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“We haven’t heard,” I told him as I came to my feet.
Wyatt’s gaze shifted to mine, and guilt was in every crease on his face. “Whitley, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for all of this to happen.”
“It’s fine,” I told him, accepting his hug.
“You told me everything, but I just laughed about it. I didn’t realize that Dad would blow a gasket, and I tried to tell him that it was real now.”
“It’s not,” I nearly choked out. “It’s over.”
Wyatt’s face fell. “No. No, it can’t be. I didn’t mean for that to happen …”
“I wreck everything I touch, big brother,” I whispered, sinking back into my seat. “This should come as no surprise to anyone.”
Mom and Wyatt exchanged a look of despair, but at that moment, the doctor came out to speak to us.
“Is he all right?” Mom gasped.
I jumped to Wyatt’s side, waiting for the worst.
The woman held her hands up. “He’s going to make a full recovery. We’re keeping him sedated, but he can have visitors in his room.”
I nearly fell over with relief at the news. My mom was speaking animatedly to the doctor about his diagnosis and whether she thought this would set him back, if they needed to do another round of immune therapy, and on and on. Mom knew more about what was going on with him than I possibly could, and still, I felt like I should have been the one there, figuring it all out.
Instead, I could barely keep my feet underneath me as relief and guilt flooded through me in a mix of emotions.
“I’m going to go see him,” Mom said. “Are you two coming?”
“Go ahead. We’ll be right behind you, Mom.”
It was a testament to how scared she must have been that my mom left us sitting there to check on her husband.
“Whit,” Wyatt began.
Then, I couldn’t hold any of it back any longer. I threw myself into my brother’s arms and cried great, heaving sobs. He held me, patting my back.
“It’s going to be okay. Dad is okay.”
“I could have killed him,” I blubbered.
“If you’re responsible, then so am I,” Wyatt said.
“You just … told him the truth. He probably … loves you … for that.”
He pulled me back and looked down into my eyes. “But, Whit … I only said it as a joke. I didn’t even realize how it would seem to him. After all, I assured him that you and Gavin were very much real. And if anything, Dad’s diagnosis brought you two together.”
“But it’s not. It was a lie. Dad was right.”
“That’s not true. I saw you two together over the Fourth with my own two eyes. No one is more perfect for you, Whit.”
I shook my head and pulled away from my brother, wiping at my eyes. “God, I’m a mess. Bad girlfriend strikes again.”
“Would you cut it out? There’s nothing wrong with you! You’re a great person. A good girlfriend. A good fiancée. And I bet you’ll be a great wife. Okay? All that stuff in your head is bullshit.”
“Wyatt, you don’t understand. I … never even told him I loved him.”
“Well, do you?”
“What?” I choked out.
