Page 62 of Siren Problems
I nod once. “I’m here.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
No. It’s not. I walk closer anyway.
“You got the grant.”
She lifts a shoulder. “Guess you heard.”
“I did.”
Her jaw tightens. “And?”
I reach for words. Don’t find the right ones.
“I came to say goodbye,” I finally manage.
That breaks her.
Not visibly, not right away. But I see it in her eyes—how they go glassy, then hard.
“Of course you did,” she says.
“I’m not good at staying.”
“No kidding.”
“Luna—”
“Don’t.” Her voice cracks. “Don’t do this if you’re just going to disappear again.”
I move before I think. I cross the space between us in two steps and pull her against me.
She resists for half a breath—then melts into my chest like she’s exhausted from fighting gravity.
“I didn’t come here to leave you,” I whisper. “I came because if this is the last time, I want to remember everything.”
Her breath catches.
“Don’t say that,” she whispers.
I cup her face, force her to look at me.
“I love you.”
Her eyes go wide.
“I love you, Luna Wilder. And I’m sorry it took this long.”
She swallows hard. “Then don’t let it be goodbye.”
I kiss her, desperately, without any softness.
She responds instantly, grabbing my coat, pulling me close, like she’s trying to anchor herself.
We stumble back toward the shack, barely making it through the door before she’s pushing me against it.
“Take it off,” she growls, tugging at my coat.
