Page 91 of The Flesh That Binds Us

“Yeah, Evie?” he asked softly, our lips brushing as he shifted slightly.

“Stop teasing me,” I said with a small smile, trying to hide how unsteady my voice had become.

“I’m not teasing you,” he murmured, thumb brushing lightly along my cheek. “I just woke up to the best conversation I’ve ever heard, and if you’re asking me to imagine a life where I get to keep you…I’ve already been doing that for a while.”

“I-I don't know why I said that…I don’t know what I’m doing,” I whispered, and his expression softened immediately.

“I know,” he said, nodding once, like that made perfect sense. Like it didn’t change anything important. “But you’re not alone in it.”

“I don’t want to mess this up,” I whispered.

“You won’t,” he said simply. “Not with me. I won’t let you.” He brushed his thumb gently under my eye. “And if you ever feel like you are,” he added, softer, “you don’t run away. You tell me. We figure it out together, okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered back.

And for a moment, neither of us spoke. Just held on to each other like everything else in the world would be fine as long as we were together. Then, softer, like he still needed to know, he asked, “Is that a yes?”

A quiet laugh escaped me before I could stop it, muffled against his neck as I shook my head slightly. “You’re unbelievable,” I whispered as I pulled back just enough to look at him properly. His eyes were hopeful, looking at me like I was something he wasn’t sure he deserved, but refused to let go of anyway. I ran my fingers gently through his hair, slower this time, grounding us both.

“Some day,” I whispered.

Jackson grinned before he leaned in and kissed my lips. “Some day,” he murmured against them, his voice soft, almost broken at the edges, despite the smile. His lips lingered there for a moment longer, warm and steady, like he was trying to memorise the fact that I was really there. I closed my eyes as he pulled back just slightly, resting my forehead against his. My breath trembled out of me in a slow exhale.

My chest felt too full—like it couldn’t decide whether it wanted to overflow with love or collapse under the weight of everything still unknown. Because I did feel it. All of it at once. Hope, bright and terrifying. Love, so strong it almost hurt. And fear, quiet but constant, sitting underneath everything like a shadow that hadn’t quite learned it was safe to leave. I didn’t have a version of myself that had figured it all out yet. Not the old me. Not the girl I used to be before everything changed. That version felt distant now, like someone I could remember but not return to.

And maybe I wasn’t supposed to.

Maybe I wasn’t meant to go backwards.

My fingers curled lightly against his gown as I stayed pressed to him, grounding myself in the warmth of his presence. In time, I knew I would learn how to live again. Not as the girl I was before everything happened, but as someone new. Someone shaped by what I survived, but not defined by it. A version of me who could step outside without feeling like the world was closing in. Who could breathe without waiting for something to go wrong. Who could exist without constantly looking over her shoulder.

It wouldn’t happen all at once.

I knew that.

There would be days that were harder than others. Days where I wouldn’t feel like myself at all. Days where the past would feel too close again. But even then…I wouldn’t be alone in it.

Jackson’s hand shifted slightly, brushing over mine where it rested against his chest, as if reminding me without words that he was still there. “I love you,” I whispered. The words felt small in the quiet of the room, but they didn’t feel fragile anymore. Not like they used to. Not like something that could be taken away if I said it too softly. We would get through the next stage. I knew that now in a way I hadn’t been able to before. Not because it would be easy, or because the fear would disappear, but because this time, there was something different anchoring us.