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“You had almost a week before that,” she offered pointedly.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m working on it.”
“Well, you’d best. Because you love that girl. I might have to withhold my caramel brownies if you don’t stop being stupid.”
“Oh my, those sound delicious,” Callie chimed in.
“When we’re both out of here, you’ll have to come out for a visit. I will send you home with a batch.”
“They are as good as they sound,” I offered.
After chatting with them for a while longer, I left to let them enjoy their dinner with Dennis. I was starving, but I needed some time with my thoughts and to muster up the nerve to talk to Alice. I decided to swing by the grocery store because I knew pickings were slim in my refrigerator. As I walked through with a cart, I caught sight of Alice by the deli. She was turning into the short hallway that led to the bathrooms. I hurried over with my cart and parked it beside the deli case, leaving it there as I sprinted down the hallway.
ChapterThirty-Nine
Jonah
“Alice!” I called just before she turned the corner in the hallway.
The soles of her shoes squeaked on the tiled floor as she stopped, turning back to face me. My legs kept moving before I abruptly stopped several feet away from her. We stared at each other, the distance between us echoing with a force of emotion, need, and startling clarity. For me, at least.
Alice was still waiting, her eyes locked on mine.
I moved, taking three strides to close the space between us. I reached for her hands, curling both of mine around hers. A tremor ran through her, and my own body vibrated, such was my need to touch her. A sense of relief washed through me, like water let loose from a dam, the force initially overwhelming and then slowing.
“I miss you,” I murmured, my voice coming out hoarse.
Her eyes blinked up at me. She was quiet, long enough that I began to worry that I had misread everything I felt between us, everything I thought I sensed from her in return.
She swallowed, her shoulders rising abruptly with a quick breath. My thumb brushed along the inside of one of her wrists, and I could feel the wild patter of her pulse there.
“I miss you too,” she finally said.
I hadn’t even noticed I was holding my breath until it came out in a whoosh.
“Gram’s in the hospital.”
“I heard. Holly texted me. She said she was going to be okay. I was going to stop by on my way home.”
“I just came from there. She’s doing fine. She’s best friends with her roommate.”
Alice’s lips curled in a slow smile, her eyes softening as she looked up at me. “Of course, she is. How are you?”
My lips twisted to the side as I shrugged. “She’s okay for now, but she’s still dying, and that breaks my heart,” I said honestly.
Alice squeezed my hands, releasing one and lifting her palm to trail her fingertips along the stubbled edge of my jawline. “I know. It breaks my heart too. How else are you?” she asked gently.
Something softened in my chest, the bands of tension that had been there since the day I watched four students die, and felt the collective adrenaline and fear pumping through everyone that afternoon. I took a quick breath as a tingling sensation spread through my body.
“I’m okay. I missed you. Before you, I thought I would never let anybody matter except the people who already mattered. But I love you, and I can’t change that. I can’t undo it. I miss you too much even though you’re right next door. I know I can just walk through the trees, and you’ll be there. Honestly, I think I might be an asshole when I’m not doing well.”
Alice’s palm slid down the curve of my neck to rest just over my heart. She pressed her palm firmly against me. My heart felt as if it were leaning forward into her touch. As if it recognized the essence of her as if my heart knew it would be safe in her capable, practical hands.
“I suppose we’re all stumbling on this path called life.”
“I didn’t mean to leave so abruptly.”
She tilted her head to the side, her eyes studying me quietly. “I understand. We could have a code word.”
