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“You’re human. Just like me. They broke us, but we survived.” He swallows thickly, the muscles in his neck tightening. “We’re not the same as we were, but we’re healing, and that’s what matters.”

“You think you’ll try to leave if I’m healed? Like if?—”

“That’s not going to happen.” I lean up and kiss his lips. I mean these words with all my heart and all my soul. “I promise. It’s just like I told Dean. You deserve more than me. I love yousomuch. There’s nothing you could ever do that would make me not love you. I’ll protect you from everything and everyone. I promise.”

He drinks in that promise, whispering some of the words to himself.

“Do you love me too?”

“I only survived because of how much I love you.”

The truth is in his eyes, undeniable and forever. I’ll never have to spend a day without him once all this is over. It’s so close I can almost taste it.

All the people who hurt us, gone for good, and then the rest of our lives.

That future begins here and now.

We start it with a kiss.