I shook my head, a sob wracking through my chest. “You’re not real.” “I’m real, Xavier. And I’m staying,” he promised. My breaths seized up in my chest, not an ounce of oxygen making it into my lungs. “It’s not a trick?” I hissed, the burning pain of my enduring grief nearly tearing me apart. I would not survive losing him twice, and this scrap of hope, this view of him before me would be too much to bear if it was nothing but an illusion. “No trick. No lie.” Darius placed a hand on his chest. “Heart beating. I’m right here. Against all the motherfucking odds. Now get the fuck up and let me
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