He took a deep breath. He focused on the taste of the air- crisp, clean, with a slight hint of cigar smoke somewhere in the distance. He held the breath in, contemplating. He exhaled slowly, letting his eyes graze over the dotted tiles of the ceiling.
Then finally, he looked down at her.
Her eyes were wide, innocent, and full of unmasked worry. Hazel irises reflected pure anxiety.
He watched a single tear roll silently from the corner of her eye, down her cheekbone, across her olive skin, and finally fall off at her chin.

“Are you scared?” he asked in a soft tone.

She couldn’t speak, and simply nodded her head in a helpless defeat. She had never felt so scared in her life – the feeling ran from her head to her toes, hitting every nerve and cell.
He pulled her in closer, and they laid there, in a perfect embrace, needing each other, becoming each other. And she had never known anything to feel so whole, so complete, so unintentionally right.

“I won’t leave you. We’re in this together, no matter what.”