He looked down as she once again spoke of her love for him. God, how he wished he'd had known- or rather how he wished he'd been brave enough to act on his own love for her. But it was too late now, or so he'd convinced himself...
"I'll be fine." He said quietly and with an unconvincing smile. He wasn't so sure that he would be fine. After all, living in Sundance had softened him and he wasn't sure what awaited him in the outside world.
He felt an ache in his chest that was partly guilt and partly another kind of longing that he hadn't felt in a long time. "Ellie... I can't... I can't make a promise again, a promise that I'm not sure I'll be able to keep. I'm sorry."