That makes me laugh, which hurts, which makes him look relieved anyway.
“How are you feeling?” he asks again, more seriously this time.
“Better than yesterday,” I tell him.
“Doctor says recovery’s going to take time,” he says, like he’s repeating something he already heard from someone else.
“I figured.”
He nods once. Then his attention shifts. To Lisa. Still sitting beside me. Still closer to the bed than anyone else in the room. Still not moving away. There’s a moment where he notices. Not fully yet. But enough.
“What did I miss?” he asks slowly, looking between us.
Lisa glances at me. I glance back at her. And suddenly the room feels quieter than it did a second ago.
“We were going to tell you,” Lisa says first.
Which is exactly what I hoped she would say. Because hearing it from her matters more than hearing it from me.
“Tell me what?” Zane asks.
Gwen steps slightly closer to Lisa without saying anything. Just enough to be there.
Lisa takes a breath. Then another one. Then finally…
“Blake and I are together.”
The words land in the room softly. But not quietly. Zane doesn’t react immediately. Which somehow makes it worse. He just looks at me. Then at Lisa. Then back at me again.
“How together?” he asks finally.
“Together together,” I answer.
“That’s not a category.”
“It is now.”
He runs one hand through his hair slowly.
“How long?” he asks.
“Not long,” Lisa says quickly.“We wanted to tell you earlier.”
“I didn’t want you finding out from anyone else,” I add.
He looks at me again. Longer this time. Like he’s recalculating something he thought he already understood.
“You’re serious,” he says finally.
“Yes,” I answer.
“Both of you.”
“Yes.”
Another pause.
Then…
