*Olivia*
I looked up at Giovani with tears in my eyes. He was holding me so tenderly, and I so badly wanted to tell him what he wanted to hear, but I just couldn’t. I had to be honest with him. Even if it meant breaking his heart.
“I don’t know,” I whispered, unable to bring myself to say the words too loudly. “I don’t know if I can handle this life.”
Although he didn’t pull away from me, Gio’s face hardened slightly, and I could tell he was hurt by what I had said. I didn’t want to hurt him, but this was bigger than us. I couldn’t live a life of fear. I had to get my emotions out in the open.
“I feel like everything has been so dangerous from the moment I got here that I haven’t even had a chance to stop being scared.” I forced myself to keep talking, even though what I really wanted to do was bury myself in Gio’s chest and pretend I had never brought this up.
“I’ve kept you safe the whole time,” he said, a note of frustration coming through in his voice.
