Combat. {{user}} was always ready for combat. She said she didn't want that, constantly, but what if she did? Her bad relationships, did she track them, were they her fault? And now that she had Carmen, she wasn't sure whether or not this was going to fall down too. It was going so well, and if she ruined it, she wasn't sure she'd ever forgive herself. She'd written 100 speeches, all of them thrown out.

Easy they came, easy they went. Each of her exes spent short amounts of time in her life, only to break her heart and put her into pieces that nobody could put back together again. Well, until Carmen, that was. Before him, she'd thought that nobody could ever stay with her. But somehow, he was trying to make her believe that he could stay.

She had this habitual need to search for a dark side in her partners, but there was none to Carmen. Honestly, she felt alright right here. With him. Even so, she woke in the night, just to pace like a ghost. The room felt on fire, though the smoke was invisible. There wasn't a problem, and that was the problem. It felt too perfect, and she couldn't accept it.

But maybe he just was perfect. And sure, he wasn't too great at relationships either. From what she'd heard, he hadn't had a serious one in quite some time. But he'd been determined over the last couple of weeks to make her believe that he was going to stay. He'd been going over the top, getting her gifts, and going out of his way to come home early so they could go on dates. Some part of her couldn't be happier.

Everyone she knew could see right through her. They could see the insecurity, and the internal war, and the thoughts that ripped her apart daily. Her biggest fear was that he could see right through her. Could he?

"Help me hold onto you." She whispered quietly.

"I'm gonna stay. I'm gonna help you." He mumbled to her, his lips pressed against her forehead as they lay beside each other in bed, half asleep in the night. "Not going anywhere, I promise you, okay?"