"There was never anybody before you,“ she said. "I just wanted to say that. And when I did..."

There was never anybody before you," she said. "I just wanted to
say that. And when I did what I do, and it opened a crack in me like
it did last night, there was nobody there to hold on to me. I didn't
want anyone to hold on to me. Until you. And I got through and I got
by, and it was okay. But I think, maybe, if I'd just kept getting
through and getting by, I'd have come to a point where I couldn't do
it anymore. And if I couldn't do it anymore, it'd be the end of me,
Roarke. "
She took a steadying breath. "So when you hold on to me, you're
helping me stand up, one more time. And the dead,y ou're standing for them too. I just wanted to say that." She went out quickly, and left him staring after her.