Then the wind blows through.
He stands there, breath held,
pulse drumming its fingers in his neck,
all of him waiting for me,
daring me to admit it.
Fine.
“I’m scared,” I snap. “Okay?”
He doesn’t breathe right away.
In fact, his brows raise, surprised the words actually came out of my mouth.
Then his held breath pours out of him. And all the armor he forgot he was wearing drops in his eyes. “Okay,” he says softly. “Tell me what part of this scares you.”
Street’s gone dead.
The city turned its back to give us privacy.
No more sirens or car horns.
Only concrete and courtyard confessions.
I take a deep breath, then hold it.
Count from three.
Two.
One.
“I said it once, but you were too busy feelin’ sorry for yourself to listen.”
It fucked me up the first time.
If I open this door again? Full collapse.
I step closer, locking eyes with him.
“You. Walked. Out. On. Me.”
My words slice straight through him,
and his whole body goes still.
“Didn’t even let me explain. Just walked out.
“I wasn’t worth five more fuckin’ seconds.”
He exhales,
eyes dropping to the ground.
My throat closes up, but I push through it.
