodded, putting a box near the door.

"If you want to you can keep one of my credit cards to use just for food and for clothes and stuff like that," he said. "Or more, if you just want to use it for something fun."

"No, Frank, I can't," I denied.

I grabbed my wallet, handing him back his credit cards that he had given me to use when we were together.

"Are you sure you don't want to keep them?" He asked. "Seriously, you can."

"Is this money even legal?" I asked.

"Um, well, we use the bakery to launder money," he said.

I looked down sadly, a small, sick twisting feeling in my stomach.

"If you were to get caught then would I get into trouble too?" I asked and he shook his head. "Frank, I made the stuffed animals you moved drugs in. I worked at the place you used for money laundering."

"I would make sure that you wouldn't get caught," he said. "Everyone who works under me knows already to not say anything about you at all if we were to be caught and if you are ever brought up then to tell the cops that I left you out of the dark on everything. You won't get in trouble for anything, Gee."

"But you would," I said. "You would probably get life, wouldn't you?"

"I don't know," he said. "But we've been nearly a hundred years without getting caught, why would we get caught now?"

"Knock on wood," I mumbled.

Frank looked at me sadly and sighed.

"It's getting late," he said. "You should get home to rest and get some sleep before you have to go to classes tomorrow. I'll drop the boxes over at your apartment tomorrow while you're at your lecture."

I nodded and Frank walked me downstairs to the driveway to my car. It was chilly out now, wind blowing as I wrapped my jacket tighter around myself. I looked at Frank, biting my lip.

"So, this is the last time we're gonna see each other for a while," I mumbled.

"I'm gonna get better," Frank promised.

I nodded before getting into my car and driving away, tears falling down my cheeks again.