Mate

by Ali Hazelwood

Cute, how she thinks he’d ever let her out of his sight.

Look at her. Just— look at her.

“Mouthy, isn’t she, Boden?” He sighs. “Never thought I’d be into that, and yet. Bane of my fucking existence.”

“Do you want to come with me?” Yes, with every single cell of my body. “Why would I come with you?” “Because the idea of having you out of my sight makes me want to flip those cars one by one.”

Then, just a few feet from me, he turns around. “Killer?” “Yeah?” There is a false start. Like the words are too foreign to flow out with ease. But then he says, “Before I leave, I think I need to hold you for a minute.” I’m in his arms before I know how I got there. He bends down to scoop me up, and my forehead fits so perfectly into the valley of his already-prickly throat, this cannot be anything but fated. He lifts me higher, my feet no longer touching the ground, and hides his face in my neck. A long, deep inhale. My pulse begins to dance.

Im sat

He easily resigned himself to a lifetime without her, but . . . Simply put, he is unwilling to contemplate a universe in which she no longer exists.

He is afraid— not only of what might happen to her, but also of what he might do to the world in retaliation.

I feel close to you. So much so, sometimes I wonder if fate really does exist. When you’re around, the universe feels more bearable. This mate business— does it feel like I have you in my palm? Like we’re tethered to each other? Like I changed you at the nuclear level?