14 for Shoot (obviously lol)
14. things you said after you kissed me
When you kiss her in an elevator with a gun in your hand andher coat in your fist, she doesn’t say anything, but she does scream: a sound from behind the metal of the gate thatlingers in your head for months, the ghost of a feeling in the pit of yourstomach that does not go away.
When you kiss her for the 23rd time, she says, “Missedyou, Sam,” but it’s not her, really, just a refraction of light, the illusionof a sound. Wrong.
When you kiss her for the 405th time, she says, “Wouldn’thave pegged you for the soft type, Shaw,” and you bite her tongue instead ofyours. Wrong.
When you kiss her for the 1,029th time, she says,“Sorry,” and by now you’ve gotten the hang of this game - you’re only bidingyour time when you ask “What for?” and she says, “I wish we’d done this sooner.”Wrong.
When you kiss her for the 6,741st time, she says,“You’re safe here.” And you nearly believe her. (You stop kissing her after that.)
And then you’re in a prison in Johannesburg, and the back ofa cramped truck in Mexico, and a rooftop in New York, a week in to what youhope to god isn’t another simulation.
When you kiss her in the morning by the bridge, she onlylooks at you fondly and smirks. You say, “Reality looks good on you, Root.”
send me a number
