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"Yeah" I nodded She is

The second week of Noveh Meadows Creek I sat on the porch, staring out at the rain that was hitting the grass at crazy speeds I was surprised we hadn’t had any snow yet, but I was sure that within a feeeks, everything would be covered in white

The sky was darker by theflashes of light Emma was sound asleep inside, and I was thankful that she was such a heavy sleeper because otherwise, the storms would’ve spooked her Zeus sat besideout at the raindrops as his eyes opened and closed He was trying his best to fight his tiredness, but he was losing the battle

"Elizabeth!" Tristan shouted, running froan to panic when I saw hi closer and closer "Elizabeth!" he yelled He was soaked from head to toe when he reached the bottom step of the porch The palms of his hands fell to his knees as the rain continued to wash over hi on?" I asked,with fear He looked freaked out I stepped down the porch and joined hiainst his chest as he rose up "Are you okay?"

"No"

"What’s wrong?"

"I was sitting in ers with mine and pulled me closer to hi as I stared at his lips, taking in each word that fell fro hts But I kept thinking about you and my heart skipped And then…" He moved in closer, his lips ainst my bottom lip The heat from him canceled out the chill of the rain He was a kind of warmth I’d never known existed, a protective blanket that sent away the past hurts and sadness Tristan’s voice shook as he kept speaking "And then, I accidentally fell in love with you"

"Tristan…"

His head shook back and forth "That’s bad, right?"

"It’s…"

His tongue danced across ently between his own "Awful So right now, Lizzie…if you don’t want me to love you, tellyou Push o, and I will But, if there is any small part of you that is okay with this, any part of you that is okay within love with you, then pull me closer Take me into your house, leadin love with you Let me show each and every inch of your body how crazy I alanced at the ground "I don’t know if I’m ready to say it back yet"

He lifted er and stared into my eyes "That’s okay," he proh love for the both of us"

My eyes closed and each breath I took was ht they would ever be I’d never thought I would hear the word love from another ain

He breathed against my lips; the air he exhaled became the inhales that healed me We stayed in the rain for a second more before my footsteps led us both inside the warmth of the house