Her chest was rising and falling quickly as she tried to breathe through the pain. Normally, I didn’t really care if it was hurting while I was tattooing, but with her, I cared about everything.

I wiped over my work, gathering the excess ink, and ran my finger over her skin. I watched as her stomach shuddered under my touch. Her shirt was tucked underneath her bra, pulling it tight against her breast, and her stomach was completely exposed. The curve of her hip vastly different from all the hard edges that surrounded her.

That was the thing about Livy, she always stood out from everything else. When everyone else was being serious, she would have a spark of mischief in her eyes. When everyone else was quiet, she always had something to say.

That was the reason I did this tattoo for her, the reason I drew it for her. She had been born wild. She was fierce, she was crazy, she was funny, but most of all, she was unpredictable. She never took the road that most traveled upon, and she surprised me at every turn.

She was chaos and madness, her heart never sitting still for long, and when I was with her, everything else crumbled away and I felt like I was home.

“Why was she here?” I looked up at her, but she had her eyes covered with her arm.

“Who?” I rubbed some salve over her fresh ink.

“Come on, Parker.” She huffed causing her full pink lips to pout. “Madison.”

“She shows up here about once every six months or so.”

She moved her arm, finally giving me her eyes.

“What does she want?”

“What does Madison always want? To stir up shit. She thinks if she keeps coming here that I’ll eventually tattoo her and that it will spark something between us, but it won’t. I always refuse anyway.”

She looked away from me slightly, and I knew she was thinking about the other day when she sent her away.

“She seemed pissed that you were here though.”

“You caught that?” She winced.

“Yup. I watched the whole thing.” I chuckled softly.

“Well thanks a lot. You could have come out there and helped me, you know.”

“That’s true, but then I wouldn’t have been able to watch you go all territorial over me.” I grinned.

No matter what she said and no matter how different our lives had become, she still cared.

“Please.” She rolled her eyes. “I just didn’t want to look at her for any longer than I had to.”

“Uh huh.” I stripped my gloves off my hands and reached my hand out to her. She looked at it suspiciously and regret filled my chest. There was a time when Livy would take my hand without question. She had trusted me fully, and I ruined that.

“We’re all done.” I motioned to her new ink, and she smiled. It was a smile that made me question everything. Emily was safe. She was the exact opposite from Livy, but in that moment, being safe terrified me more. I needed to know that I would taste the chaos again, and even though Livy’s fire scared the shit out of me, I had more fear of never again feeling her burn.

She took my hand hesitantly, and I pulled her out of my chair and close to me.

“Are you ready?” She was only a few inches away from me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the curve of her lips.

“For what?” She looked like my Livy in that moment. She looked like she was up for anything. The rebellious girl I knew shining through.

“To see your tattoo.”

“Of course.” A smile lit up her face, the moment gone in a flash.

She moved in front of the mirror, and she gasped as she took in her ink. It fit her so perfectly. The size was perfect over her ribs, the colors beautiful against her skin tone, and most of all, the wild, wicked heart, a perfect representation of her own.

“I fucking love it.” She turned this way and that in the mirror watching the way the ink moved as her body did. I watched her looking at herself, mesmerized by her own body, mesmerized by my art.

“Thank you so much, Parker.” Her eyes met mine in the mirror. “I know that this drawing must have meant something to you because you have turned down so many people. Thank you for doing it for me.”

“You’re welcome.” I hesitated. I didn’t know how much to tell her. I didn’t know if I could face telling her the truth, but it also felt wrong to lie to her. “Livy, I…” I rubbed my hand down the back of my neck. “I drew that for you.”

She looked back down at the tattoo, her eyes bouncing around the artwork. She didn’t say anything. She just stared. The butterflies fluttered against her skin as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

Her finger traced around the tattoo, careful not to touch the fresh ink. “Why?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

I thought about how to answer her. I wasn’t sure if she was ready to hear the whole truth. I didn’t think either one of us were ready to face it.

“Because it’s you.” I shrugged. “I was so mad at you when you left. Fuck. I was furious.”

She was staring at me in the mirror, her eyes not leaving mine for a second.

“I got so into my art after that. I spent all my days and nights drawing.”

“And this?” She looked so vulnerable, so fragile, so unlike herself.

“That is you.” I pointed down to her ribs. “You have always been so wild at heart. Like a wildfire that can never be tamed. That’s why I had to let you go.”

She closed her eyes, blocking her against my words. Shielding her.

“That’s bullshit, Parker, and you know it.”

When she opened her eyes again, there was fire there. Pure and uncontrollable, and even though I should have been worried about her anger, I fed off her passion.

“You were eighteen years old. Your life was just starting. What did you want me to do? Get you stuck here with me?”

Finally, she turned toward me. “I wouldn’t have been stuck. I would have chosen you.” She was furious, her voice rising, but I didn’t give a fuck if anyone else heard us. “But you didn’t give me a choice.”

“I know, Livy.” My heart was beating against my chest causing my ribs to ache. I felt like I was there again, like I was about to lose her, but I didn’t see any other option. “But neither did you.”