Page 108 of After We Fall

I can’t help it. I smile. Wide. The muscles in my cheeks are stretched to capacity. I’m Luke Granger’s girlfriend. I’m his. I belong to him.

“You’re his girlfriend?” a voice asks from behind me.

I turn around to find Jason standing behind me, his face a cross between crushed and betrayed. He’s handsome, his blue suit accentuating his crystal-blue eyes. Eyes that I’m level with on account of my heels.

I touch the sapphires of my bracelet, then fold my hands in front of me. “Yes, Jason. Luke and I are seeing each other.”

His left eye twitches, and he opens his mouth but nothing comes out.

I glance around the room, trying to think of a different topic. “Have you talked to Phillip and Cynthia yet? They’re sitting at table twelve.”

He runs his hands through his thinning hair. “Yes. I’m supposed to tell you that Phillip wants a family photo before the night’s over.”

“I’m leaving in fifteen minutes.” That isn’t accurate. I’m leaving after I get my dance with Luke. No matter how long that takes.

“Why?” His brows furrow. “Are you feeling okay tonight? You said in our last phone call that you were almost finished with your treatments.”

“I am doing well tonight.” I rub the scar over my left eyebrow. “We’ve seen significant improvements. But I still have to be careful. I’ll be sensitive to headache triggers for a while.”

“I’m glad you’re doing better. Are you still job shopping? I have some leads for you in Denver.”

I stand up straighter. This conversation might not go well. “I want to stay here, Jason. After my medical leave is over, I don’t know if I’ll get my old job back. Or if they’ll even consider me for the program director at Twelve Bluebells. But I know I have to try.”

He shakes his head. “I don’t get it. Why would you want to work at a halfway house? We always said we’d get away from the foster care system and conquer the world together.”

“I don’t remember it that way. We always said we’d survive together and then create the lives we wanted.” I hold my resolve inside the tight grip of my fists. “I know this might sound odd, but I feel like I belong here.”

“That makes no sense to me at all.” He shoves his hands in his pockets and looks down at his shoes. “And how long have you been dating Luke?”

“Not long.”

He takes a step toward me and inhales a deep breath. “Have you ever wondered what would have happened if we hadn’t been adopted into the same family?”

I blink. “What?”

He looks at me, his eyes full of painful vulnerability.

Oh. Oh no. “Jason—”

“I love you. I should have told you when we last talked. I should have told you years ago. I’ve loved you since the day I met you. It was always just the two of us against the world. Then the Nelsons came along and swooped up both of us. Adopted both of us. Declared us siblings.” He lowers his voice. “But we don’t share a drop of blood. Not one, Penelope.”

“Jason. Stop.” I hold up my hand.

“Don’t you ever wonder?” he whispered. “Don’t you ever wonder what would have happened if we hadn’t been adopted into the same family? Would we have dated? Married? Had kids?”

“Jason,” I say with a firm voice, not wanting to draw attention to our already awkward conversation.

“Don’t you ever wonder?” His tone begs me to answer.

I stare into the eyes of the sweet teenager I once knew and say the most honest thing I can conjure. The most direct answer to put a stop to this agonizing conversation. “No.” I swallow. “I never wondered.”

He darts his gaze around the room. “I gotta go.”

When he turns on his heel, I grab his arm. “Wait. Jason?”

He shifts toward me, moisture glossing over his eyes. “I knew this day would come,” he whispers. It’s a low, raspy sound full of pain and something else I can’t identify. Self-condemnation? Resignation? “I knew one day you would break my heart.”

“It doesn’t mean that I don’t love you.”