Tears brim my eyes when I squeeze his hands. “If Adam and I ever get back on our feet and survive this thing together, we’re totally coming out to thank you for everything you’ve done. And we fully expect another backyard party while we’re there. Maybe this time you could invite your pals Jay and Beyoncé.”
Theo laughs merrily. And for the first time since we tricked Adam into coming back to Wisconsin, I’m hopeful that everything may be okay.
My dad’s the one who caves into giving me my cell phone back when I say I’m not sure of where I’m going in Rochester and hope I don’t get lost. He makes me promise not to tell Mom, but I think she’s already agreed to restore all my privileges after Theo’s visit. There’s a string of complaisant texts and missed calls from Adam, the last voicemail message telling me his building and room number. His voice is rather tranquil for someone about to undergo a major surgery he was once dead set against.
As I near his room, my pulse races. I stop to lean against a wall across the hallway, catching my breath. I must’ve restyled my hair half a dozen times and changed my clothes at least a hundred. I settled on wearing my hair down in loose curls with the pink dress I wore the night we had sex on the bus, remembering how much his eyes came to life when he first saw me.
It’s only been a few days since we returned from New York, but the hours stretching between the days feel like a lifetime. Whatever happens between us today, I’m glad he’s agreed to the surgery and I’m glad he’s asked me to come see him. It should be enough, but deep down I know it isn’t. I want him to declare that he’s still in love with me and wants us to be together once he’s back to normal, or as normal as he can ever be with his serious condition.
I run my fingertips across the star tattoo, remembering the hot night in the taxi after we got our matching ink, and the way Adam looked at me. Even if he’s still upset by what I did, there must be something between us he sees worth saving.
A high, piercing giggle catches my attention. I peer into the room where I’m to meet Adam just as he embraces a skinny girl with long, dark hair, holding her tightly the way he’s held me many times. They draw apart and he leans down to kiss her forehead, his eyes closed. I watch them, slack jawed.
Adam doesn’t have a sister.
Maybe it’s a cousin. Or a really flirty nurse.
They exchange a few more words and gleaming smiles before the girl spins to her side, squeezing Adam’s arm playfully. I immediately recognize her from her Facebook profile.
It’s Cora Stone, Zach’s sister.
I scamper away before they catch me watching.
SIXTEEN
Sitting at a table in the middle of the quiet hospital cafeteria, I flip through the various texts from Adam asking if I’m lost, if I need directions, and finally if I’m okay. I’m definitely lost, and directions wouldn’t do me any good. And I’m certainly nothing close to okay. It’s been half an hour since I was to meet him in his room, since I saw him embracing the girl who sounded so heartbroken on the phone as she pleaded me to bring him home.
Someone calls my name. I look up to see the stunning, long-haired brunette who was waiting at my home alongside Adam’s dad the night we returned.
It’s easy to see how Adam got his crazy good looks when I gaze back at his mom, taking in her regal stature and kind blue eyes. She wears loose fitting black pants and a long-sleeved black cardigan, as if she’s too frail to endure the air conditioning, or just too classy to wear shorts and a t-shirt. The diamonds in her ears look to be at least two carats each, sagging slightly on her lobes. When she smiles at me, the deep creases around her eyes make her appear at least a decade older than my parents.
“What are you doing out here all alone? Did you and Adam—”
“No,” I interrupt, standing. “I just needed a minute before I went in to see him.”
She closes the distance between us and surprises me by leaning in for an awkward hug. Stunned, I set my hands on her back. She smells like a giant floral shop without a window and feels incredibly delicate underneath my hold.
“I didn’t get a chance to talk to you the other night. I want to thank you for bringing Adam back to us. I know it wasn’t easy, but you did the right thing.” She draws back, taking my hands in hers. The huge diamond on her ring finger spins around, pinching my fingers. “You have to understand his father and I...we tried everything we could.
Adam shut us out. We never thought he’d take it as far as he did. We figured he’d come to his senses once he realized his life depended on this surgery. Whatever you said to him, it was the only thing that convinced him that going through with the surgery was his chance at another life. No one else was able to do that to him, not his father, or myself, or even Cora.”