Prologue Navy Achebe #2
"I'm not worth fighting for," he huffed.
"Yes, you are." Crawling off the bed, I stepped toward him, fully prepared to grab him in any way that I could just so he'd listen.
"Navy," he blew out a breath.
"Please, just listen to me," I murmured.
"Then you'll leave?" The hopefulness in his tone hurt. I didn't want to be anywhere he wasn't.
"I promise," I forced out.
"Ight. Wassup."
Honor tucked his chin to his chest, letting his deadpan stare drift downward, catching mine with nerve-wracking precision. My heart loudly thumped, ricocheting through my ears.
"Say what you gotta say, Navy," he urged, wrecking me even more.
"Life hasn't been easy for you—" I started, but my words caught the second I saw the tremble of his lip.
"You don't gotta do this, Navy. A happy birthday is enough," Honor stated, his gaze running away.
I refused to let him slip away.
My hands cupped either side of his face, firm but gentle, tilting him back until our eyes locked.
Beneath the fire in his gaze, I saw the fear he tried to hide, and the quick rise and fall of his chest. Each second between us stretched, charged with truths Honor refused to face.
I leaned in, letting him feel that I wouldn't leave, no matter how high his walls were, or how deep he tried to bury himself in lies he'd been taught to believe about himself.
"Life hasn't been easy for you," I whispered, my hands holding his face just a little tighter so he couldn't run.
"It's backed you into a corner, hitting you with punches that could make a grown man crumble.
After fighting for so long, it makes sense why you'd want to give up. But Honor… you can't."
"Why, because you won't let me?" he scoffed, disbelief plaguing his words.
"Of course, I won't, but that's not why. You can't give up because you're stronger than that. Stronger than the shadows you carry, stronger than what most think. You're more than the pain you've endured, more than the fear that fuels you. Honor, you are more than the scars your trauma left behind."
His chest heaved, and I could feel the tremor beneath his skin.
"There's an unrelenting strength inside of you.
All you gotta do is reach for it, and believe…
believe that you're worthy of love, of peace, of everything you've been too afraid to let yourself have.
Today is your birthday, and if not any other day, today you deserve a moment without pain crippling your heart.
If only for a moment, you deserve to be celebrated and loved… I plan to give you both. Honor I—"
His forehead found mine, tears spilling down his cheeks, silencing my confession. I didn't pull away. I didn't judge. I let him cry, let him be free of his armor. Tears slid down our faces. They mingled with whispered sobs and shaky breaths. His hands found mine, his fingers folding between mine.
"Navy," he whispered, and the space between us disappeared.
Instinct took over. I leaned in, meeting his lips with a tremble of my own.
Our kiss was awkward at first, as we struggled to find our rhythm.
My cheeks heated with embarrassment. This was my first kiss.
I wondered if it was his, too. Seconds passed, and we settled, finding our groove.
Honor traded my hands for my waist, gripping it tightly as if letting me go would shatter what we'd just built.
Our lips pressed together, breaths mingling, hearts hammering in tandem, creating a world all our own.
Honor pulled back just enough to meet my gaze, tears glistening, his voice barely holding it together. "I… I love you."
The words hung between us, fragile but so fucking real. My chest felt too small for my heart. Each beat of silence stretched time, pulling me open from the inside.
"Navy, I love you."
There it was again. He had shifted my heart instead of causing it to race.
"I'm not looking for you to say it back," he continued.
"But I had to get it off my chest. Lucian got me moving into a group home tomorrow.
I thought I could leave and take what I feel for you with me, but I can't. You deserve more than a nigga dumping his secrets on you.
You deserve the truth. I can't tell you when it happened, but I know I love you. "
"How?" I whispered.
"I went a long time without knowing what love felt like.
Then I met you and everything shifted. My heart stopped racing around you.
It stumbled, slowed, and got heavy with fear.
Too many feelings started fighting for space beneath my ribs.
Then you said all that stuff about me deserving more, and I knew it was said out of love.
We're young, but I know what I feel. It's cool if you don't—"
"I love you too," I whispered, pressing my forehead back to his, letting the world fall away until there was only us.
"I'll always need you, Navy," he mumbled, bringing my lips to his.
"I'll always be here. You'll never have to face the world alone. Not today, not ever," I whispered, giving myself entirely to the only man I ever wanted to love.