"It's not stupid," I said and I meant it. I held the lion out again and looked at him, then put him on my pillow. "I meant it, I love him. He... lions are meant to be brave, right? I read that somewhere, that lions were used as symbols of bravery. That's how you make me feel. Brave."

And the lion would remind me of that. When I was with Eddie, I felt like I could do new things. I felt like I didn't have to resort to all the tricks I had learned from Peter, I could be something else, something more, and it took courage to do that. But Eddie always made it seem easy.

I stepped closer, grinning helplessly, then lifted my hands to either side of Eddie's face so I could kiss him in thanks.