"Does it hurt?"

"That depends on how committed you are."

"I'm actually more scared than anything."

"And what are you so afraid of?"

"Of losing her."

"You cannot lose what you don't have."

"You know what I mean."

"Tell me how you feel. Genuinely."

"The feeling I have is ununderstandable. I have no idea what to call it. It's the feeling you have when you see two kittens sleeping peacefully or when a storm hits and you need to run for your life. I feel like I'm trapped in a cage but there are no walls. I can reach out but cannot touch."

"Is that all you feel when you look at her?"

"When I look at her? Oh, no. That's a whole other narrative. When I look at her my insides float like I'm on a roller coaster. My pulse picks up like I've just seen a rattle snake and all I can do is smile stupidly back or look at her blankly."

"You need to act on your feelings."

"How do I act on something I cannot control let alone understand?"

"What if she moves on? What if she's tired of waiting and is afraid as you are and decides, like you, to suppress her feelings?"

"What...why would she...?"

"Here's the thing son, life's too short to hold back on anything that drives you that crazy. Go for it. The worst that can happen is that she does not feel the same and we both know how she feels."

"I don't-"

"You heard what she said. Everything that happens in here can be heard loud and clear in your room."

"But I'm-"

"Enough with the buts. Show her how you feel. You're lucky she has stuck around this far."