Wild Berry Meadow An avalanche

The sudden feeling of Aldric pressing against her startles her, though she hides it well. She goes still, eyes closing, and listens to her pounding heart. When he starts to speak, it seems louder with each word, and coherent thought begins to return to her in broken strings. He loves me, she thinks first, and then: I knew that. And she had, in a way, though she'd never allowed herself to consciously think it before. But rejection had not been her fear anyway.
I love you, She whispers, chest tight. Then, haltingly: But... I'm scared. Scared of repeating the past, of ruining what we have — but she doesn't say that. She knows she doesn't need to; Aldric will understand.