She looks up at me, taking a step forward and smiling slightly, "How can I ever get hurt when I have you here to protect me?"
"But you could have gotten hurt," I murmur softly, hanging my head and feeling my shoulders drop, the tension seeping from...
I swing open the front door and almost break down just at the sight of Reece standing there on Monday night. A sad smile lifts his lips as he steps forward and bends down. I quickly loop my arms around his neck while his go around my waist, slightly lifting me off my feet in a hug.
"Please tell me this is just a bad dream." I sob into the crook of Reece's neck, voice breaking between words.
Reece's tattooed arms squeeze me impossibly tighter as his own tears threaten to fall. "I wish I could, Sunshine. God, I wish I could."
For a moment, the two of us stand in that doorway, lost in our own little world. For that short infinity, we let ourselves believe that we can stay absorbed in each other's embrace for eternity. We allow ourselves to forget the harsh reality of the separation that is to come, instead staying wrapped up in one another for a breath longer.
"How about we take a walk, Sunshine?" Reece whispers gently into my ear, hands smoothing down the fabric of the black tank top covering my back. Without a second's hesitation, I nod, stepping out of his embrace and looping my pinky with his to have some form of physical contact. The two of us step outside and shut the door behind us, not saying a word as we begin our walk down the driveway.
Not even two feet from the front porch, Reece stops, realizing the little amount of clothing adorning my body. The black tank top and black sweatpants do very little to combat the cold.
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He quickly slips out of his navy-blue hoodie, passing it to me and I smile sheepishly. Stepping forward, I presses a kiss to his cheek in thank you before slipping the hoodie over my head.
We then continue our walk down the driveway and onto the sidewalk. With no particular destination in mind, we walk side-by-side in a comfortable silence. Somewhere along the way, I grab onto Reece's pointer-finger, curling my hand around it and holding on to him. It's as if I need the reassurance that he's still beside me. Perhaps we both need that in this moment.
Soon we spot a lonely park bench and silently sit down beside each other. I pull my knees up to my chest and lean my head on Reece's shoulder, not daring to look at him. I know that one glance at his face will break me completely.
"Maybe this won't be so bad." Reece murmurs after a few heavy moments of silence. "I mean, your dad still lives here, so you'll probably come back to see him during holidays and stuff. We can see each other then."
I nod faintly against his shoulder, "You're right."
"And we can call each other all the time. Cody and the twins will probably riot if we don't."
That gets a small smile from me. "I'll call every day."
"Also, we can come visit you. New York isn't that-" He pauses, "-well, it is kind of far away, but we'll make it work."
