Thrive (Addicted #4)

by Krista Ritchie

“I don’t want to live if you’re not living with me.”

I think, sometimes, we have more faith in each other than we do in ourselves.

I’m going to love Lily how I want to love her. Overwhelmingly, uncompromisingly. Look away if you have to.

We’re going to have our happy ending. It just may take us awhile to get there.”

People make mistakes every day, some small and some big, but I just wonder when I’ll stop making them. Or is this a lifelong thing? Do we all just wander through life, fucking up and trying to put ourselves back together only to continue on again?

“The world is never going to understand us,” he tells me, his eyes so impassioned that I can’t look away. “But it doesn’t matter, Lil. We have each other, and I get your pain, I understand how badly it hurts, so I need you to block out the other people today, okay? They don’t exist in our world.” Our world.

“We’re going to have our happy ending. It’s just going to take us a little while to get there.”

Very softly, he says, “I wouldn’t be here without you.” It is bigger than an I love you. It is a declaration that solidifies what I’ve known for so long. We aren’t connected by our addictions. But by our childhood. Souls fused together from the very, very start.

Our love is rare. It’s one I can’t abandon, even if I tried. When she screams, an identical one rips through me. When she cries, my world rains with grief. When she loves, I truly, truly fly.

“Life moves too quickly,” he says. “I don’t want to speed through a single moment. Not anymore.”