The boy in black that I stumbled upon in these woods.
“Why?” I ask then and he knows.
Exactly what I’m asking.
And he gives it to me.
The words.
“Because I think I love you.”
This, I need to absorb as well. And I do it with my lips parted and my eyes closed.
I do this with my fists open as well, letting every word, every sensation seep into me. So I never ever forget the moment he finallyadmitted.
He finally told me that he loves me.
I think I love you…
I snap my eyes open then. “Youthink?”
He studies my features. “Yeah.”
I clench my teeth, my happiness, my too many emotions forgotten. “Seriously?Even now. You think?”
And oh my God, just look at him.
He’s amused.
I can’t believe he’samused. That his lips are twitching, and his stupid pretty eyes are twinkling.
And then he takes a step toward me. “Yeah. Because I don’t think love’s the right word for what I feel for you.”
I narrow my eyes. “So then what’s the right word?”
Another step. “Obsession. Because I’m obsessed with you.”
I deflate slightly. “Oh.”
Yet another step. “Crave. Because I crave you with every breath I take. I have craved you with every breath that I’ve taken since the first moment I saw you.”
I swallow jerkily. “What else?”
Step number four. “Insanity. Because I’m insane for you.”
Oh God.
“A-and?”
Step number five. “Life. Because you’re the pulse that beats in my veins.”
I hiccup. “I…”
He reaches me then, on step number six. “Sick. Because I’m sick for you. Because what I feel for you, Echo, doesn’t have a name. It can’t be described in words. Not yours and definitely not mine. Because what I feel for you isn’t something that anyone has ever felt for anyone before. But if you like, we can call it love. And I can tell you that I love you every day. Until in all your logophile glory, you invent a new word or a whole new vocabulary that fits it all, every single thing that I feel for you.”
And I realize that he just took six steps.
One for each year that we’ve known each other.