Page 78 of Little Hearts

“My brothers can't wait to meet you and make you another honorary sister,” Clara added. “But there’s time for that later. Right now you need rest, and so does Naomi if she wants to go home tomorrow. Jonathon, you want Naomi or Aggie?”

“No one needs to watch me,” Naomi protested.

“Ditto,” Aggie said.

“Too bad, I don’t like the idea of either of you being alone right now, all of us could have died because of Andrew.”

“Good guilt trip,” Naomi muttered.

Clara beamed. “Thank you. Come on, I’ll take you to your room. Jonathon, you don’t mind staying with Aggie?”

“Of course not.” He kissed Clara on the cheek before letting her stand.

“Sweet dreams, Aggie,” Naomi said.

“Yeah, you too.”

“We’ll be back later,” Clara told her. “If you can't sleep ask the nurses for a sleeping pill.”

Once her sisters were gone, Aggie let her exhausted eyes slide closed. She felt tired but also content, or at least partially content. She already loved her sisters, but she knew that grief and guilt over her father’s death were going to haunt her for a long time to come. And Nick, she wasn't sure what she would do about him yet, but she had time to figure it out.

Letting her mind go blank, she drifted off to sleep.

* * * * *

5:55 P.M.

Nick was so nervous his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. He hadn’t seen Aggie since she’d woken up and the prospect of talking to her face to face was a little daunting. She had said that she forgave him, but did that mean she wanted him back? That she was willing to give him a second chance? He didn’t know, and the thought that she might thank him for saving her life but send him away was truly terrifying.

Jonathon met him at the door to Aggie’s room. “Good luck,” the other man said.

“Thanks, I think I'm going to need it.”

Taking a deep breath, Nick entered her room. Immediately, he was relieved to see that she was looking a little better. Aggie wasn't asleep. She’d been staring out the window when he came in, but when she heard him enter she turned her head to stare at him.

Nick couldn’t read the expression in her eyes. Maybe because all he could think about was that he wanted to touch her. Run his hands all over her body in an attempt to reassure himself that she was really here, really whole. He wasn't sure that Aggie would want him to touch her though. He didn’t know where he stood with her.

Aggie lifted her right hand and held it out to him, and Nick felt all his anxiety melt away. There was still hope.

He went to her, took her hand, and squeezed it gently, not wanting to hurt her. Still feeling awkward, he tentatively sat on the edge of her bed. “Hey.”

“Hey,” she returned.

“Why did you do it?” he asked.

“Do what?”

He answered even though he suspected she knew what he was asking. “Why did you change your statement to say that you weren’t sure if Miller was the man who attacked you? You know it was. Why did you lie and say you didn’t know?”

“Because I don’t want you to go to prison, or lose your job, just for trying to stop my brother from killing more people. You don’t deserve that, and neither does your partner. I couldn’t live with myself if Andrew caused more suffering.”

“Thank you doesn’t sound like enough.” Brushing his thumb across her knuckles, he laced their fingers together. “I don’t deserve you. After everything I did to you, after everything that you’ve been through how can you still be thinking about others, about me?”

“This wasn't just about you, it was about doing the right thing. The ends doesn’t always justify the means but this time, considering who my brother was and what he did, how could I punish you for wanting to stop him?”

Cautiously, he reached out a hand and pressed his fingertips to her cheek. She didn’t flinch away so he stretched out his hand and cupped her face, his fingers stroking her soft skin. It wasn't enough, he wanted to touch every inch of her. “What about us?”

“You met me under false pretenses. You started this deliberately intending to hurt me.”

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