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“Sort of,” he says and I wait for him to go on.
It takes him a minute and I watch as he wrings his hands and clears his throat a few times.
“We started driving but we were still taking fire. Air support was still a few minutes out and so I got out and started shooting. I got shot again,” he says, motioning to his side.
I’ve seen the scars, so I had already guessed that but it still hurts to hear.
“Air support got there just as I was starting to lose consciousness. They flew us back to the base and I remember being loaded into another plane but I passed out before we reached Germany. I woke up in the hospital there the next day.”
“Did you ever ask what happened while you were there?” I whisper and he shakes his head.
“No. I didn’t want to know. Everyone kept calling me a hero and treating me like I was special. I hated it.”
“You are a hero. You saved your friend. You tried to save the others.”
“But I didn’t!” he says, letting go of my hand so that he can drag his hands through his hair.
“I didn’t save them. I couldn’t.”
“Exactly, Jonah. You couldn’t. There was nothing that anyone else could have done. You were so brave, so strong. You deserve to be treated like a hero because you are one.”
“An accidental one, maybe,” he says bitterly and I shake my head.
“What happened next?”
“I was medically discharged and sent back to the States. I came to Fallen Peak because Ledger was here and well, you’ve been here for the rest.”
“You could have died, but you did what you could and saved yourself and your friend. You brought back the other’s bodies. That’s huge, Jonah. You might not see yourself as a hero, but I do.”
Jonah is silent for a minute. He leans forward, his elbows on his knees, and I watch as he closes his eyes, taking a few deep breaths. I give him time to get his emotions under control and then he turns to me.
There’s something in his eyes and I hold my breath when he smiles at me.
“I love you, Mabel.”
Well, I was not expecting that.
“What?” I choke out.
“I love you. I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while but I knew that you needed to know what happened when I was overseas before I told you. I wanted you to know me, and the worst day of my life, before I told you how I felt.”
“I’m sorry that all of that happened to you,” I tell him, taking his hand in mine. “I’m glad that you told me. I’m glad that you trusted me with it and I wish that you could see yourself the way that I do. You are a hero, Charming.”
Jonah tries to smile at my words but I can tell that he still doesn’t truly believe them. Not yet anyway.
“I love you too, Jonah. I think I have since the night that we met.”
“The one where you thought that I was going to murder you?” he says with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood.
“Yep! But instead of murdering me, you swept me off my feet, carried me to your car, and took me home.”
“That was nothing,” he insists and I give him a look.
“That was kind. That was you. You are a hero, Charming. You’re my hero. You’re Reyes’s hero. I’m sure that you’re a hero to the families of Tobinas and Maxwell. You brought their bodies back and let their families bury them and say goodbye.”
Jonah just nods and he seems more at peace with that word now.
“I want you. I want to stay in Fallen Peak and live with you. When I was talking to Reyes, he mentioned how much I used to love computers and web design and I think I’d like to open my own company,” he tells me.
