"She won't want to see this trail of tears," I explain, and he laughs weakly.
"But they're happy ones," he shoots back, but I shrug.
"I know. But your smiles are more important to her right now," I assure, and he looks at me with understanding and gratitude. Ethan closes the distance between the three of us, pulling each of us in with one arm, until our foreheads touch.
"Thank you. I wouldn't have survived these days without you," he whispers, his voice still a little choked. I rest a hand on his chest and caress his heart tenderly.
"We'll always be here, Tan."
"For anything you need," Logan adds, repeating my gesture. Ethan covers our hands with his and squeezes.
"Thank you. I love you," he declares and pulls away, without giving us a chance to respond. I watch him go through the ICU doors with my heart pounding in my chest, and thenI turn to Logan, whose expression of not knowing how to react must mirror my own.
It could be a brotherly "I love you," the kind that gets exchanged between friends, especially in moments of heightened emotion like this. But deep down, the two of us knew it wasn't.
It was love.
Real love.
Oh, heavens.
Chapter 39
Logan
I call my sister for the second time today.
"What is it, Lou-lou, missing me already?" she jokes as she answers, but a sigh seems to give away my state, because she immediately switches gears. "What happened? Is it Tanny's mom?"
"No!" I hurry to explain. "She's fine. She woke up, like I said in my message earlier, and the doctors are confident about her recovery."
"Oh, good! What's got you all worked up, then?"
"You can tell I'm worked up just from a sigh?"
She laughs on the other end of the line.
"That and your tone of voice. Spit it out already," she asks, and I pull air hard into my lungs before starting.
I'm outside the Clarkes' house, after we improvised a Christmas lunch to celebrate the Christmas miracle in the form of Marta getting better. Ethan and Charlie had passed out after eating, but I couldn't relax.
Not after Ethan had told us he loved us in no uncertain terms.
"I think I'm in love," I confess, kicking an old ball left in the yard.
"Okay... With Ethan?"
"Seriously? That's your first guess?" I ask, kind of indignant. Was I walking around with it written on my forehead or something?
My sister laughs.
"Well, you are, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Hallelujah! Finally! I can almost hear the angels' trumpets at this miracle!" she exclaims, and I roll my eyes.
"You're ridiculous," I complain with a groan, and Jamie laughs even harder. "Since when was it so obvious?"
