He tried to hold my gaze, but my hazel eyes dropped to the linoleum floor as he let out a loud sigh. He desperately threw his arms around my petite shoulders, but to no avail.

“I wish you could tell me what’s wrong,” he whispered in my ear. I wished it, too.

“Its not your fault,” my eyes spoke, glistening with salty moisture, “I took a chance. A stupid chance.”

His fingers grasped my head, toying lightly with strands of my hair. Despite my reluctance, I pulled away, and ran out of the living room. These actions, seemingly insignificant, broke my heart. In the distance, I heard him faintly, calling my name.

The hallways I sprinted through spun in a circular motion, imitating my blur of thoughts. The only clear thing in my hazy tangle of a mind was a direction. A direction I had wanted to take for a long time. But the form of the direction was different to what I had expected.

“Romaine!” he shouted. His deep voice confirmed my direction.

I was running to save his life. At a surprisingly cheap cost…