Page 52 of Glad You Exist

Right in the middle of my walk-in is a huge rectangular box with a bow on top of it. The words “From L” scrawled on the box in Sharpie.

And when I read the words on the box and see the picture on it, my jaw drops open in shock.

My heart starts to race, excitement building inside me. In my head I’m already planning where to set it up and all the things I could do with it but first things first.

I can’t believe she got this for me.

I can’t believe she spent this much on me.

I jerk around to face her. She’s sitting with her knees up, her chin resting on top of them watching me. “Do you…do you like it? Is it the right one?”

I breach the distance between us, taking huge strides to get to her faster.

I pull her up in my arms, trying to be as gentle as I possibly can but needing to express just how much it meant to me that she knows me enough to have gotten me just what I wanted and needed.

“I love it. I lo—I love it. Thank you.”

I grimace inwardly. I almost slipped up and told her that I love her. This isn’t the time to do it. I look over at the clock on my bedside table.2:31 AM.

She feels heavier in my arms like all the strength she has is gone. She’s clearly exhausted, and the adrenaline from what happened earlier must be causing her to crash yet she is still powering through for me. That means more to me than a two-thousand dollar 49-inch curved gaming monitor, although I am beyond grateful for it.

I set her back down on the bed and I have to ask. “Isn’t it too much?”

She shakes her head, yawning. “Think of it as four years’ worth of birthday presents.”

I sit beside her, wrapping an arm around her. I let her rest her head on my shoulder.

“How did you get that up here without me noticing?”

She laughs softly, rubbing her eyes as she curls up next to me.

“Kyle snuck it up for me after the party started.”

I hear her yawn again and when I peer down at her, I find her eyes are closed.

I stifle a laugh, “Hey. Let’s get you downstairs and in bed, okay?”

She shakes her head and whispers against my neck, “I don’t want to be alone.”

Her words pack a punch. For all her bravado, Liz is incredibly fragile right now.

My heart hurts for all the things she’s had to go through wishing I could take some of it from her, if not all of it. I grab the back of her legs and carry her around my bed.

I ease her onto my pillows and grab the remote on my bedside table to click the lights off.

Climbing in next to her, I nestle her against my chest and hold her like I’ve always wanted to.

Feeling her chest rise and her breath growing even, I watch as she relaxes and falls asleep.

With a content sigh, I hug her close following her into slumber.

* * *

This feels like déjà vu.

Running downstairs right before a party. Running late because I overslept.

But this time is different because I woke up in a state of panic after realizing Liz was gone.

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