In Love

"I love you" doesn't sound the same from everybody's lips.

"I'm in love with you." Megan said.

Ella felt a twist in her stomach at the words. It was a fear which spread through her body, tightening her throat, tensing her muscles and making her head feel as if it was attached to someone else's body.

It would have felt amazing to know that she was loved - a safe warm happiness would have filled her heart - if she wasn't so utterly afraid of what she was expected to say in return.

It wasn't that she didn't feel like that and Megan deserved to know. Ella was afraid to confess something which she knew could be used to hurt her. It could be a trick or a lie or an unfortunate mistake. It could make their relationship even more precious and then destroy them both when it fell apart.

"It's okay." Megan promised. "You don't have to say anything in return."

Ella looked towards her gratefully and grinned.

"I like it when you smile." Megan said.

They stared at each other in a loving silence before Ella inhaled deeply - pretending that the air was courage because she needed to be brave - and she replied "I like your smile, too." She thought for a moment and added "I like seeing you happy. I love it when you get all teary eyed when you're watching people together because you're happy for them."

"I don't do that!" Megan exclaimed, then she thought about it for a moment and admitted "Yeah, okay, I do."

"And I love the way you keep an eye out for everyone. I adore how you hold doors open for people. My favourite sound is your laugh and my favourite sight is your face." Ella's voice had become louder and more brave in her need for Megan to understand how special she was. "I love the way you push your glasses up your nose with your knuckle and how you sing to yourself when you think no one can hear.  I love that you fight for what you believe in. Most of all I love that you always try your best to understand, even when you don't. You're incredible."

Megan brushed a strand of hair from Ella's face then let her hand lay on her shoulder. "I'm proud of you." she told Ella, "And I love you."

Author's Note

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Reviews

[-holden-]

I appreciated the honesty of the piece. I also enjoyed the multi-layered imagery that you achieved in the space of such a short work. I felt that I actually witnessed the exponential growth of Ella's courage as she catalogued Megan's virtues.
The first two sentences, of the third paragraph, might benefit from some attention. Perhaps a compounding of the two would work.

Nicely done.