Still Beating

by Jennifer Hartmann

I’m going to marry this girl one day.

“You love me. You fucking love me, Cora.”

“Every love story is worth writing, no matter how messy it might be,” Holly says absently, still stroking my hair. “I would like to read your book.”

“I wish you fought for me as hard as you fought to get out of that basement.”

“Are you still mine?” Cora doesn’t hesitate. She reaches for my hand, placing it above her heart. “It’s still beating,” she says. Her face lights up with a radiant smile that looks exactly like how her heartbeat feels. “As long as it’s beating, I’m yours.”