There was a pause.
Then a shift.
He moved slowly. Reached for me like I was something sacred. Pulled me into his arms like I was the softest, most breakable thing he’d ever held. And this time, I didn’t fight it. I melted. I collapsed into him, still hiccuping and sniffling, with my arms wrapped around his neck and my forehead buried in his shoulder.
“I hear you,” he whispered into my hair. “I hear everything.”
He held me for a long moment. Just his chest rising and falling against my cheek, his hand stroking up and down my spine like he was soothing a wild, crying creature that had finally given up the fight. My tears were slowing. My breathing was calming. But my lip was still jutted out in a pout so deep it could’ve had its own zip code.
He kissed the top of my head, soft and slow,
