“Nora, wait—” Out of the corner of my vision, I saw John jump over the panel table and down the path between the chairs.
“Excuse me,” I muttered, shoving people out of my way before nearly colliding with the massive cosplayer. Without thinking, I dropped to my knees, slipping out between his legs and into the bright, crowded hall full of people.
I was about to sprint out of the building when I bumped into someone. My nose received an unexpected hook from an elbow.
“Ah, fuck,” I swore.
The person turned. “Oh, love, so sorry I—Nora?”
I looked up through tear-filled eyes and into the bewildered face of Otis, holding hands with Jeremy.
“What are you doing here?” he said, aghast.
“Apparently getting my nose broken,” I said, clutching my hand around the pulsating pain.
Otis scrambled through his pockets, and Jeremy handed me a handkerchief. Otis threw him a crooked smile. “Look at you, all prepared.”
“You said you had theater practice.”
He winced. “I’m sorry, love. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings, but Jeremy and May?—”
“I gotta go.” I took the cloth and blotted the red. Yikes.
Otis’s hand reached out to me. “What are you running from? Wait, is that John?”
I groaned, unable to keep the tears inside any longer.
“Nora?” John’s voice traveled over the crowd.
“It is John,” Otis said, gasping, tugging on my sleeve. “What’s going on? Did he hurt you?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” My tears mixed with blood as I turned, feeling his closeness. I didn’t care how awful I must look anymore.
“How dare you?” I said.
John looked for all the world like a beaten puppy. Still hot and all, but there was a definite and unfair puppyness to him. “I’m sorry, I should have warned...what happened to your face?”
“How dare you?” I said, now louder. I noticed a large portion of the crowd that had sat at the panel was now standing behind him. I stabbed my finger in John’s direction, while grasping the bloody tissue. “How dare you write those words for all to see?How dare you make me feel this way? I’d given up on this,” I waved to the space between us. “Tried to make peace with it?—”
“Tried and failed,” Otis interrupted.
I shot him a sour look and turned back to John, who looked like he was taking the beating of his life but knew he deserved it.
“Nonetheless, I tried really, really hard. I had precautions in place, John. I’d locked this thing up.” I pointed at my chest. “Real good. I didn’t want any of thosefeelythings. But then you came around with your stupid face and your stupid charm. And the worst thing is, I let you. I let you in, John. I let you in, and it felt so good to have you there. To think of what could be.” Blood dripped over my chin. I brushed it away. “Just to find out I had made a total fool out of myself.”
He winced. He went to slip his hands into his pockets but stopped, putting them on his waist instead. Ready to take what I was dishing out. And oh, we were just getting started.
“You lied to me.”
I gave him the space to speak. To make excuses. He didn’t. I hated that it made me love him even more.
The thought struck me like a piano falling from the sky.
I loved him.
Not a crush. Not a fling. Not a mistake.
I loved John.
