“I will,” he replied. Ty seemed to subsist mostly on protein, but he was a sucker for the occasional sweet.
The morning was nice and relaxed. Morgan took pictures of his little family and sent them on to Ty, who would get them the next time he went to town, and—
The phone rang. The number was unfamiliar, but Morgan knew the area code. He answered cautiously. “Hello?”
“Merry Christmas, Morgan.”
“Ty.”What the … how the …“Where are you calling from?” he asked.
“Donna helped me get a phone.”
Oh, shit, that was … “Wow.” Ty had resisted having a cell phone fordecadesat this point. “Why?”
“Because I wanted to be able to speak with you without having to wait.” He sounded a little sheepish. “I should have told you before you left, but I thought it might be a fun surprise.”
“It definitely is.” It was the best surprise.
Katie looked over interestedly. “Is that Ty?”
“Yes …”
“Let me talk to him.” She held out her hand. Morgan just stared at her. “I’ll be nice! I just want to wish him happy holidays.” He relented and watched with trepidation as Katie launched into, “Merry Christmas, Ty! This is Katie, Morgan’s sister. How are you?”
It could have been a disaster, but it wasn’t. In fact, not even a minute into their conversation, she started laughing. “Really? God, I feel bad for you. He can be the worst patient. No, I know … I’ve told him that for years!”
Wait, were they …commiseratingabout him? “Give me my phone back.”
“No, I—wait, no!”
They fought over the phone for a minute before Morgan won long enough to say, “Talk to you again soon, love you, bye!” before hanging up. After he did, he caught the unaccountably soft expression on his sister’s face. “What?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. Want some more coffee?”
The rest of the morning continued to be nice and relaxed, with a pancake breakfast, prepping side dishes and appetizers, andlots of strong coffee to fuel them. It wasn’t until the three of them were sliding into his sister’s new car in their Sunday best, a bag full of presents in the back seat, that Morgan realized he’d lost almost all the joy he’d started the day with.
“To battle,” Katie intoned as she slid into the driver’s seat.
“To battle!” Nicki cheered from her booster.
It was funny but also not. Seeing family shouldn’t feel like getting ready to defend himself against an attack, and yet that was what he was left with. Morgan’s chest got tighter and tighter the closer they got to his mother’s boyfriend’s place, which was in a gated neighborhood about thirty minutes east of Katie’s modest house. By the time they pulled up as close as they could get, given all the cars in front of it, it seemed like he could hardly breathe.
The house was more of a mansion, one covered in tasteful but monochrome white lights. There was a holly wreath on the front door, which opened before the person walking up to it even had a chance to knock. His mother greeted the tall, slick-haired man with a beaming smile and a hug, drawing him inside, and …
“Holy shit,” Katie said. “That’s Bentley. Isn’t it?”
Morgan sat frozen, unable to react, unable to even move. All he could do was tilt his eyes down, unseeing and panicking until he caught sight of the glittering shell in his bracelet.
It’s okay. You don’t need him. You don’t need to be afraid of him, either. He didn’t break you. You’ve found someone so much better, someone who loved you.
Someone who you love back.
Morgan suddenly remembered the conversation he’d had with Ty not two hours ago. He’d told him he loved him, he’d done it without even thinking about it, but he’d meant it. Wholly and completely. Idolove him.
And that was fine. It was okay to love Ty; it was perfect, in fact, because Ty loved him right back. Ty had said he loved him first,and something permanently shifted in Morgan’s mind as he realized that he trusted that love now. Ty had changed his whole life around for Morgan, given his greatest secret up to Morgan, cared for him and helped him and been so sweet to him that Morgan could burst from it. He’d gotten a phone for him and called him on Christmas day, and it was the best present ever.
Ty was better than he deserved but exactly who he wanted, and Ty wanted him right back. The only other people Morgan needed were right here in the car with him.
“ItisBentley!” Katie’s voice rose in pitch. “How could she invite him here? And atChristmas!What, toambushyou? I can’t believe her!”
