"It’s okay. It’s okay anyway. I’ll call y—" The line goes dead before I can finish. She didn’t even say happy birthday.
I stare at the screen until someone sits beside me. Vincent. He sets down a paper plate between us with a slice of Steven’s cake on it.
"I’m all ears."
"What?" My voice is hollow.
He takes a forkful of cake. "Tell me everything."
"No, I..."
"I’m still your Vincent." His voice is low, his eyes staring at the darkening sky.
"Asher won’t talk to me. Hasn’t in years and I don’t understand why."
"Doesn’t want to—or your mom won’t let him?"
"How should I know? He doesn’t have a phone. And he has my number. He could call me secretly, but he doesn’t."
Vincent shrugs. "Asher’s not you, Marshall. He doesn’t have your courage. He’s ten, and he’s alone with her. Who knows what she’s told him? You can’t know what’s in his head. When you were his age, you had—" He stops.
"I had you," I whisper. "I hope he finds a Vincent Cooper too."
“Nova... something else is bothering you, isn’t it?”
I nod, eyes on the sky. "Turner wants me to take his internship."
"But?"
"But I don’t get it. He despises me. My grades are trash. I don’t even want to work in a vet clinic. That’s Sam’s dream, not mine. I don’t even know if I can handle four more years of vet school after graduation. I just..." My throat closes.I want to drop out of college.
"Steven’s surgery is close, and he’s always stressed. We hardly see each other, and when we do, we fight. We can’t communicate. He doesn’t trust me and I’ve been thinking maybe we forced this relationship. Maybe we worked better as friends."
The words tumble out before I can stop them. Why him of all people? "Forget I said that—"
Vincent exhales. "Mr. Wilson said my music is corny, that I’d be better off teaching kids or singing backup in a bar. Dr. Jenkins and my parents want to send me in a clinic for a while, because I can’t take care of myself. I quit my meds. Haven’t seen my parents in a month. I can only manage to pick up the phone and say ‘Hi’. Aunt Evelyn checks in just to make sure I’m alive. Sam helps me shower and cooks for me because I just sleep. Or play my guitar."
I glance at the old scars on his arms. My chest tightens.Please tell me you’re not doing this again.
"Cooper, I..."
"It’s okay if life’s not always rosy, Marshall. I’ll be okay. You will too. Everything can be solved, and I’m here. You can lean on me, like you used to. Things can feel like when we were kids again if you want them to."
"Vincent, I—" A raindrop lands on my nose.
"What?"
"Why did you do that?"
His sigh says he knows what I’m talking about. "It doesn’t matter anymore."
"Yes, it does,"
He shakes his head. "Not anymore, Nova.”
I kneel, eyes fixed on him. I won’t run from this conversation anymore. "It matters to me."
"No, it doesn’t." His gaze burns into mine. "You love him now. And it’s all my fault."
