I nod miserably.
“I need to hear it from your mouth, eromene.”
“I promise to live. I’ll be brave,” I whisper, my throat swelling with more tears. I’m sure they won’t be the last I shed tonight.
“Good. Thinking about you happy and whole in the future will give me the strength that I need to endure this.” He sighs. “I am proud of you. I will always be proud of you. I will always love you. And if you do not let me go now, I may never be able to leave, and we both know I must.”
I bite my lip.
“Goodbye, my beloved.”
He gets up from my narrow bed. It only takes him three steps to leave the room. He closes the door behind him, leaving me in twilit darkness.
I am alone.
I bury my face in my pillow and start to cry again.
It was good that I arrived on campus during freshman orientation
