Her lips tremble.
“You're not real.”
The words nearly destroy me.
“I am.”
“You can't be.”
“I swear to you.”
A sob escapes her.
And then suddenly she launches herself across the bed.
I barely have time to catch her before she collides with me.
She wraps herself around me so tightly I can scarcely breathe.
Not that I require air at the moment.
I require her.
She buries her face against my neck.
And then—she hits me.
Not hard.
But enough to make me blink.
“You absolute jerk!”
Another smack.
“I hated you!”
Another.
“I missed you!”
Another.
“I was terrified!”
I gather her hands in mine and press frantic kisses to her fingers.
“I know.”
“No, you don't!”
Her tears soak my shirt.
“You have no idea what that felt like!”
“I do.”
She freezes.