Chapter 7

“You don’t have to love me back,” he whispers.

The words break your heart because you dolove him, you love everything abouthim, except the fact he’s not real and you can’t love someone who doesn’t exist, can you?

“Just lie here with me,” he begs, “please. Just until you leave.”

You should leave now. But he lies down beside you, cuddles up so close he’s almost on topof you, and smooths your hair down with long strokes. “I like when you hold me. When you lie next to me.” He presses his cheek to yours. “When you listen to me breathe and when you touch my face, I love that. When you tell me goodbye—”

“You hear that?” you ask, incredulous.

He’s not supposed to hear that; he’s supposed to be asleep, all those times you try to imprint him on your mind before you exit the program. But if he’s heardyou say goodbye, if he’s awake when you leave…then none of this is what you thought it was, is it?

Sitting up, you fix him with a hard stare and want to know, “You actually hearthat?”