Page 57 of With This Lie

“And so it shall,” I say.

We scoot ourselves up onto our pillows and wiggle beneath the blankets but keep the same positioning. We wrap ourselves back up into each other the same way and relax again.

“Dani?”

Lucas saying my name does something to me. It sounds right from his mouth.

“Yes?” I answer.

“I hope I’ve made you happy,” he says.

His words are enough to make me cry but I keep it together. “You do make me happy, Lucas.”

He doesn’t say anything else. He kisses me gently and nuzzles his face into my neck. I feel him starting to drift off but his words have me wide awake. This is not what I had gone looking for. But it is what I found. And soon, it would be gone.

I stare up through the blackness at the crack in my ceiling and wonder what his ceiling looks like. His breathing had slowed and the rhythm against my own chest is so soothing.

There isn’t much I can do now. Things will play out as they were always going to. I simply have to do my best to enjoy the rest of the ride. Nothing is forever, especially when you invest a great deal of time making sure your life is full of exactly that—always moments, never forever.