“Maybe it is selfish,” he whispered hoarsely into her ear. “Maybe it is easier to be the who dies then the one that grieves. I don’t know,” he admitted to her, knowing that in her own life it was her father that had lost his life trying to protect his little girl.
She still couldn’t help but feel abandoned by the ones that had left her behind. And he couldn’t blame her for that.
“But it’s more than just my family,” he continued. “I have friends that I care about more than my life. And there isn’t one who wouldn’t be fighting the same battle that I was. There isn’t one that wouldn’t fight. If it has to be one of us, I’ll take the chance on it being me. Not because I’m selfish…because I believe in the lives that they could live if given the chance…I believe in the survivors,” he quietly confessed to her.
Closing his eyes, he released his hold on the stick at her neck and let it fall to the floor. He also let go of the other and hers as well, dropping his arms to his sides. With a very light touch, he nudged at her to turn around. And without complaint, she slowly slid around into his embrace…
“You’re no exception,” he added, his heart on his throat.
There was a small snort from her. “You die on me and I’ll kill you,” she mockingly threatened.