Page 107 of Long Story Short

Josie lets go of her grandfather’s hand before she turns around to face me. I hate the tears that run down her cheeks. Her eyes are swollen red, and the sight of her in front of me breaks everything in me.

“What if he can’t talk to me anymore?” she whispers, her voice as low as possible, as if she’s scared he can hear the question. “What if he wakes up but doesn’t even know who I am?”

The words feel like a punch to my gut. They hit harder than anything else today because it makes it clear what she’s really afraid of. It’s not just losing him—but losing him while he’s still alive.

“We don’t need to speculate on that,” I assure her. “We won’t know anything until he wakes up, and it’ll only hurt you to think that way.”

I cup her face in my hands as my thumbs brush over her cheeks to swipe the tears away.

“One step at a time,” I remind her. “We just take this one step at a time.”

She nods as her eyelids flutter shut for a moment. She leans into my touch, and I don’t stop, wanting to give her whatever comfort I can. Eventually, her eyes open again, meeting mine. She moves her head to press a kiss against my palm.

“Thank you,” she whispers, her lips moving against my skin.

“For what?” I ask.

“For dropping everything to be here with me. I don’t know what I’d do if I had to handle all of this alone right now. I just can’t imagine doing any of this alo⁠—”

“Hey,” I cut in, keeping my words gentle. “You won’t ever have to do anything alone again, Josie. I’m here. I’m always going to be here.”

The words leave my mouth before I can even think about them or what they mean. The second they’re out, I don’t want to take them back, even if they are more honest and hold more weight than I was intending to share.

Her eyes search mine, like she’s trying to figure out if I really mean it. Like she needs to believe it, and I hope she does, because I’ve never meant anything more in my life.

My hands stay on her face, my thumbs brushing over her cheeks, swiping over the last of her tears as they fall.

“I mean it,” I say, my voice hoarse.

She lets out a shaky exhale before she leans into me again. I pull her into my chest immediately, wrapping my arms around her and holding her there like it’s the only place she’s meant to be.

She melts against me, trusting me to hold her through this. She doesn’t question it or even seem to overthink it. Something about the way she lets herself fall apart in my arms and trusts me enough to do so goes straight to my heart.

I rest my chin against the top of her head, my hand moving slowly up and down her back as her breathing starts to even out.

I stand there, holding her, feeling her lean into me like I’m something she can rely on, when it hits me.

Not all at once.

Not like a shock.

But more like a slow, steady realization.

I didn’t notice when it happened or feel anything shift when it started.

But somewhere between the quiet mornings, the late nights where we’re a tangle of limbs, the moments where she looks at me like I’m more than I’ve ever let myself be, and moments like right now, where she lets me in, even when she’s breaking…I fell for her.

Completely.

Madly.

Giving over full control.

I fell in love with Josie.

The realization settles over me. I know it should scare me. I’ve never been in love. I’ve never cared to be. I didn’t want to get swept up in anything that wasn’t proving myself at work. But then I met her, and everything changed. If it were anyone else, I might want to pull back at the realization and create some distance in an effort to protect myself, but I don’t want to do that with her. I want her to become my world. She’s claimed the title without me even realizing it.

I tighten my arms around her as I turn the realization over in my head again and again.