DARE-TO-LOVE-TRUTH-AND-DARE-DUET-COLLECTION-by-Lylah-James-pdfarchive

gazed at me with burning eyes, her chest heaving.
One single tear trailed down her cheek, and I caught it
before swiping it away.
I’m sorry, I wanted to say.
She gave me the tiniest smile, so strong yet so delicate.
It’s okay. Thank you, her eyes told me.
Lila took a step back, and my hand fell away from her
face. I wanted to keep her pinned to me, wanted to hug
her… but when she nudged her chin high and regarded me
with red eyes, shining with fierce intensity, I let her go.
She didn’t need me to swoop in to be her hero or her
protector.
Long after the bus had disappeared from my view and
she was gone, I stayed at the bus stop, with an
overwhelming set of emotions swimming inside of me.
What started out as a game for me was not a game
anymore.
Lila was truly and honestly my…friend.
The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her. In fact, I
didn’t like the thought of her hurting at all. I didn’t know
when or how it happened. But too soon, Lila became
someone important to me.
Maybe it was when she hugged me in that dark closet
and sang me a lullaby.
Or when she had offered me that tuna sandwich.
Or maybe it was when I wrapped my pinky around hers
and did that silly pinky swear.
But somehow, Lila Garcia became more than just my
prey.
She was someone I wanted to protect.
From the world.
From me.