*~*Lex's POV*~*
Slowly, with hesitation and trepidation, I inched closer to Talia. She wasn't looking at me, but I knew she was aware of me. And when I was just a few feet away from her, she broke the quiet that had settled around the mountain top.
"I won't force you to talk to me. To be near me. Or to do anything. If you want to leave, Lex, then you can. I don't own you. You can do as you want to."
Her voice was even, still, and calm, but I heard the underlying emotions. She still had that saddened slant to her shoulders, her head tilted to the side, as if she was too weighed down to even hold it up high. And despite the strength she had tried to put into her voice, I heard the sorrow. I wasn't sure if anyone else would, not with how much she had tried to hide it, but it was there, and it hurt me so much.
