Chapter 2

When I woke up again, I was in the hospital. The pain in my stomach had not eased at all.

The doctor took one look at me and turned serious. "Young lady, you have acute appendicitis. You need surgery immediately. Get a family member here to sign the consent form."

My parents had died in a car accident when I was little. The only family I had left were Brody and Heath.

I pulled out my phone and called Brody, but he did not answer.

My fingers trembled as I dialed Heath's number next.

"Heath, I have acute appendicitis. I need a family member to sign off on the surgery."

Through the phone, I could hear Heath and Kyra laughing and playing around in the background.

"Heath, there's a Best Boyfriend contest over there. Come do it with me!"

The pain in my chest sharpened. "Heath!"

Brody's voice came through. "Heath and Kyra are having fun. Don't bother them. It's a minor surgery. Just sign for it yourself."

Before I could say another word, the line went dead. Brody had hung up.

My heart sank. My tears started to drop onto the hospital sheet.

The doctor quickly tried to comfort me, saying, "It's okay, sweetheart. You can sign for yourself."

I lay back down, but the tears only came faster.

I closed my eyes, and an image of Heath at 18 appeared in my mind. He was standing at my front door, confessing his feelings for me right in front of Brody.

"Macy, let's be together. I'll be your family. I'll be good to you for the rest of my life and never let anyone hurt you."

Brody stood beside us, laughing. "Just say yes. I'm right here. He wouldn't dare treat you badly."

I had believed that having Heath meant gaining one more person who loved me, but everything soon changed.

Heath always said Kyra had grown up in foster care, so compared to me, someone who had a brother, she was far more alone and in need of looking after.

Brody felt the same way. He thought I had enjoyed years of his care and protection, so it was only fair for me to step aside for Kyra.

I wiped my tears and sent Heath a message: [Let's break up.]

His reply came fast.

[Macy, stop throwing a tantrum. I'll take you to the movie theater next time. Is your stomach feeling better?]

I did not reply. Instead, I sent a message to my advisor: [Professor, I want to leave for the program as soon as possible.]

Three hours later, the surgery was over. I woke up and turned on my phone to find my advisor had already responded.

[The earliest you can leave is in three days.]

After I replied, my phone buzzed nonstop. Kyra had flooded the group chat with photos of the three of them.

Some were from the movie theater, posing in front of the poster. Some were at the arcade, holding armfuls of stuffed animals and pulling goofy faces. And then there was one of Heath carrying Kyra in his arms, trophy in hand, after winning the Best Boyfriend contest.

After the photos, Kyra sent another message to the group.

[Mace, I won so many stuffed animals! I'll give them all to you when we get back!]

I scoffed as I typed back: [No need. I'm at the hospital. If you're all done having fun, maybe swing by and visit me.]

Late that night, Heath called.

"Macy, I just found out you were admitted. You need to be more careful about what you eat. The three of us will come see you tomorrow. We'll bring you some clean clothes."

I gave a flat hum and hung up.

…

The next day, Heath and Brody showed up at the hospital with Kyra in tow.

Kyra handed me a bag with an apologetic smile. "Mace, we got back too late last night, so we didn't go home. There's some of my clothes in there. You can wear them for now. We're about the same size anyway."

"No, thanks." I caught my breath, a thin ache spreading through my chest. "I don't wear other people's undergarments."

Brody's brow furrowed instantly. "Kyra went out of her way to bring you clothes, and this is your attitude? Macy, apologize to Kyra."

My eyes stung. I looked at Heath.

Heath nodded. "He's right. That was rude."

Yet it had been Heath who used to remind me over and over that I should never share undergarments with anyone.

I had listened. And now they were glaring at me for following the exact rule he had drilled into me, all because it was Kyra on the other side.

"Hey! Don't be mean to Mace, or I'm going to get mad!" Kyra put her hands on her hips and pretended to scold them.

The two of them exchanged a look, and their expressions softened immediately.

Heath smiled. "Okay, okay. We won't be hard on Macy anymore."

Brody was quick to smooth things over too. "Don't be upset, Kyra. Didn't you want to go get birthday portraits taken? We'll take you after this."

The three of them started discussing which studio had the best photos, already forgetting I was there. The entire room was filled with their laughter.

I turned my head away and pretended I did not see how happy the three of them were.

On his way out, Heath came over and patted my head. "Macy, get some rest. We'll come back and see you tomorrow."

I pulled away from his hand and buried myself under the covers.