“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She doesn’t sayI know. Doesn’t offer something easy or hollow. She just stares at me for a second before whispering, “I’m scared, Sean.”
And there it is. The raw center. The piece of her most people never get to see.
I reach over, brushing a loose curl behind her ear. “You’re allowed to be scared. But you’re not alone.”
Her eyes search mine, like she’s trying to decide whether or not to believe me. Then, without a word, she leans forward and presses her forehead to mine.
The silence stretches. I cup her cheek, thumb tracing light circles.
“You wanna talk about it?” I ask, voice low.
She leans back a fraction. “Talk about what?”
I don’t answer. Just wait.
She sighs through her nose. “If you’re about to ask how I feel about Johnny marrying her… don’t.”
I nod. “Okay.”
Another beat passes.
“I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know,” she says. “He told me. We all knew. I just didn’t think he’d actually go through with it.”
Neither did I.
She lets out a dry laugh. “Guess I’m easier to walk away from than I thought.”
“That’s not true.”
She meets my gaze. Not angry. Not bitter. Just tired. Worn thin at the edges.
“You know what’s funny?” she says. “He told me it didn’t mean anything. That it was all for the plan. And I believed him. Istillwant to believe him. But believing doesn’t stop the ache.”
Her voice catches on that last word.
“I don’t need him to choose me,” she whispers. “I just… I need to not always be the girl he sacrifices.”
I cross the room and kneel in front of her, taking her hands in mine.
“You’re not that girl,” I say. “Not to him. Not to me. Not to any of us.”
Her lips part like she wants to argue, but instead, she leans in and kisses me. Soft and slow. Full of warmth. A promise sealed without words.
When she pulls back, her voice is barely a breath.
“I need this to be over.”
“It will be,” I promise. “Soon.”
CRACK.
The lights cut out.
The music dies.
Darkness swallows the room whole.
