Van
As Julia and I settled in a back booth at a nearby restaurant, I found myself mesmerized by her smile. It did something to me, something I couldn't control—something I didn't want to control.
There were fires to tend, money to be made, and power to be claimed and yet, staring at the woman across from me—it was as if I were staring up at the sun. I basked in her warmth and was calmed by the tranquility of the sea of blue in her eyes.
Julia was freeing me from a prison of my own creation.
Brick by brick, she was knocking down the walls and bringing light to darkness.
She had no idea what she was doing or had done, the monster she'd awakened, or the sins that I'd committed. And yet she gave me the greatest gift, her willingness to wait. I could open up and unload the magnitude of
