“You’ve got all my firsts,” he said. “All the ones that matter.”

“You're all I've got, Luce. I'll do anything not to lose you," he said, his scar pinching into his cheek. "Just tell me what I'm doing wrong and I'll fix it.”

“How did you find me?” I said, keeping my head ducked. “It was easy,” he said, taking a seat beside me. “All I did was follow the cursing.”

“You the one that got jumped?”I didn’t think my blood-matted hair and debris ridden clothes needed an answer, but he was waiting for one. Not the brightest crayon in the box.”

“My dad had once told me, crimson-red deep in “the talk,” that with sons, all he had to worry about was one penis, but with a daughter, he had to worry about everyone else’s.”

“Luce. We fight. I'm used to that. Sure, that fight was the scariest ass one we've ever had, but you're here now. That's all that matters. No matter how many fights we have, or how much they tip the Richter scale, none of it matters as long as at the end of the day, you're still with me.”

“Luce," Jude said, unfurling the blanket cinched around me, grabbing my hands when he pulled them free, "you're my girl. The girl." To join the other emotions flashing over over his face, a trace of pain did as well. "When I look at Adriana, or any other girl for that matter, that's all I see. Some other girl who isn't my girl. I don't see them, Luce. I see you," he continued, his skin lining between his brows. "I've only ever seen you.”