“Don’t ever leave me,' he rasped......'Promise me, Tab. Do not ever leave me.”

“And if you ever - and I do mean ever - try to leave me, I’m goin’ with you.”

“Nobody in my life has ever known me the way you do. Nobody in my life has ever made me feel as good as you do. You know me, you know everything about me, and when you leave me, you're going to be leaving the real me, the me nobody else has ever seen, that's who you're going to be rejecting.”

“If I ever mess things up again, whether it’s a misunderstanding, or shit luck, or I just do what I was created to do and screw everything up,” he paused, exhaling, “I want you to promise me you’ll leave. Drop me like a bad habit and don’t look back because god knows, it can’t be me that walks away since I’m incapable of it.”

“You know,” he began, voice low and full, “if you were to ever leave me, I’d come looking for you, on every street.” “You promise?” “Always.” And I knew he kept his promises.”

“My darling Lucy.” He panted against her ear, and then his teeth scraped her earlobe. “I love you,” he whispered. “Don’t ever leave me.”