Variation

by Rebecca Yarros

“Just listen to me!” she begged. “Someone has to listen to me!”

An ache bloomed in my chest, pressing tight against my ribs. How many times had I wanted to scream the very same thing?

“You can trust me. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” All traces of teasing left my voice. That got her full attention. She winced, then quickly smoothed her expression. “You can’t promise that.” I brought my left hand up to her cheek and cupped her face, getting the feeling that she wasn’t just talking about the swing. “That’s exactly what I’m promising. We’ll do it together.” “And what if I’m too scared to let go? Are you just going to fly off and leave me hanging?” She swallowed. “I won’t let go until you do,” I promised, stroking her cheek. “We’ll swing back together, relaunch, and try it again. As many times as you need.” My stomach clenched. “You just have to have a little faith in me.”