Page 44 of Heartbeat

“Or Jane. She could’ve said something; it wasn’t like I disappeared.”

“You kinda did, dude.”

She looked so sad.

“I’m not saying it to make you feel bad,” I said. “I wish I could’ve done the same; don’t get me wrong—”

“Don’t say that.”

“None of us knew what to do, Emma. Not you, not me. Certainly not our parents.”

“Can I get two more?” She turned to the bartender.

“Me too, please.”

The girl looked at Emma, then at me, and nodded before turning around and fixing our drinks.

“I met someone,” Emma confessed.

“Yeah?” I leaned in.

She looked almost insulted. “In group. Leave it to me to find someone in a support group.”

“Is he—”

“Patient? Yes, he is.”

I just looked at her.

“I hate your brother, you know,” she said.

“I know. I kinda hate him too.”

Before she let herself cry, the bartender brought us our four double vodkas. Emma basically drank one in a single gulp, and at that exact moment, my phone lit up.

“Is it him?” she asked as I unlocked my phone.

I want to kiss you again

I instantly grinned.

“It is him,” she said, suddenly sounding like herself again.

Please do

“Are you seeing him tonight?” Emma asked, moving on to her second glass.

“No, he’s going upstate. There’s a meet with another team this weekend,” I said, still staring at my phone.

“Athletes.” She rolled her eyes. “But you’d see him if you could?”

I looked up at her as I added his number to my phone, well aware I was still grinning.

“Let me see him.” She grabbed my phone, casually ignoring any expectation of privacy on my part. “Where is he?”

“I don’t have a photo,” I said, taking it back from her.

“Don’t be silly; get one from Instagram or Facebook or something.”

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