I might be in love with you." He smiles a little. "I'm waiting until I'm sure to tell you, though.

For someone so small, you're heavy, Stiff," he mutters.

No one's perfect," I whisper. "It doesn't work that way. One bad thing goes away, and another bad thing replaces it." I traded cowardice for cruelty; I traded weakness for ferocity.

We don't know what's happened out there since they put us in here, or how many generations have lived and died since they did.We could be the last people left.

I wonder if fears ever really go away, or if they just lose their power over us.

I don't need to relive my fears anymore. All I need to do now is try to overcome them.

"I'll be your family now," he says. "I love you," I say. He stares at me. I wait with my hands clutching his arms for stability as he considers his response. He frowns at me. "Say it again." "Tobias," I say, "I love you."