“Maybe he doesn’t want to go back,” I countered. “Maybe he likes it here.” “With a snack like you hanging on his sleeve, I’m sure he does,” he replied wryly.”

“Dad, he's different. He's not going to take advantage of me.""I hope not, 'cause I'd hate to go to prison for murder."I laughed and went to hug him but he wasn't amused."Dad, I'll be ok. Caleb is a nice guy and very responsible. I promise you I won't do anything stupid and neither will he. I'm sure he wants to stay alive and keep his limbs intact. Ok?""Ok," he conceded with a sigh.”

“His eyes opened and he smiled at me like he understood everything, like I was everything.”

“You know any single girls in their twenties that would go for Bish?" I asked Caleb."Sure, I know plenty. But would Bish go for it? He doesn’t seem tobe attracted to anything that walks, talks, eats or breathes except my sister.”

“I want to save her because..." Even though he was speaking to her, he never took his eyes off mine. "Because I'm a better man with her. Because I can't imagine going back to being who I was before I met her. Because I'm afraid...that I could be that monster again without her here loving me.”

“You’re not gonna touch or kiss me for a week are you?” I said, letting him know I knew what he was doing. He turned to look at me poignantly. “Absolutely not.” “We’ll see about that,” I countered. “You need time to heal-” “Oh no. I’m going this way and not listening.” I pointed toward the commons room. “In my book, you just issued me a challenge, buster. And I accept.”

“... I tried to glare at him but I felt terrible and I’m sure I didn’t pull it off. He was handsome, which irked me. His hair and eyes were dark and he couldn’t be more than forty five. If this was Harry Potter, he’d definitely be in Slytherin.”