He reaches up and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear, and my breath stalls.
"We figure it out," he says softly.
I nod slowly, my throat tight. "He’s not getting better. He just sleeps. I know that’s not a good sign."
Brooks exhales. "I don’t think we’re ever ready to lose the people we love. But maybe your dad’s not done fighting. Maybe he’s just resting."
I want to believe him. I really do.
"Have you decided when you’re going back to LA?" he asks after a beat.
"I was thinking at the end of the week," I say. "Jasper’s going to the hospital now, and Mom is... still Mom."
He lifts a brow. "I thought maybe you’d stick around for Holden."
"That ship’s sunk," I say flatly.
Brooks hesitates, then glances away. "For what it’s worth... I’m going to miss you, Ellie."
I laugh to keep my voice from trembling. "You’re not excited to get your room back?"
"I didn’t do much in there except sleep."
"Eww." I wrinkle my nose. "Were you ever, like... naked in there?"
It’s supposed to be a joke. But when he actually answers, something flips inside me.
He grins. "That’s where your mind goes?"
Heat shoots up my neck before I can stop it. This is Brooks. Not some random guy from a dating app.Brooks.
"Oh my God. You were. You were naked in my room!"
"I do like to sleep in my birthday suit."
I groan. "All four walls need to be burned."
"It never once complained about the view."
"You’re the worst."
Brooks grins, takes another bite of his sandwich. "What about you? Do you also enjoy sleeping in your birthday suit?"
"I’m a grown adult with this amazing invention called clothing," I say, deadpan.
He clicks his tongue. "Can’t relate. I was raised by wolves."
I laugh despite myself. "You’re so weird."
"And yet you’re the one picturing me naked."
I shove his shoulder, but my hand lingers on his arm a second too long. I frown. What am I doing? This is Brooks. This is not supposed to be—
"There’s a zipline," he says, pulling me from my thoughts. "About a mile up the road. Want to do it right this time?"
"You mean not leave me dangling above the trees for two hours?"
"I would never," he lies, completely unconvincingly.
