I touch the sides of his face and sigh. “No one makes me feel the way you do. My body’s never erupted in so many tingles, my hearts never fluttered, I’ve never been more calm, or felt so protected. Milo, I love you with all my heart. I want to be your girlfriend.”
Milo can’t contain his contagious smile. “As in, official? Like, no more secrets?”
I nod. “No more secrets. I don’t want to hide my feelings for you.”
We stay wrapped in each other’s arms until Mrs. Nelson bustles into the house. I get off the couch, and she embraces me with a bear hug.
“Oh, Jamie,” she whimpers. “You poor thing. I’m so sorry about this horrible news.”
“Thank you. I’m okay, though.”
“Grandma and Grandpa want to know if they can get you anything?” Mrs. Nelson says, rubbing a circle on my back.
I give her a grateful smile. “No, I’m fine. I just want to stay here. I wish Aunt Maddy was home.”
“She’s on her way, sweetheart,” she says, nuzzling her head against mine. “She’s arranging a flight back ASAP.”
I sigh in relief. “Thank goodness.”
“She’ll call as soon as she has a flight plan. She wanted to call you first, but I told her I was on my way. It’s better she has a way to get home first.”
“Yeah, I agree.”
Milo fidgets beside us. “Does Kai know?”
His mother releases me and turns to him. “No. I didn’t want to call him while he’s in class.”
“Should you call the administration to pull him out of class?” Milo asks. He gestures at me. “He’d want to be here for her.”
Mrs. Nelson nods. “He definitely would.” She turns to me. “Do you want me to call him?”
I swallow roughly, feeling every piece of my wounded heart. “Yes, please.”
While Mrs. Nelson calls the school administration, she simultaneously makes sandwiches in the kitchen. She’s truly amazing in a crisis. She gets a message to Kai to leave class and call her right away. Hearing her tell Kai what has happened is like hearing it from Sheriff Lennon all over again.
She offers to pick Kai up from school, but he tells her he’s on his way to the parking lot and will be here soon. Waiting for him to arrive feels like I’m living in slow motion. Thankfully, I have Milo to lean against, so I don’t turn into a sad puddle of goo on the kitchen floor.
“James!” Kai’s panicked tone echoes through the house before I see him.
As I turn, Milo steps away from me. Kai jogs toward me, and in an instant, his arms are curled around me. His embrace is filled with life-recharging energy.
“I can’t believe this,” he says in astonishment, holding me against him. “I’m so sorry about your mom. And I’m even more sorry about being a massive jerk.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper, patting his back.
Kai moves back slightly so he can see my face without lowering his arms. “No, it’s not. I feel sick about how I treated you.”
“It was a shock. I get it.”
“I don’t even want to talk about that right now.” Kai shakes his head, shock contorting his expression. “I just want to make sure you’re okay. I don’t know how you handle news like this.”
I hold on to his forearms as his grip on me loosens. “I’ve been prepared,” I admit. “Aunt Maddy always said Mom was gone.”
Kai’s frown twitches as he holds back his emotions. My heart swells. I’ve never seen Kai on the verge of tears before.
“How do I stop being stupid?” he whispers. “I don’t want to do another thing that jeopardizes being best friends with you.”
“It’s both of us, Kai,” I reply. “We were both keeping secrets. We gotta stop doing that.”
