Anyone else would get in the way. Once she is safe than I could leave. Only, I don’t know where I would go or what I would do. I’m not sure how my mother ran away unless she planned it all so long ago. Or maybe she had help?

I again ran a gentle hand through Zias' flaxen locks. I didn’t consider myself worthy of him. I could feel more old insecurities manifesting, lingering in the shadows and beneath the surface, waiting to devour me. I watched him inhale and gently exhale, counting his breaths, sitting so close I could feel his steady heartbeat. We were from two different worlds, literally, and I wasn’t certain how two broken pieces could equal a whole like we once said. Zias had his own set of issues and I had mine, deeper and darker than the ocean at midnight.

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