He must have stood there for a long time, making a list of all the terrible things he had done—almost killinng me was one of those thingss—and another list of all the good, heroic, brave things he had not done, and then decided that he was tired. Tired, not just of living, but of existing. Tired of being Al.
It had always been Roth; from the moment he swaggered into that d- alley, where I'd been unsuccessfully fighting off a demon, it had been him for me. Maybe I'd been too blind to see that after he returned from the pits. Maybe I had been too angry with him after the way he initially acted.
But I wasn't done. Staring into eyes that were as bright and beautiful than any tawny jewel, I said what I had never said before. And I said it with every ounce in my being behind it. "I love you, Roth." My voice shook with emotion."I'm in love with you.