They placed her on the table to recover. She took his hands.
Just hold on a little longer, okay? He's gone. The bad man's gone. We'll be home soon.
She thought of her shelter in his house
He thought of the fort he had made for her in the basement where he spent all of his time
And my mom – she'll get you your own bed
She thought of one day having a bed down in the basement
He thought of giving up his room for her
You can eat as many Eggos as you want
She thought of the Eggos he would sneak downstairs for her and how much she loved them
He did too
And . . . we can go to the Snow Ball
She thought of her missing hair and how he found her pretty even without it. And she thought of him trying to kiss her again . . .
He thought of awkwardly dancing with her under a myriad of disco ball lights, tacky crepe paper hung in the gym and her wearing a different dress than the one they had borrowed from his sister. He too thought of kissing her again . . .
Promise? she asked him with tears in her eyes.
I promise.