“I worked hard to learn how,” I admit. “I used to think speaking up meant I was being difficult.”
He glances down at me. “You’re not.”
“I know that now,” I say. “Most days.”
We lapse back into silence, the city humming outside, the show flickering light across the room. His breathing evens out, steady beneath my cheek.
After a while, he speaks again. “Can I ask you something?”
I tense slightly. “Of course.”
“Bryce,” he says quietly. “How did you meet?”
The name lands gently.
I take a breath, not because it hurts, but because it deserves care.
“College,” I say. “I was late to class for once, and the only open seat was next to him.”
Colton hums. “That tracks.”
I smile at the memory. “He was already grinning at me before I even sat down. Like he knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That he was meeting someone important,” I say softly.
Colton’s arm tightens around me.
“He was easy,” I continue. “Not in a lazy way. Just … open. He talked to everyone. Made friends everywhere. He believed things would work out, even when there was no reason to.”
“That sounds like the opposite of you,” Colton murmurs.
I laugh quietly. “That’s why it worked. But it rubbed off on me. I still carry some of that with me today.”
He doesn’t interrupt. Doesn’t rush me.
“What was it like?” he asks after a beat. “Being with him.”
“Warm,” I say. “He made ordinary days feel like something to look forward to. He wasn’t perfect though. He was stubborn and terrible at remembering appointments, but he loved fully.”
My voice wavers slightly, and Colton presses his lips to the top of my head.
“And losing him?” he asks.
I close my eyes. “It was like the ground had disappeared,” I admit. “Everything I thought I knew about the future stopped existing.”
His arm tightens, steady and strong.
“There were days I couldn’t breathe,” I continue. “Days I was angry at everyone who got to keep living when he didn’t. Days I felt guilty for laughing.”
Colton stays silent, present.
“But eventually,” I say, “I realized something. I got to love him. Not everyone gets that. Not everyone gets a love that deep, even for a short time.”
I lift my head to look at him. “I wouldn’t trade it.”
His eyes are dark, intense, but soft. “That’s incredibly brave.”
