Built to Fall

by Julia Wolf

“Wildly inappropriate suits you.” “Does it?” “Yes.” I brought the back of my hand up to her cheek, gliding it over her smooth, silken skin. “I hope to see it again sometime soon.” She leaned into my touch like she was starved for it, not like she feared me. “Dirty and rough suits you, Dominic. But this part is pretty nice too.”

Her throaty laugh sounded like the devil’s church bells calling all the sinners to service.

“Nothing is forever Even if it feels like dying Lift your broken wings And start flying”

You opened me in every way. I can’t remember very many times I’ve been as vulnerable as I was stripped and raw in front of that mirror. But with you, I felt safe to lean into my vulnerability and explore the raw parts of me. And I think...I think once this is over, I won’t go back inside my shell ever again. That’s what I meant by being opened up.”

“It’s a fucking honor to be part of your journey, Claire.”

It was the unknown endings I wouldn’t stick around for. Because nothing lasted forever, no matter how much I wished it wasn’t true. I’d done my share of hoping for forever, and those days were done for me.

“Stay with me, Claire,” he crooned. “Your lips are like honey, your smile is my air.”

“My point is you’re incapable of closing your heart, even when you want to. You aren’t made that way. You, baby girl, were built to fall. It’s just who you are.”