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The sound of her voice instantly soothes me. “Hi.”
“Everything okay?”
“Eh.” I hesitate. “Define okay.”
She turns off whatever was playing in the background. “Talk to me.”
“Well, Holden proposed.”
I can hear her gasp through the phone. “He did what?! I thought you two broke up.”
“We did.”
“Oh my god. What did you say?”
“Nothing. I walked away, and then he drank himself close to death and now, he’s in the hospital.”
“What the fuck?! Hold on. Start from the beginning, and explain everything.”
I spend the next twenty minutes going over all the events of the last 24 hours and trying to figure out what to do about it. I mean, it’s not that I don’t want to be with Holden. It’s just, everything he did really hurt me. My guard is up now and I’m not entirely sure how to let it back down.
“You’re just going to have to see how things go, love.” She tells me. “Be honest with him. Tell him how you feel and what’s going through your head. He loves you, so give him the chance to listen.”
“You’re right.” I sigh. “You’re always right. Thank you.”
Just as I hang up, Josephine comes into the waiting room. “I’m so glad he’s alright. Thank you for staying with him last night. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.”
I shake my head. “Honestly, I wouldn’t have rather been anywhere else.”
She looks at me knowingly and smiles. “Well, I’m heading out, but I’ll be back later.”
After I give her a hug goodbye, I go back towards Holden’s room. As soon as I walk in, he smirks, looking guilty as hell.
“What’d you do?” I ask hesitantly.
“The nurse called you my fiancé.”
“Oh?”
“I didn’t correct her.” He says, sounding ridiculously satisfied with himself.
I chuckle, rolling my eyes playfully and sitting down in the chair. “Well, you can thank your sister for that. They asked for family last night and she told the doctor we’re engaged.”
“She should lie more often.” He quips. “I like the way it sounded.”
“I bet you did, Casanova.”
LATER THAT NIGHT, AFTER they confirm he didn’t do any damage to his liver, I’m finally able to bring Holden back to his house. I’m grateful for Caleb and Jason, who made good on their promise to search his room. They also had someone clean up the vomit off his floor.
I bring Holden upstairs, giving him an Advil for his still intense hangover and a bottle of water. We both change into something more comfortable and climb into his bed. Just before he starts a movie, I think of what Emily said. Be honest with him.
I take a deep breath and pull my hand from his. He looks slightly unnerved as I whisper that we need to talk.
“Please don’t tell me you’re leaving again.”
“I’m not.” I shake my head for emphasis. “I just don’t want to rush back into this. You really hurt me, Holden.”
“I know, and I am so unbelievably sorry for that. You believe me, don’t you?”
