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“What?” I asked.
“There’s a girl,” he said. I could hear the smile in his voice.
“Oh yeah?” I asked.
“It’s not serious yet, but she’s… amazing,” he said softly.
“I’m really happy for you,” I told him, tears prickling my eyes.
“Thanks,” he said. “But we shouldn’t be talking about me. My little sister is at college. How’s that going?”
“Jon,” I began, trying to find the words. “You know why I wanted to be a nurse, right?”
“Not really,” he said dubiously. “I always thought that was kind of a weird choice for you.”
“I wanted to help you,” I said, trying not to cry. “I’m so sorry I fell out that window and ruined everything.”
“Bella,” he said sharply. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s my fault you went into the military instead of college,” I said. “It’s my fault about your accident. It’s my fault about your legs. I want to help you, I want to make it right.”
He took a deep breath, and I waited. I had said everything there was to say, even if I hadn’t said it well.
“What you’re saying is very sweet and all,” he said carefully. “But you’re wrong. About everything.”
“No, I’m not,” I said.
“First of all, my choices are not your fault,” he said. “You fell out a window because you were a teenager and you wanted to have some freedom. It had nothing to do with me.”
“If I hadn’t done that—” I began.
“If you hadn’t done that things might have been different now, sure,” he said. “But if I’d been in college, I wouldn’t have met Phil at rehab. We wouldn’t have been following our dreams right now and getting our big break. And I wouldn’t have met Annie either.”
Tears burst from my eyes and ran down my cheeks.
“But Bella, I’m even more worried about what you said about being a nurse,” he said. “You don’t have to fix me, little sister. I’m not broken.”
I was weeping openly now.
Luke walked over, a concerned expression on his face.
“I like who I am,” Jon went on. “I want you to like who you are too. Because I like who you are a lot. As a matter of fact, I love you, scamp.”
Scamp.
When was the last time he called me that? Not since before his accident, back in the good times.
It’s funny, but that one little word was what sealed it for me. Jon really was happy. And that meant I could be happy, too.
“I love you too,” I told him.
“Please promise me you’ll drop out of that shitty school and come home,” he said. “We need to figure out what you really want out of your life.”
“I already know what I really want,” I said, looking up at Luke. Even blurry through my tears he was beautiful.
“Then do it,” Jon said. “Fucking go for it.”
“I’m on it,” I told him. “Can I call you again tomorrow night?”
