Page 79 of Marry Me

“He goes home tomorrow. Most likely. I guess he still has to pass a few physical therapy tests. Show he’s able to move around without danger, something like that.”

Kelsey nodded. “Good for him. Do you get Allison back soon?”

She winced. “I don’t want to push. He asked for her the second he woke up, and she’s been there, helping out ever since. She’s where sheneeds to be, I guess. And I’m just…doing me. Supporting her through calls and texts. Occasionally I glimpse her.”

“You’re a mess. I can tell.”

Megan closed her eyes. “I can’t argue. I don’t even recognize myself. I used to be confident and calm, not the insecure lunatic staring back at me in the mirror. But he needs her. It’s just that the more time they spend together—”

“The more convinced you are that she remembers her true place in life, by his side.”

“Isn’t that the story?”

“No, that’s theclichéeveryone always claims is the story when it has no basis in reality.”

Megan sighed, knowing Kelsey’s statement to be true. “It’s not that he’s a man. It’s not her sexuality I’m afraid of. It’s an ex-fiancéthing. I’m starting to feel like maybe I was the rebound girl for someone who was panicking about a very permanent commitment. What if I’m legit the rebound girl?”

“Is that what it feels like when you’re together?”

“No. At least I don’t think so.”

“Then shut up, and listen. You’re in your own way.You.You’re doing this, so stop it. Unless Allison gives you signs that she’s no longer interested, then you have to stop making decisions for her and then punishing her for them.”

“Fine,” Megan practically yelled back in frustration. She lobbed a Sharpie good-naturedly at Kelsey for being reasonable.

She dodged it easily. “I was inches from a workers’ comp case just now.” She pointed at Megan. “You’re dangerous. I’m off to my meeting. And lastly? Stop it.”

“Will do.”

“No, you won’t.”

“Probably not.”

Once alone, she thought back to the night before. She’d invited Ally over to decompress. She’d declined because Brent’s doctor was scheduled to come around soon, and he preferred she be there rather than his mother, who tended to not listen and asked too many questions. Two days before that, Ally had canceled their dinner date because Brent had texted her that he was feeling low, and his left hand, in which he had two broken bones, was giving him trouble. She’d headed to the hospitalinstead, forgetting to text good night later because she’d been too tired. More and more, Megan felt like an outsider or a burden that Allison had to tend to before breaking free. She’d noticed herself texting less and less, avoiding the disappointment of a delayed reply and hating the feeling that she was intruding.

But she missed Ally. Her smile. Their talks. Their nights. And God, those lips.

She sat back in her chair, wondering if they’d ever get back to the way things had been and cursing herself for taking that time for granted. She’d never been happier, and yet rather than enjoying the moments they’d had together, she’d questioned it, held back, and now? Well, now maybe it was too late.

* * *

“What do you think?” Allison asked Brent once she had him settled on his leather sofa. “Good to be home, right?” She smiled widely, trying to sell the momentous occasion to a somewhat grumpy patient.

He nodded, his eyes appearing sleepy from the large doses of drugs they had him on to keep the pain away. “Yep. This is what I need.”

She knew he’d been done with the hospital for days now and had been clawing at the walls. “Now you can relax and get better, and things can start to feel normal again.”

Though nothing about the past few weeks had been normal. While he’d healed slowly in his hospital bed with Allison bringing him daily jokes, magazines, and her company, outside, spring had inched in, warming them all and zapping the world with vibrant greens and pinks and yellows. She’d hardly had a chance to notice.

Her kids kept her busy during the day, and she’d check in on Brent, seeing what he might need after school let out. That left her very little time for anything else. She’d given up her weekend shifts at the Nutcase, and her personal life had taken a woeful hit. But this new existence had become a routine at this point, and though she cared very much about Brent’s recovery and getting him back to good health, she was beginning to wonder how long this process might take. When could she slowly hand over the reins to Jeff or one of the other Carmichaels? They’d been so eager to see him open his eyes that first week in thehospital but had come around less and less once it was clear he was out of the dangerous section of the woods. Maybe this important step, arriving home, would transition him to a new phase of recovery. Maybe she could start to become a person again, too.Maybe.

“I’ll get you settled in, start some dinner, and then Marlene should be by.”

“She’s not you,” Brent said in a playful voice. They’d met the at-home nurse who would be helping Brent around the house at the hospital. Older, efficient, and with a warm grandmotherly quality.

“What? She seems your type,” she told him with a wink.

He winced as he lifted his left foot, currently in a half cast, and placed it on the coffee table. Two broken bones in that foot.

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