The room was still shaking from the sound of the door when Eva walked in. She did not even put down her bag. Kevin knew the look on her face. She had that look whenever she had already made up her mind.
"I got the job " she said. There was no talk. She just threw the paper on the table between them. "I am going to Hong Kong. I leave week."
Kevin just stared at the paper. He did not need to pick it up. Something inside him started to break, slow and deep like glass before it breaks. "Forty stories with no safety wire Eva. That is not a record. That is crazy.. There will be cameras rolling."
Eva said "It is my job."
Kevin stood up. His voice was loud now. He had been keeping it inside for weeks. "No it is not. This is not a job. You are trying to prove something to yourself. You are going bigger and riskier every time. I just have to stand and watch you do it. I do not want to do this with you."
Eva turned to him. She looked angry. Hurt. "So tell me. What do you really want from me? Do you want me to quit? Do you want me to sit in an apartment and wait for you to come home like your other women? Do you want me to be afraid of my shadow?"
Kevin said "I just want you to be alive." His voice cracked. "That is it. I will do anything Eva. I will buy you a studio. I will pay for you to make your films. You can be the boss not jump off rooftops. I can give you all of that. Why is that not enough?"
Eva shook her head. She had a little smile. "You do not get it Kevin. Everything you are offering is yours. It is your world. I want my world. I want the risks, the bruises, the small margin between living and not. That is who I am.. If you cannot love that person maybe you do not love me. You love the person you wish I was."
Eva headed for the door. She grabbed her bag. Her footsteps felt like nails in Kevins chest.
"Eva, wait " Kevin said.
She did not. Her hand was on the doorknob.
Kevin moved fast. He was at the door in three steps. He grabbed her wrist, not hard enough to stop her. He pulled her back until she faced him. They were close a breath apart.
"Do not go " Kevin whispered. His voice was broken. "Not like this. Not when we are both angry and scared. Not when I am making everything worse."
"Let go of me Kevin " Eva said.
Kevin shook his head. He pulled her closer. His hands were shaking as he held her face. "No. Not this time. Just listen to me. If you still want to leave I will open the door myself.. You need to listen first."
Eva froze. She was still angry. Something in Kevins voice made her stay.
Kevin said "I am scared." His words came out raw. "I did not know fear before I met you. Not even when I got shot in Tangier. Nothing is like this fear that one day I will wake up and you will be gone. When I offer you money and safety it is not because I want to control you. It is just that loving you is the way I know how to protect you. When what I am really afraid of is that you will hurt yourself."
Evas voice was breaking too. "I am scared well Kevin. I am scared I will disappear if I try to fit into your life. I will lose myself while loving you. I will wake up trapped in a cage built out of everything you gave me. I will not be able to see anymore. That your love, honest as it is will become limits I will not even notice until it is too late."
Kevin looked at her. He had tears in his eyes before he even felt them. "So what do we do? How do we love each other without one of us getting hurt?"
Eva shook her head. She had tears in her eyes too. "I wish I knew. I just know I cannot figure it out alone."
Her bag fell to the floor, soft and final. Eva let Kevin hold her close. He wrapped his arms around her tight to keep the world out for a bit.
Kevin said "I will not ask you to stop." His voice was broken. "Not again.. Do the forty stories. Just let me be scared. Let me love you and be afraid. Do not make me try to change you just so I can stop being scared."
Eva looked up at him through tears. Her eyes were softer now. ". I will not tell you not to be afraid. Just do not let the fear become chains. Let it just be love."
Kevin kissed her then slow and desperate. It was not safety or certainty. It was a real promise. I will stay. I will love you even if it scares me. I will keep choosing you.
The sun was rising outside making the city lights blurry. They just stood there holding each other. The problems were not solved.. They had chosen each other at least one more time. Despite everything. Despite the fear and the heights and all the space, between them.