I stare in amazement as a piece of paper slides under the doorway.
He waits for me to pull it the rest of the way through before he speaks again.
"I'll be back for you, Addy. Just be brave and wait for me, sweet girl," he reassures me.
"Do you promise?" I whisper, biting my lip, needing the confirmation. God, now that I've met him, I can't bear the thought of him leaving me, forgetting me.
"I promise, sweetheart."
There's a moment of silence during which I just know his hand is splayed against the other side of the door right against mine, nothing but the wood separating our palms.
And then I register the soft beats of his footsteps retreating down the hall.
Intense loss overwhelms me, but then I remember the note. I open it, my eyes greedily reading the contents like they're my lifeline.
I see you. You're not alone.
Two simple lines, but my heart soars and threatens to burst from my body. He’s thoughtful, too. He’s left no name, nothing to indicate that this isn't something I’ve scribbled myself in case my father finds it. Nothing to get me in trouble if this scrap of paper is discovered. Yet, he’s reassured me that everything I’ve seen in his eyes over the last week is real.
I press the note against my chest, tears glistening in my eyes. I'm overflowing with so many emotions. Thankfulness, tenderness, longing, but most of all, hope.
I want to give him something in return.
I pick myself up off the floor and sit in my window to wait for him, my heart serene and full of trust for this man I barely know yet who's quickly become the most important thing in my life.