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“I need time,” she growls at me.
If the words didn’t hurt so much, I’d find her fierce scowl adorable. All I want is to kiss her plump mouth, so she’ll stop saying things that tear up my insides.
“More time to what? Convince yourself that I’ll screw up again? Well, I’ve already got an answer for you. I will.” Through my desperate anger, I still find a way to smirk down at her. “I’m an idiot a good portion of the time. But no one’s perfect.”
“I didn’t say you had to be perfect.” The hint of uncertainty in her declaration lights a spark of hope under my rib cage.
“Good to know.” Watching the tangle of emotions on her face, I take a risk. Her hands slide from mine as I step back. “You want time? Fine. Take it. I’ll leave you alone until the surgery, if you promise me one thing.”
Holly gives me a wary look that almost melts my own irritation. “What?”
“I get to drive you to the hospital the day of the transplant.”
Her lips purse, and she glares. “I need to drive the car.”
I glare right back. “Deal.”
Then, I storm out of her house before she can change her mind.
HOLLY
He tricked me. I never actually agreed to ride with him, but he left before I thought to point that out.
My head hurts, a pounding pressing against the backs of my eyes. Probably from the tears I held back. I can’t believe he lied to me. That he withheld something so important.
What if it had been more than just a cold? What if he had died, and I hadn’t gotten a chance to say good-bye?
I try to ignore the rational voice in my brain pointing out that breaking things off with him because I’m mad that I might not have gotten the chance to tell him how much he means to me is a twisted mess of idiocy.
Once I’m sure I won’t start crying, I head downstairs to find Marcus and Pops setting up Monopoly. Some of the tension eases from my chest.
“I get to be—”
“The banker,” they finish my sentence in unison, grinning at each other as I roll my eyes.
“Am I that predictable?”
Marcus smirks. “When it comes to being in control? Yes.”
I stick my tongue out at my older brother, and he chuckles while passing me the fake money.
We’ve gone around the board a few times before Pops addresses the big, fat elephant sitting at the table with us.
“So, your man left here in a bit of a huff. Something go wrong between you two?”
I grimace, getting the urge to brush the topic off. But then I’d be doing the exact same thing I’m mad at Ben for.
“We argued. But the transplant is still going forward.”
I shoot Marcus an apologetic look, but he just smiles and rolls the dice.
“What did y’all argue about?”
“Gosh, Pops. Nosy much?”
Instead of answering, he stares at me. Waiting.
I sigh before giving in, telling them the gist of what we yelled at each other about.
