Free Until Time Stands Still by Lona Scott

down.” Graham said, soothingly.
     
                “Don’t you tell me to calm down, Army man!” She stamped her foot. “I have a right to know!”
     
                “Marines.” Graham said. “NOT Army.”
     
                Mykel couldn’t help but chuckle. She was adorable when she was mad.
     
                “Don’t you laugh at me!” She hissed, standing nose to nose with him “Not after what we had last night.” She cried, “Just tell me the truth, Mykel, right now!”
     
                “Alright, fine. You want truth, here it is! You scare me. Everything about the two of us, together, terrifies me, and I’m not a man that gets scared easily, babe. I’ve been all over history, and I’ve lived in the future. It’s hell, sweetheart, and I don’t want that for you. Here now, with you, is the best place I’ve ever seen, because of you…Your smile, your eyes. The way you touch me makes me fucking insane for you. The way your voice makes me shiver and the ache I get when you’re upset. You make me feel things I'm not supposed to. I’ve survived a lot of shit, and I’ve lived through it all. I’ve met a lot of people, lost even more. I’ve built up walls. Damn thick ones, Isabelle. And in one night, you’ve turned them all to rubble!” He shouted. “I've done a lot of bad things in my life, hurt a lot of people. It'll probably take me quite a few life times to make up for it. But loving you, protecting and caring for you? That gives me hope that just maybe I can succeed at anything! Be a better man for you. You make me feel super human, woman. And now…now, when you look at me like that, I feel like I’m about to lose the best damn thing I’ve found in this entire world. I don’t want to lose you. Ever. I don’t know how I’m going to survive it, and that scares me more than anything I’ve ever done, because I can’t stop myself from falling in love with you!” His eyes filled with unshed tears, burned into hers, daring her to speak.
     
                “Woah.” Graham breathed, backing away from the two of them.
     
                “Say something!” He demanded.
     
                She stared at him stunned. “You’re really from the future?” She squeaked.            
     
                “I tell you I’m head over heels, without a doubt, completely bared my soul, in love with you,        and all you heard was ‘I’m from the future?’” He growled.
     
                “I’m not sure what you want me to say.” She said slowly. “It’s kind of a lot to process, you know.”
     
                “Tell me I have a chance with you, even if you don’t love me yet. I know you will, if you give us a chance. Give me a chance.”
     
                “How can I do that when you’re planning on leaving me? When you are going home…to…how far in the future are you from, anyway?” She asked.
     
                “About a hundred years.” Graham piped up quietly. He was leaning against a tree, munching on one of the horrid food rations.
     
                “You could come with me.” He said, desperate. “It won’t be easy, living in my world, but I swear I will do whatever I have to, to keep you happy and safe. You've managed to do the impossible. You woke up my heart and have me saying all this fluffy stuff. You have wormed your way into my heart and now I find myself unwilling to let you go. I'm going to fight for you. Sooner or later you will realize that you love me as much as I do you. You’ll realize you are just as much afraid of losing me as I am of losing you. I can wait for that day, to hear those words, for as long as I have to, as long as you just come with me.” He held his hand out to her. “Please?”
     
                She swallowed hard, and glancing at Graham, who was watching the whole exchange