I blinked to see him more clearly. “Promise we’ll make it out alive—promise me when it’s over, we’ll be together. Promise you’ll take me with you wherever you go, that you’ll follow meanywhere. Promise there won’t be a day where we don’t sayI love you, that we’ll never be apart. Promise me that you’ll put us first, before everything else, and I promise you I’ll do the same. I know life is short. And whatever’s left of it, I want to spend it with you.”
His eyes told me everything and nothing. Why was he holding back? Why was he hesitating?
His lips parted, and he uttered the magic words. The only words I needed to gather the courage to open that door and face whatever lay out there.
“I promise.”
I knew it now: I was strong enough to continue.
He smoothed my hair, tucked a lock of it behind my ear, and kissed the tip of my nose.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
I nodded, and we opened the door and stepped into hell.
