Page 253 of Glass (Crank 2)

---

This year we will, and despite

the fact that it’s just beyond

dawn, the celebration downstairs

has already begun. Devon:

Santa was here! Santa was

here! He ate up all the cookies.

LaTreya, more pragmatic:

Holy cow. Look at the presents!

How can we ever open them all?

Trey pulls me into his arms

for one last kiss. Santa was here.

Guess we’d better get up.

We made love, off and on, most

of the night, but he has not said

the words I’ve waited to hear.

Should I say them now? I’m

almost afraid to, like if I do it will

make him vanish into thin air.

I Have To

Have to tell him

how I feel, how

much I miss him

when he’s not

here. So I snug

my face against

the pulse in his

neck. “I love you.”

I wait, barely

able to breathe.

He tightens

---