Page 155 of We Are Just Us

“Oh, he wasn’t.” Samantha grinned. “He’s dead serious about the seagull threat.”

Kieran tried to picture stoic, composed Rory being afraid of seagulls. It was absurd. Perfect.

“What else?” he asked.

“He cries at animal movies. The sad ones, where the dog dies or whatever. Won’t watch them anymore because he knows he’ll lose it.” She ticked off on her fingers. “The end of Marley & Me. The opening of Up—he had to leave the room. A Super Bowl commercial about a horse and a dog being friends. That one got him.”

“That’s—” Warmth moved through Kieran’s chest. “Adorable.”

“He made me promise never to tell anyone.”

“Your secret’s safe with me. Even though we just met today.”

Samantha smiled.

Kieran looked down at his hands. The words rose up before he could stop them.

“I love him.”

It was the first time he’d said it out loud. Samantha didn’t look surprised. “I know.”

“Is it obvious?”

“Little bit.” She tilted her head. “But it’s more the way he looks at you. I’ve known my brother his whole life. I know what it looks like when he’s being polite, when he’s interested, when he’s guarded. And I know what it looks like when he’s gone.” She met Kieran’s eyes. “He looks at you the way he used to look at Britt.”

Kieran pursed his lips and exhaled.

“He loves hard, Kieran. Fair warning. When he lets someone in, which is rare, he loves completely. With everything he has. Britt got that. And I think you’re getting that too.”

Kieran’s throat closed. “I’m great at messing things up.”

“Then don’t,” she said simply. Just like Rory. Like it was that easy. Maybe it was. “You’re not going anywhere, and neither am I, and Rory’s stubborn as hell. He’ll fight through this.”

“Yeah,” Kieran said. “He will.”

The clock ticked past hour six.

And then—finally—a door opened.

A doctor emerged. Scrubs. Surgical cap. The exhausted look of someone who’d been standing for hours.

She scanned the waiting room. “Family of Rory Kline?”

Kieran and Samantha were on their feet instantly.

“I’m his sister,” Samantha said, voice shaking.

The doctor nodded. Walked over to them. Her expression was hard to read—professional, controlled, giving nothing away.

“I’m Dr. Reyes,” she said. “I was the lead surgeon on Mr. Kline’s case.”

“How is he?” Samantha asked. “Is he…”

“He’s alive,” Dr. Reyes said. “And stable.”

The relief was so intense Kieran thought his knees might give out.

“But,” Dr. Reyes continued, and that one word made Kieran’s stomach drop, “his injury was severe. He sustained a burst fracture at the C5-C6 level. That’s in the cervical spine—the neck region.”