Fire that Guards

Every time my mind deceives me into wandering back to the memories we built, I force myself to reopen the pages of humiliation and read them until the ache resurfaces. I trace every word you once sent me, letting their sting bleed anew, so that I will not find myself running back to you. For I know that if I don’t, the girl who once loved you with every corner of her soul will reach for your hands again.

To relive the agony is to keep her shackled, and I dare not set her free. If I could, I would bury that girl in a silence so complete it swallows the dawn, let that version of me die and never wake. I will not allow my love for you to become the source of my damnation again. And if hatred is the fire that must guard what remains of me, then let me burn with it for eternity.