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A dead end.
To my right, there’s a row of elevators.
To my left, a row of vending machines.
And straight ahead, stands Jeremy with his back to me, and behind him, a gray couch.
His back rises and falls with deep, steady breaths. It’s just the two of us, alone for the first time since some hotel in New Jersey a couple weeks back.
Slowly, so slowly, he turns around.
Glistening amber eyes find mine for one solid, time-stopping beat, and I feel something stutter painfully in my chest.
“Jeremy,” I breathe, taking a step forward.
He throws up a hand, halting my approach, quickly averting his gaze. “Don’t.”
With that single word, he might as well have shoved a stake through my heart.
He shakes his head, face bunching like he’s trying to hold back tears.
He never cries…
In all the years I’ve known him, I can count on one hand how many times I’ve actually seen this boy let his tears fall.
Always so stubborn…
“I just needed a moment,” he says, and there’s that flat, almost robotic tone again.
I swallow. Hard.
“So it really is her,” I whisper, unable to help myself.
He stills. And I wait.
“We wouldn’t be here, if it wasn’t. If they weren’t absolutely sure,” he finally says quietly.
“But…but did you actually see her?” My voice cracks. “With your own two eyes. How do you know it’s?—”
“It’s her.”
The words drop between us, taking my breath with them.
I stare at him.
His jaw ticks, his gaze darting over the floor, lashes fluttering. He clears his throat. “I only got a glimpse. Through a window. But it was enough. Even if I didn’t…” His voice trails off, catching on a shaky inhale.
“You feel her,” I whisper numbly, my heart pounding.
A short nod.
“I thought…”
He lifts his head enough for me to make out the bitter tilt to his mouth. With a quiet scoff, he says, “Yeah, well.” A pause. “The second I got the call, I just… I knew.”
My throat burns. Jaw quivering, I rasp, “What now?”
Either he doesn’t hear me, or he ignores me, because he rubs his fingers over his forehead, and says, “We need to get back. Dad’s gonna be looking for me. She’s sedated right now. She freaked out. Mom was with her when she woke up, and she just… she freaked out.”
