Page 97 of Nobody in Particular

It doesn’t make any sense to me. Why would Theodore or Sidney want to interfere in our lives? Why would Eleanor or Molly? But at the same time, I get what Rose is saying. An awful lot of anonymous strangers started becomingveryinterested in our business all at once. I think of the first forum poster, the one who created the essay using photos and videos from Molly’s socials. I figured it wasone of Molly’s many fans. But what if it isn’t a fan? What if it’s one of Molly’s… friends?

Shivering, I turn back to the woods. In the daylight they seem kind of quaint, welcoming, like something from a fairy tale. One of the nice ones, not “Hansel and Gretel.” Now, they’ve got more of aBlair Witch Projectvibe.

“Done,” I say. “It’s just between us.”

“Between us.”

“But as long as it’s just the two of us? I’m not setting foot in those damn woods.”

“No one can see us in there, though,” Rose whines. “We can do whatever we want, and we won’t need to be locked in a bedroom for once.”

“To be fair,” I say, spinning in a circle, “no one can see us right here, either.”

She looks around, thoughtfully. Then she lunges for me and wraps her arms around my middle, lifting me off the ground.

“Rose,” I cry, kicking into midair. “Let me go!”

“Make me.”

“This is kidnapping,” I protest as she walks me toward the trees.

She stops just inside the border of trees, approximately two feet into the woods, still holding me. “Now,isn’t this romantic?” she asks, grunting under my weight.

“Put me down,” I order.

She does, and I swat at her. She dodges me, laughing. “Just because you’re the princess,” I say, “doesn’t mean”—she grabs my wrists—“you decide what everyone does.”

I try to keep glaring at her, but I break into a smile after a few seconds. It gets even wider as she steers me to the nearest tree and wraps my arms around the back of it, kissing me and pinning me in place, my back against the trunk, her hands on my wrists, and her hips against mine. Eventually, I wrench my arms free and draw her into me. We’re a tangle of arms and legs, tied up like a knot that was never supposed to be unwound.

“You don’t get away with it just because you’re hot, either,” I say against her lips when she pulls away.

She pretends to sulk. “But that’s the opposite of what I was raised to believe,” she says, letting me go.

I walk out of the woods, mostly just to prove a point. I’m giggling, too, now, though, so when Rose chases after me and pulls me back into another kiss I don’t protest.

Her hair is messy from the wind, and her eyes are crinkled, and her coat has slid off one shoulder. Even after all this time, it still surprises me when I stop and take in just how beautiful she is. And not just physically. It strikes me, looking at her now, that I’d do anything to protect this girl. Anything she needs, I’ll do it.

“I don’t think I’d be okay without you,” I say.

Rose runs a thumb over my jaw. “You’ve got me,” she says. “You’re not going to lose me.”

“I’m one wrong move from losing you,” I say.

She shakes her head. “Not as long as you’re on this earth. There’s nowhere they can send you that I won’t follow. You… how can I even explain how much you mean to me? You’ve redefined what happiness is. Each night, I climb into bed excited because when I wake, I get to live another day knowing you. And I know I let you get hurt last night, but I swear right here and right now that will never happen again. I won’t allow it, because watching you in pain is a thousand times worse than bearing it myself, and I simply don’t care what gets thrown at me anymore. The only thing that matters is you, Danni. I wanted to become a better person, but you make me good. I don’t think I realized it before, but I do now. I need you, and I need the version of me I become when I’m with you. If I lose you, I lose me, and I will fight for you until I’m broken and bloodied if that’s what it takes.”

I stare at her, completely stunned. “Rose…”

“I love you,” she finishes fiercely, and for just a heartbeat, the world stops.

“I love you, too,” I hear myself say, and it’s the truth. I’ve known it’s the truth for a while now. It scares the shit out of me, but there it is.

It’s incredible, I think, that one day could hold one of the worst, and one of the best, moments of my life, all in one.

She breaks into a grin like sunshine through clouds. “You do?”

“Of course I do.”

She takes a few steps away from me, tips her head back, and takes a shaky breath. “I love you.” She laughs.

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