He stares at me from the corner of his eye and I pretend like I can't feel his gaze upon me.

But really, it's burning me alive, causing my insides to rip apart, and most of all, it's causing this taut smile to reappear on my face.

And I know that he sees it too, although it is small and hardly noticeable, I know he sees it.

He sees everything inside of me, as well as outside.

He digs, he scratches, and he bathes in the walls of my soul. He knows every smile, every emotion, every smirk, and every distasteful frown that has graced my face.

It is only because he knows me. He knows everything. And I can't hide a smile, a laugh, an emotion from him.

I appreciate those times when he's quietly reading the newspaper at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee, and unconsciously smoothing down his shirt. And as if the world has turned upside down and the sky is falling, he quickly disperses the paper and stares up at me. And everyday his smile is the same and I've grown so accustomed to it that I expect to see such a face when I walk into the kitchen every morning.

But today, I saw something different. It was this face that I had not seen before, his smile was considerably wider than usual, and his eyes were shining just for me. The pools of blue were deeper and the tiny crease in his forehead was much larger now.

He was nervous.

But of what?

This, I had no idea.

So I simply sat down next to him. I said not a word and neither did he. For some unexplainable reason, I'm scared. I'm scared that he'll say he doesn't know me anymore. That he can't remember what my face displays. And I pray to someone, anyone that this isn't the end. After a whole minute of staring at the walls of some unknown hotel's kitchenette, he silently grabs my hand and I can feel the warmth and I can feel the safety.

This is home.

After another five minutes, he speaks up and I know if I had not been waiting for such a sound, I would not have heard it.

"Nikki, I love you." He says in this baby soft voice I had not heard before.

Silence.

A tear is rolling down my cheek and he is wiping it away with his thumb.

And this is when I turned my head and I knew he was waiting for me to look up so I could meet my eyes with his own.

But I'm scared.

I can hear words echoing in my mind, but I only stammer out four words to him. "I love you, jayce."

I'm trembling now and he just clutches onto my hand tighter, wiping away tears as they flow down in a rapid pace.

Suddenly, I'm not so scared anymore.