you’re here, I feel like I’ve found whatever path I was looking
for. I feel like all I had to do was turn just a little and open my
eyes and it was there. I’m not getting off of that path now.
That would be so foolish. I always thought I had the courage
to fight, and I did, but I was fighting with ghosts. It was the
wrong fight. I need to let them go. I’m done running. I’m done
trying to protect myself so that I never get a chance to feel
anything, because that’s so lonely. I don’t have to do that
anymore. It shouldn’t be a habit. I know my worth and I’ve
been selling myself short for a long time. I really, really want
this.”
“I really, really want this too.” Emily was starting to tear up
again, but she smiled even through the tears, and her eyes
shone.
Dani drew Emily against her, holding her tightly. They drew
in shaky breaths together, crying and smiling and eventually
laughing. Emily buried her head against Dani’s shoulder and
they both sat that way for a long time. Dani drank in every
detail about Emily, from the warm softness of her skin to the
citrusy scent of her hair. She set her lips against the leaping
pulse at the base of her throat. How could she have ever
thought she could leave her? Walk away from her? Emily was
all that Dani had wanted her whole life. Someone to love her
and love in return. She very much hoped that one day they
could do this again. That they’d get to the point where they
could share the same space, share the same life, be a family.
When Dani pulled away, she cupped Emily’s face and stare
down at her. There were tears still clinging to Emily’s lashes,
but she was also still smiling. Dani smiled back, for once
feeling just as radiant. Like maybe she wasn’t the dark and she