Hideaway

He slowly approached me, staring hard. “Love is pain, Nik,” he told me. “It’s never felt good.”

“When we’re young, we are who we are out of necessity—we are who we’re taught to be. With freedom, though, comes the liberty to broaden our horizons. When we only have ourselves to answer to,” I said and glanced at her again. “You haven’t gotten that freedom yet, have you?

I love you,” he whispered against my lips as he backed us away from the others. “And he can send me to prison again for a very long time. I’m not letting that happen now that I’ve found you. Please.”