She closes her eyes for a second, because for all of her wariness and all of her pulling away, she still trusts him enough to close her eyes around him. The way he says that he loves her leaves her mouth dry, her heart aching.

"No." She isn't strong like she should be. Her fingers squeeze his a little too tightly, and she moves in closer again so that her head can rest on his shoulder. "It doesn't. But what you decided to be does."

Vanessa loves him. Completely, stupidly, dangerously. "I can't go there, Stanton. Not where you are."