I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

a reason despite the fact that I condemn it.
And Sam has no answer.
He bites down, and a frustrated noise spit between his teeth. He
holds onto my wrists, his forehead against mine.
“We can leave,” he says, a little whisper behind it.
I blink. “What?”
“We can get away from all this,” he says. “All this sadness and
death. We can get away from this place so barren of story and
adventure.”
“Sam–”
“We’ll take vials of my medicine. I’ll be careful. I can get a job. I’ll
take care of us,” he whispers, urgency in his voice like he’s ready to
run and pull me with him like we’re just children in a park. “We can
go see the world, my love. We can experience all the things we
never got to feel. We can finally be free and watch the sunrise
without glass in the way.”
Everything is moving so fast. Sam’s grip is iron. His words are fluid,
drowning me. I feel like air stuck underwater.
“I can’t,” I whisper.
“Yes, you can,” Sam says. “I know it’s scary, but we’ll have each
other and–”
“I can’t leave, Sam.” I slide out of his hold, walking backward till
we’re disconnected. “Not forever,” I say, dragging my sleeve across
my mouth as if my words could take up less space if I muffled them.
“Not like you want me to.”
“What do you mean, not forever?” Sam asks, all softness
evaporated.