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I didn’t move. My hands hung limp at my sides.

“To be granted the privilege to love you, and be loved in return—would be enough."

His words shot straight through my blood to my very bones, settling somewhere deep inside me. I knew I'd never be the same after hearing them.

"Rove..." I whispered.

“You’re spiraling because you don’t have answers,” he continued.

He let go of the railing, turning to face me now.

The wall was back up. As quickly as it had fallen, it was standing between us again.

"When we get home, you can meet with the doctor Dr. Morgan recommends. You can go over your options and decide what you want to do from there. And gymnastics?" He paused. "You don't have to decide that tonight either. Give yourself some time to figure this out. To process."

"Okay," I whispered, relenting. Because I knew that was the only option. I just needed to hear someone say it out loud.

“We do this together, though. You understand?”

I nodded.

And then he reached out, presenting his pinky to me.

It took me a second to realize what was happening, and I almost laughed.

A pinky promise?

It reminded me of the time we'd locked pinkies at the diner all those months ago.

“Promise me,” he said suddenly.

I started to shake my head.

“Stubborn little thing,” he muttered. He presented his hand again, waiting for me.

“Promise me, Red.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. Even now, I wanted to give him an out. A way to free himself. I didn’t want him to have to go down with me.

But we were cut from the same cloth, and I was beginning to wonder if he might be even more stubborn than me.

“I told you. I can handle you, remember?” he said. “It’s time you start believing it.”

Slowly, I reached out, allowing our pinkies to intertwine.

“Promise,” I whispered.

EPILOGUE

The hospital gown was too big for me.

It swallowed my small frame and, despite my best efforts, hung on me like a loose bedsheet.

The scent of antiseptic lingered in the air, and the stark white walls of the hospital room made me feel queasy.

I twisted the plastic hospital bracelet around my wrist for what had to be the hundredth time.

“When you get out of surgery, I’ll be right here waiting for you,” Mom said.