"Molly--"
At the sound of his voice, I'm out of my seat and flying into his arms. He catches me with a soft sound from the impact, holding me so tight, my ribs ache. I don't care. He can break me, crush me, shatter me, as long as I'm here, my face buried in his neck, his heart pounding against mine like they're trying to reach each other.
I'm sobbing so hard, I can't breathe. I didn't realize how much I'd been holding myself together for my mom until now. After a moment, he sits, putting me in his lap without unhooking my arms, though now that I'm sitting sideways, I can't hide like I want to. With my head tucked against his neck, he strokes my hair, holds my face, whispers it's going to be okay.
I'm sure he's right.
Right now, it feels impossible.
Eventually, the wave passes, but he doesn't speak, just holds me as best he can in a metal cafeteria chair.
My glasses are all foggy. I stare through the blurry lenses at nothing.
"Mom wants me to come home with them."
He stills.
"She's worried about the drive home, wants help with him there. Really, I think she just needs moral support. She…she fell apart. I don't know how she'll do without help--"
"You should go."
I sigh. The tears are back, stinging the corners of my eyes. "Yeah. It's…it's probably for the best. All I've done is cause trouble."
"That's not all you've done."
"I'm ruining you."
"You're saving me."
I uncurl and lean back so I can see him. Hold his jaw in my hand. Look into his pale, pained eyes. "How can I live with myself if it's both?" I search his eyes. "It…it's too much to know I'm the reason for your suffering, to know you'd be better off without me."
"No, Molly. Don't do that to yourself. Don't do that to us. Don't learn the lesson the hard way like I had to."
"Grey, this time is different--you were provoked into a fight tonight that could have put a man in the hospital or you in jail or both. We gave my father a heart attack--an actual heart attack. This…it's bigger than just you and me."
His Adam's apple bobs. "I know. But I still haven't heard a reason for us to be apart."
"What will we do about my parents?"
"We can't do anything right now but wait. But I know we'll figure it out."
"And the town? The talk?"
"Fuck the talk."
"But we live here--"
"Then we'll move."
"But--"
"No." One firm, final word. "It doesn't matter. None of it matters. I don't care if it's complicated. I don't care if it's impossible, Molly. I love you." His voice breaks. "God, I love you so fucking much, I'd fight my way through hell for you. There is nothing--nothing--that will change that. Let them come for me. Stay and let me love you. I don't care about anything else."
My head and heart hum with every word, my tears falling again. "You love me?"
He nods, his eyes shining, throat tight when he whispers, "So much."
"I love you too," I mutter through a sob before our lips meet, hard and insistent, the kiss deep, heavy with promises and wishes and dreams.
