Page 56 (1/2)

"I wanted to be the one with you Not hiet close to you, all the while terrified he would"

I stared at hi in the realness of all this Understanding that so ht wasn’t true I had been played in many ways Tricked so much but for what? To protectcare of? It was a lot to forgive I knew the answer, though

Yes He was

I was inant because of ht he’d knocked up another girl and wouldn’t take care of her I had begged hi about him He held his secrets close, but I wanted him anyway

Yet he loved me With all the craziness he knew about me He still loved me He accepted my faults and my mistakes and my selfishness He took it all and loved it He found beauty in it In ift in this world My one stroke of luck Sure, he was screwed up and possibly insane, but so was I We fit perfectly A match, just like he said

If he left iven of hi at him, I said all of that without words I knew he could see it inup every day and s for the rest of my life I couldn’t lose this Not now that I had found it

He dried off his hands while watchingat him, but it was hard not to I liked the way he looked and how his body moved It was hard not to watch He was hard not to want I was done trying to pretend I didn’t I thought I had proven to both of us that I wanted him very much

When he started to co to do next The space between us had been my last safety net Now that my decision had been made, I would need to trust him without question

He stopped inches from me and cupped my face in his hands "I’ll love you until I take e that Not even you"

The sincerity in his voice and the way he looked attomyself There was no point You couldn’t protect your heart froest chance I’d ever take, but it would be one I would never regret

With hi to say the words aloud

"I know"

Cope