“Keep going,” he demands. So I do. “It’s about the groceries.” I reroute to the beginning. “Because I want you around me every hour of every day. Not just as a bodyguard but as a boyfriend. In these small moments, I feel it tenfold. And I shouldn’t want it. I just shouldn’t. It makes me some co-dependent, weak-willed girl like all these people have theorized for years. I’m proving them right—and…and…” I can’t breathe. I tug at the collar of my sweater. Thatcher rushes forward and tries to touch me. But I keep him back and press my hand to his chest. Applying little force. His palms hover over
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