Shaking my head, I bit down on my bottom lip. “Trust me. I meditate every day, but you punched my friend for no reason.”

“I know, and believe me, I will regret what I did until the day I die. I can’t apologize to you enough, Chloe. I’m sorry.”

I could hear the sincerity in his voice and see the look of regret on his face.

“Fine. Apology accepted.” I softly placed my hand on his.

He looked down at our hands and then at me.

“Thank you. It means a lot to me. Chloe, there’s something else I need to talk to you about.”

“What is it?” I asked nervously.

He looked away. “It can never work between us.”

“Why do you say that?” My heart started to ache.

“Because I could never give you what you need and deserve. You were right when you called me a monster. That’s exactly what I am.”

“No, Sebastian. I was angry. I didn’t mean it.”

“Whether you did or not, it’s what I am.” He removed his hand from mine. “I don’t want to make this harder than it already is.” He stood up and stared straight ahead. He couldn’t even look at me.

Suddenly, I felt a raindrop hit my hand.

“I better go. I’m sorry, Chloe. All I want is for you to be happy, and being with me will make you more miserable.” He turned and began to walk away.

“Have you always been a coward?” I shouted as the rain started to come down.

“Excuse me? It’s really raining now. We should go seek shelter.”

“No. I’m staying right here. How many storms are you hiding from, Sebastian?” I asked as I stood up and stared at him.

“What are you talking about? Chloe, it’s raining, and we’re getting soaked. We can talk about this somewhere else.”

“Have you ever heard the quote: Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain?”

“For God's sake, Chloe,” he shouted.

“If you wait for every storm to pass, you’ll waste time, and then you’ll have nothing to show for it, past or present. When it started raining, your first reaction was to run and hide from it. Why?”

“Chloe, I’m serious. I have no clue what you’re talking about. All I know is that we’re both standing out here, soaking wet!” he yelled.

“Tell me what you’re so afraid of, Sebastian! What happened to you?”

“Nothing. This is how I am! I’m not capable of emotion. I don’t cry, and I certainly can’t love you the way you deserve to be loved!”

“Why? You say you can’t isn’t good enough. There’s a reason you feel that way.”

He ran his hands through his hair as I watched him struggle to find the words.

“Tell me, Sebastian!” I yelled as loud as I could.

“You want to know why?!” he shouted as he walked towards me. “Because I don’t know how to love! No one in my entire life has ever loved me. How do you give love when you never received it?!”

“What about your parents?”

“I never knew my parents.”