She wanted to say that she wasn't going to disappear again, but the powerlessness of their situation swamped her, and she just curled up close, her ribs hitching as she sobbed. For two people that hadn't wanted to move into domesticity too quickly, Gemma thought that she was all too willing to stay glued to Erran's side, to lay down every possible marker that said we belong together and please don't separate us, we'll do anything.
He was saying the kinds of things that Gemma would have been all aglow to hear him say to her on another day, eyes shining and cheeks pink, but instead she whispered, "Tell me this again when we're happy. Tell me it's precious when we're safer. That's how we don't forget, we say it when we're safer, when things seem okay again. Tell me it's fucking precious then, that you don't want to turn your back, that you want to stay. I don't want to let go of you. I want you near, Erran, please, I want you right here..."