All the best love stories are tragic. Ours is no different.

Lennon is the woman who should have always been mine. The one that I let slip through my fingers time and time again. I was young, stupid, and arrogant enough to think love would wait.

Being in the Marines has taught me patience. The enemy never strikes when you expect it. Love is the same way.

And falling in love with your best friend requires a special type of patience.

So when tragedy strikes, the only thing I can do is be what I’ve always been to her — her best friend.

I’ve learned everything has a cost — even love. Lennon has paid dearly.

But I’m not about to let tragedy steal our happily ever after.