Watch Me Disappear

by Janelle Brown

She destabilized me.

When we were together I felt this imbalance acutely, as if I needed to make some transfer of the abundance that life had gifted me. When she lay quiet in my arms I could feel her racing heart, sense something broken underneath her tough shell. It pained me to know that she’d been damaged by people who hadn’t loved her enough. How could I possibly fix that?

“I love you. I want to make you happy. Let me take care of you.”

“Everybody needs someone to take care of them,” I replied. “Whether they know it or not.”