I Can’t Think. I Can’t Work Or

Gideon Was A Man Who’d Lived An Entirely Solitary Life, And Yet He’d Accepted Me Into It So Completely That He Could Envision A Future I Was Afraid To Imagine. I Was So Scared I’d Only Be Setting Myself Up For A Heartbreak I Couldn’t Survive.

Gideon Knew Exactly What I Liked. Not Because I’d Told Him, But Because He Paid Attention To Everything About Me.

One Day At A Time. You Rise, You Eat, You Bathe, And You Talk To The Few People You Can Tolerate While Feeling So Wretched. Over Time, It Hurts A Little Less. Then A Little Less. And So On...until One Morning, You Will Awake And Realize The Pain Is Only A Memory. It Will Always Be With You, But It Will Eventually Lack The Power To Cripple You.

I Don't Blame You. But If There's Anything Else You Have To Tell Me, Now Would Be The Time." He Pressed Forward, Urging Me To Stretch On The Couch. Coming Over Me, He Whispered, "i'm In Love With You." With Everything Going Wrong, That Was The One Thing That Was Totally Right. It Was Enough.

Are You Hurting Anywhere Else?" I Asked, Feeling So Emotionally Raw After The Long Night We'd Had. He Caught My Wrist And Pulled My Hand Down To Press Flat Over His Heart. "here." "so Am I." He Kissed My Fingertips, Then Linked Our Hands And Led Me.