Did he just say that? He loves me? I must of been hearing things. "You love me?" It's not that I doubted him and how he felt about me because I knew I loved him. It was just hearing it made my heart ache in a good way. I felt the tears returning.

He stood up to kiss my forehead, still holding my hand. "I really do. More than I thought possible. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

And there were the tears falling at full force once again. I had to push them back to actually speak. "You mean the world to me. Half the time I just kept telling myself this was all a dream. Like I was damned to ever find something as wonderful as you. I love you. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone in my entire life." It seemed slightly strange to feel this way about someone you had not even been with a year and still did not know everything about them, but I could not deny what my heart was screaming.

I watched as he kept my eyes locked with his as I spoke. He studied me for a short moment as my words seemed to sink in and he did a half smile as his own eyes teared up. I instantly felt bad for creating those tears even though I knew it was not for a bad reason. It was my instincts kicking in to protect him, just like he was trying to do for me.

He reached to place his hand on my cheek gently and moved to sit on the side of my bed. The tears fell down his cheeks and he tried to look up and make them stop as he sniffed.

"Don't cry…" I whispered with a lump in my throat, fighting back my own emotions.

He half heartily laughed and took his free hand to wipe his face before looking at me again. "I can't help it…This feeling is very overwhelming and now I know all of this has been for real. Everything I have felt has been for something." He paused and took in a breath. "When I found out what he did to you…" He looked away then. "I still can't control my self."