Like I’m afraid even breathing too hard might break something.
My hand finds his.
Still too warm.
Way too warm.
“You scared me,” I whisper.
My voice barely makes it out.
He doesn’t move.
Doesn’t respond.
But I keep talking anyway.
Because I don’t know how to sit here in silence.
Not with everything sitting in my chest like this.
“You weren’t supposed to go down,” I say softly.
“That wasn’t the plan.”
A shaky breath escapes me.
“You’re the one who keeps standing, remember?
I swallow hard.
Blinking back the sting behind my eyes.
“I was the one who was supposed to slow you down… not the other way around.”
My thumb brusheslightly over his hand.
Small.
Careful.
Like I’m memorizing it.
“I didn’t leave,” I whisper.
The words come out before I can stop them.
“I could’ve… but I didn’t.”
My throat tightens.
“I stayed.”
A beat.
Then softer—
“I always stay.”
