Page 106 of After All This Time

“I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.”

She leans into me putting her features on full display.

This is when I notice that the freckles on her nose trail all the way to the tops of her cheekbones. Her eyes are dark brown and I can see her pupils this close up.

A small smile grows on her lips. “Yes, you do.”

“If you come any closer, I swear I’m going to?—”

“You’re going to what?” She lifts her head up, lips forming into a pout.

“I’m never going to let you go. You’re going to be stuck with me for the rest of our lives.”

She looks down and smiles at the floor, but my eyes are glued on her.

Every moment I’m with Dani, it feels like I’m underwater. I’m drowning and I desperately need to come up for air.

I’m going to tell her how I feel before school starts back up. I can’t keep this bottled up inside me forever.

“Earth to Dani.”

She snaps back to reality, meeting my gaze. Breathing in and out, she opens her mouth. “I’ve never told anyone this. I mean I don’t think I have before. I don’t know.”

Dani’s eyes are glassy. She pauses what she’s about to tell me.

God, I hate it when she’s sad.

Her thighs slide out from in between mine. She sandwiches in her hands in between them, dropping her head down.

“Hey, look at me.” I tilt her head up with my index finger and thumb in one gentle motion. “Please talk to me.”

Tears fall out of her eyes. “It’s been hard for me to get close to people. I haven’t made any new friends at SCU. I’ve always prioritized writing and school over being in a relationship. I keep losing people I love. My dad. Your dad. We almost lost your sister. I don’t want to lose you too.”

“I promise you’re not going to lose me.”

She huffs. “I hate that word.”

“What word?”

“Promise. It comes with too many attachments.”

“Well, I’m going to change your mind about it. Trust me.”

She giggles, hiccuping and sniffling like crazy.

Her leg is violently shaking up and down. She stops shaking it the very moment my hand comes into contact with her skin, looking at me with those big brown eyes of hers.

I take my free hand, wiping away the wetness on her cheeks with the pad of my thumb.

She closes her eyes, smiling.

Is it fucked up to say she looks pretty when she cries? But it kills me when she gets teary-eyed. It’s a double-edged sword.

“There’s something my mom used to tell me all the time when I was growing up. We have to make our way through the darkness in order to get to the light.” I take a minute to clear my throat. “I want you to know we’re going to get through this…together.”

She brings her hands up to her face, wiping away any remaining tears lingering on her cheeks and underneath her eyes. She sits back on the chair, not breaking eye contact with me. “Well, I guess we know what you can do for your backup plan if the author thing doesn’t work out for you.”

“And what’s that?”

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