“Yes, sir,” I said in acceptance.

“You listen to Felicity and the Hannigans until your papa gets there,” he growled before hanging up.

I offered Felicity her phone back. “Can I see Nova now, Mrs. Hannigan?”

She touched her hand to my hair, mussing it up. “Sure, buddy.”

I followed her through the house and into the kitchen, but she stopped just inside the door, blocking me from seeing the only reason I was there.

“Who was it?” Jet Hannigan asked curiously.

“Well…” She stepped aside, and my eyes zeroed in on Nova. She was sitting at the table with her fork in one hand, staring down at the food on her plate with the saddest look in her pretty eyes, which made it hard to breathe for a second.

Then I shifted, and her head shot up. “Ryan!” The way she screamed my name, like it was the best moment of her life, made my knees weak, but I locked them as she launched herself out of her seat and across the room.

Her slight weight hit me with force and we both went down, but I cupped the back of her head and held on tight, making sure that I took the full impact of the fall. She was already laughing, making all the tightness in my chest disappear as she smiled down at me.

“You said you couldn’t come. Did you lie to me?” Before I could answer, she was already speaking again. “I don’t care. I’m just happy you’re here.”

“I didn’t lie. I didn’t want you to be sad, so I came without telling anyone. I think I’m in trouble, but I don’t care. It was worth it to get to see you smiling at me like that.”

I knew I was in trouble, but I didn’t want to put that burden on her. I would do it all over again a hundred more times if it meant I wasn’t the reason for her tears.

9

Nova

Ryan Age 15 : Nova Age 10

Christmas music played softly in the background as Ryan and Anya sat on the couch sipping their cups of hot chocolate that Mom had made for everyone. It was late and I hadn’t expected either of them to drop in out of the blue, but I wouldn’t say that I was disappointed. If anything, this was the best present I could have been given.

I saw Ryan every summer and he made sure he came for my birthday each year, but it usually wasn’t until New Year’s Eve that he came for another visit. Then I wouldn’t see him again in person until spring break. I’d already mailed him his Christmas present, and he’d called me when he’d received it, making sure to show me that he’d placed his and his little sister’s gifts under the huge tree at the Vitucci mansion.

When he hadn’t called me that morning to let me know if he liked his present or not, I’d just assumed he was too busy with his family. I knew without a doubt he would have called me before either of us went to bed that night, so I hadn’t given it much thought.