Evaline:
For a moment my hand hung in the air, clutched around River's forearm as if I could hold him there with the weight of my grip alone. The world narrowed to the warmth of his skin beneath my fingers and the steady, low hum of the fireplace on the other side of the room.
There were nearly a dozen sensible things I should have said - thank you, please, can you stay for a while, can we talk - but they all died on the tip of my tongue. In their place, an odd, panicked blankness spread through my mind, leaving me with nothing but a hollow, ridiculous certainty that I had no idea what to say or do next.
I hadn't meant to stop him like this. Though there was something I needed to tell him, I hadn't prepared anything... or better to say - I felt like I wasn't prepared enough. Yet, here we were - one hand on his arm, my chest tightening with a nervousness that made my fingers tingle.
