I thought about it. About Lily in the woods. Her wisdom. Her fear.
"Lily found me. Asked me why I couldn't stay. Why I couldn't just decide." I squeezed his hand. "And she said something that hit me. She said hurt means you tried. Leaving means you didn't try at all."
Ethan's expression softened. "She said that?"
"Yeah. Six years old and wiser than both of us." I shifted to face him. "I realized I was so scared of failing that I wasn't trying at all. Wasn't giving us a chance. And that was worse than any mistake I could make."
"So you decided to try."
"I decided to try. To stay. To love you even though it terrifies me." I paused. "But I need you to understand something. I'm going to mess up. I'm going to get scared. I'm going to have days where I wonder if I made the right choice."
"
