Dancing With Olivia

thirty-five

"olivia," i breathed.

she blinked, her breaths

a bit uneasy.

"yeah," she whispered.

i pulled my forehead

away from hers

and took her frail hands

within my own.

"whomever hurt you, i'm not them," i began.

"reeceᅳ"

"please."

she looked down at an angle,

then nodded.

"i want you to know that i will follow you into the darkness that may surround you. and if darkness is what becomes of you, i won't disappear. there is nothing you can ever do to scare me away. somehow, i fell in love with you, and i don't know how, but i don't care, either. what matters is that i would do anything for you, liv. i want for you to be happy, for you to be able to smile the way you did at the dance. i want for you to be free from whatever demons are invading your mind, from whatever hurt anyone or anything may have caused you. you don't have to open up to me just yet. hell, you could reject me and spit in my face, and i would walk away, if that's what would make you happy. olivia, i love you so much."

at this point, she was sobbing,

covering her mouth with one hand,

and hot tears were running

down my cheeks

without me realizing it.

olivia started to laugh as she cried,

and she touched her hand

to my cheek, using her thumb

to wipe away a stray tear.

then she nodded.

then she spoke.

"okay."