“How is she?” My voice barely works.
Cam steps forward, his face tight with grief. “She’s in a coma.”
The world tilts again. My heart stops, then shatters into a million pieces.
“If she doesn’t get a heart soon,” Cam continues, voice raw and tearing at the seams, “we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
I can’t fucking breathe.
I push past them before I hear anything else. I need to see her. I need to see for myself that she’s still here, still fighting.
When I step into the room, my legs nearly give out beneathme. Emma looks so small and still. Machines beeping, wires running across her fragile body, and an oxygen mask covering her beautiful face. She doesn’t look like herself. My strong, stubborn, firecracker of a girl…
She’s slipping away from me.
I move to her side, gripping her cold hand between mine.
“Hi, Princess.” My voice breaks. “I’m here, baby.”
She doesn’t move. Doesn’t squeeze my hand back.
I bow my head, pressing my lips to her knuckles, kissing each one individually.
“Please don’t leave me.”
The words come out strangled, barely a whisper. The lump in my throat is suffocating. My vision blurs, chest heaving with silent, broken breaths.
“I love you,” I choke out. “I love you so much. I was gonna tell you today.” A tear slips down my cheek, splashing against her skin. “I love you, Emiliana.”
She doesn’t answer, just lies there, pale and lost in the space between life and whatever happens after.
My whole fucking world falls apart.
I don’t let goof her hand, not even for a second. It’s warmer now, but not the way it should be. Not the way it feels when she’s squeezing mine back, when she’s alive with laughter, when she’s brushing her fingers over my jaw like she does after we kiss.
The machines beep, a cruel reminder that her body is here in this room with me but I’m not sure whereshereally is. Nurses move in and out, whispering to each other in voices too soft forme to make out. I don’t care what they’re saying. All I care about is Emma.
I bring her hand to my lips. “I love you,” I whisper, the words breaking in my throat. “I love you, baby. You have to come back to me.”
It’s the only thing that I can force out of my mouth. The only words that I hope will find her wherever she’s at and will bring her back to me.
I’ve loved her for as long as I’ve known her. Every single day since that first moment, fifteen years ago, when she walked into my life and never really left.
And I never told her. Not in the way I should have or the way I wanted to.
A shadow moves in the doorway, and I look up to see Cam standing there. His eyes are glassy with emotion, but he doesn’t hesitate before stepping into the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed, looking down at his little sister like she might disappear if he blinks.
“She’s always been the strongest person I know,” he murmurs, raspy and thick. “Even when she was little. She always had this way of making you feel like everything is gonna be okay.”
I swallow hard. “I know.”
Cam exhales, running a hand through his hair. “I was a dick to you.”
I shake my head. “You’re her big brother. You’re supposed to be.”
“No,” he says, meeting my eyes for the first time. “I was an asshole because I didn’t understand. You’ve always treated her differently. I didn’t know why, and I hated it. But now it makes sense.” He glances down at Emma, the expression he wore before coming in softens just a little. “You were in love with her the whole time.”
I look at her face, her chest rising and falling artificially, atthe way it looks like she’s sleeping peacefully in front of us. “Yeah,” I admit. “Always.”
