I knew what it was like to need to be told that. Even now I forgot that Will needed someone to help keep him standing sometimes, too. “It will be. Everything will be okay.”

Lauren smiled at me. “It will.”

Sometime later, the door to the garage opened and I heard the boys’ footsteps on the hardwood floor. Nathaniel walked into the living room with an even expression and sat down on the loveseat opposite the couch Lauren and I sat on. Will appeared at the edge of the carpet and the wood floor, and his cool green eyes met mine gently. The look he gave me was one I knew well—and feared. He wanted to talk.

I stood and followed him through the house to the staircase, each of my steps wobbly and weak, my heart fearing the worst. Will led me into his room and shut the door behind us.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, my voice childlike and quiet.

He smiled, and relief washed over me. “Nothing. Nathaniel and I had a good conversation.”

“That’s good.” I couldn’t keep the suspicious edge from my voice, as if I expected everything to come crashing down any second.

“I want to try it,” he said. “Us. I want to give us a try.”

My mouth parted in surprise. “You do?”

“You were right. You’ve been right all along. I’ve been a coward running from this. I don’t want to run anymore. I’ve tried so hard not to feel what I feel for you, because it’s dangerous.” He squeezed his eyes shut painfully. “You’ll die again, we both know it’s true, and Nathaniel helped me realize that I’m more afraid of the pain of losing you than of what Michael could do to me for loving you. I am devoted to you, not to Michael, and I am bound to obey you, not him. I’ve tried not to love you, but I’ve failed. It’s easier to love you than to pretend I don’t.”

“Then be with me,” I pleaded.

A small smile curved in his lips. “On one condition.”

I grinned back. “What’s that?”

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the small of my back, tugging me to his chest. I threw my arms around his shoulders, sliding my nails up and down his neck gently. “Stay with me. And with Nathaniel and Lauren. All day. Be happy today.”

“That’s it?”

He bent down and kissed me richly. “Each time I look at you, I want to see a smile on your beautiful face.”

“Will you be looking at me a lot?”

“I’m always stealing glances,” he confessed. “You rarely notice.”

“Ugh, just don’t look at me before I’ve showered.”

“You’re always beautiful. Especially when you smile, so today will be dedicated to making that happen. We will do anything you want to do. We’ll make it up as we go.”

“Can we make root beer floats?” I asked.

He laughed. “Sounds great.”

“Can we make Nathaniel and Lauren dinner tonight? I want to thank them for being so good to us.”

“Awesome idea. I’m a terrible cook, though.”

“The eggs were only a little burned,” I teased and kissed his lips, feeling a low ache at the memory of this morning. “Can we build a snowman today?”

“Definitely.”

“Play video games?”

“As you wish.”

Just as Will promised, I was happy all day. I didn’t realize how late it was until I glanced out the window. The sun was setting and the sky was turning violet. I’d stalled going home long enough. When I’d finally show up back home, my mom would ground me for life this time. Begrudgingly, I passed my video game controller over to Nathaniel, just as someone on the other team shot my player dead.

Will looked up at me. “We can play something else, if you’d like.”

“It’s not that,” I assured him. “I’ve got to get home.”

“All right then.” He set down his controller and stood.

I smiled and waved to Nathaniel. “See you later.”

“Have a good night, Ell.” He respawned my player and continued the game.

Lauren rose and gave me a tight hug. “Drive safely. See you soon. I mean it.”

“Of course.” I waved good-bye and jogged upstairs to grab my clothes from last night. When I came back down, Will was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. I stopped when I reached the third-to-last step, which made me just above being level with his eyes, so that I looked down into his face.

“Got everything?” His expression as he looked up at me was gentle and warm.

“Yep,” I said. “I think I’m going to go home by myself. I was supposed to be home in the morning, so my mom is going to be really mad about my being so late. Can you drive me to Kate’s so I can get my car?”

“If you need me,” he said, “I’ll be there within minutes.”

I smiled and ran my fingers through the front of his hair so that it stuck straight up. “I know I can count on you.”

He smiled back. “You can always count on me.”

I leaned down, one hand on the railing, and I kissed him gently. He tugged on the belt loop of my jeans and pulled me another step down so that I was eye level with him. He grinned, and I laughed and kissed him harder.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” he asked against my lips in a way that almost made me reconsider.

I drew back and touched his face, smiling. “I’m tired and I’m about to walk into World War Mom. Let’s go for a run tomorrow instead of patrolling, okay? I could use a good run.”