Page 75 of Descent

His hand lifts to cup my face, his thumb brushing against my lips.

“The way I loved her was so different. I loved spending time with her. She was beautiful and kind, but our love for each other was very surface-level, very familiar. We were told we would end up together for years. It wasn’t as much a choice as it was aninevitability. The love I have for you, though….” He breaks off with a shake of his head.

“I love you wholly, completely. I love you even when I know it’s the worst possible thing for both of us. I love you so much it fucking hurts to be away from you, and when I have you in my arms again,” he says, gripping my face a little tighter, “it’s like I can breathe for the first time. You’re like coming up for air, baby. You’re just…everything to me.”

“Ronan,” I whisper, my heart thundering in my chest.

“I think there are different types of love that you experience. There is that familial love, for your parents and siblings. There is the friendship love, when you would do anything for your best friends. There is your first love, when you think it couldn’t possibly get any better, that it couldn’t be anything more intense than what you have. And then you meet them.”

“Who?”

“Your true love. The one that calls out to your soul, the one that makes every day worth living. You meet the person that compliments you, in every way possible. The one that shapes you into the best version of yourself and calls you on your shit when you aren’t living up to your potential. That’s what you are for me, baby. That’s what I know we are. What we have is forever and I’ll never give you up. I’ll fix this, I’ll solve it. Just don’t give up on me while I do.”

A soft huff comes from me as I shake my head.

“You big dumb idiot, like that’s even a choice.”

A half smile touches his face as sincerity drenches his features. He leans forward, pressing his lips to mine when my phone buzzes in my pocket. I ignore it, instead winding my arms around Ronan’s shoulders. The buzzing thankfully stops before starting up again. I let it ring through again before it starts up for a third time. Ronan grumbles, pulling away from me before grabbing my phone out of my pocket.

He practically snarls as he hits a button, holding the phone up to his face.

“What?” he snarls.

Liam’s wide smile comes through the phone, the picture of him driving his car fully displayed.

“Is that any way to answer my girlfriend’s phone?” he teases.

“What the fuck do you want?” Ronan grumbles.

“I’m getting you two lunch because I’m obviously the best boyfriend you’ve ever had,” he grins cheekily.

“Thank you, Liam,” I say, forcing Ronan to angle the phone to me.

He smiles. “Anything for you, babygirl. Any requests?”

“Whatever is fine. We were in the middle of something,” Ronan answers.

Liam’s eyes that were on the road are now back to the phone, a mischievous look to them.

“Oh, really? Don’t stop on my account,” he says, with a waggle of his brows.

I chuckle and Ronan scoffs as Liam’s smile shifts. Concern morphing his face.

“Fuck,” he says.

“What?” I ask.

His eyes become more panicked as his body begins moving.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck. I don’t have brakes!” he shouts.

“What?” Ronan asks. “Get off the gas. Downshift.”

“I’m trying!” he snaps. “Oh fuck!” he shouts.

That’s all we hear before a horn blares and a sickening crunch sounds through the speaker. The picture goes black, but the sound is still there for several seconds. Metal on metal, tires screeching and Liam’s screams echoing through before the call is lost completely.

My entire body is instantly frozen, my veins cold as ice as I look at Ronan in horror. He stares down at me for a momentbefore grabbing his keys and opening the door. I feel his hand wrap around my arm as he begins running, dragging me with him. I don’t really register it, though. I try to keep up, forcing my legs to cooperate, but they feel sluggish and numb, like they don’t belong to me.

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