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I sit up straighter, just like Eva did in the video.
Bryson’s right. We can’t lie. We can’t sneak around anymore. Outside, the rain gets heavier, pattering loudly, underscoring my words.
“I know what you’re thinking. It’s what the whole world will probably think when they hear about this. They’ll say I’m rushing into this and I’m not thinking clearly. I don’t have the experience. I’m too young. Too this. Too that.”
My voice rises. Adam sits with that familiar patient look on his face, not judging, not pressing, simply waiting for me to go on.
“It will be hard for some people to accept that, Adam. I know I want to be with Bryson for the rest of my life. I want to have a family with him. I want to be his wife one day.”
I’ve known it for a long time, I almost add, but hold that part back.
“I knew something was going on,” Adam says after a pause. “I almost stopped it… But I wanted to honor Eva’s wishes. Ah.”
On theah, he stands, running both hands over his head, like he doesn’t know what else to do with them.
“I don’t understand how you can be sure so quickly,” he says after a pause.
“I was sure the second I saw her,” Bryson says. “You know that. You might want to hit me again for saying it, but it’s the truth. The second I saw her, something clicked. I never believed in destiny or any of that stuff, but I do now.”
“But you…,” Adam stares at me. “You’re not even twenty yet, and you’ve had a crush on him foryears. I never said anything before, but it matters now, sis. Try to see this from where I’m standing.”
“How does it look to you?” I ask.
“Like you’re jumping on a fantasy. Like you’re so happy your childhood dream is coming true, you’ll agree to anything.”
“That’s just plain wrong,” I say fiercely. “Bryson said the same thing.”
“He did?” Adam cuts in.
“Pretty much,” I say. “He said he had to know this wasn’t some teenage crush on steroids. It was important for him to know it was real. He didn’t want to take advantage of me.”
Adam looks at Bryson, respect in his eyes.
“Iknow, Adam. When I think about the future, it’s not in hazy terms. It’s not like it’s all rainbows and sunshine and impossible happiness. I think about getting up in the middle of the night to nurse our children. I think about Bryson working late and sharing a quick meal with him at eleven p.m. or midnight before going to bed. I think about the wedding, but alsoafterthe wedding.
“I think about it all,” I go on, passion imbuing my voice. “Every moment. The good and the bad. I want this. In realistic and grown-up terms. It started as a crush, but there’s no reason that has to define it.”
“Hell, sis,” Adam says, smiling, the sight so welcome it’s like sunlight through clouds. “You’re going to be a huge podcaster one day. I just know it. You speak so well.”
“It’s not just talk, though,” I say. “It’s the truth.”
“If I told you to stop now, what would you do?”
“Go insane,” Bryson says. “I’d have to leave the country. This past year on the West Coast has been torture. I’ve missed Harper every day, even if she had no clue I wanted her, and I had no clue she wantedme.”
Adam turns to me, and I answer, “Yeah, go crazy. Lose my mind. I don’t want this to end.”
Somehow, Adam’s smile grows wider. I feel like I’m looking at a mirage, and at any second, it could fade away.
“And you’re both sure? Completely?”
“Completely,” Bryson and I say at the same time, our combined voices powerful.
“Then I’m happy for you,” Adam says.
I leap to my feet, Bryson doing the same at my side.
“What?” Bryson says, stepping forward. “Are you serious?”
