I blink away tears. “That’s not true. I know you’d have found a way to bring Amandinha’s mother back to safety. You fulfilled your promise to her. And you were the first to run to her rescue. I don’t know if I would have done the same.”

Thinking about his bravery still sends goose bumps down my arms. It was selfless. Too selfless, perhaps. He forgot about his own safety. He forgot that he never learned to swim. It makes me wonder now if it’s the same driving force prompting him to take full responsibility over Sugar’s future. I don’t want him to get hurt like... Like Mom has been hurt.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “Your father. That avenue.”

I push away bad thoughts. Pedro and I are both lucky things turned out okay. “Now you know why I always avoid it when we go to Vozes,” I say.

“You were brave.”

“Well, the only way through was literally through.” I let out a tired sigh. “And I wasn’t going to leave you.”

Pedro swallows. “Thank you.”

We stare at each other, my heart beating quickly in my chest. He opens his mouth to say something, but someone’s cell phone ringing at maximum volume in the hallway startles us. We both instinctively glance at the exit door.

“Should we wait for our mothers separately?” I ask.

“I’m fine with waiting together,” Pedro says. “If you don’t mind.”

Knowing both of our mothers are coming feels a lot like waiting at the shore as a tsunami approaches.

“Are you worried about what they’ll say? You know, because we were together?”

“No,” he says, and the conviction in his voice is a little startling. But we’ve been hiding our increasing closeness for so long now, I realize I actually don’t want to keep this up anymore. It’s time I come clean.

We’re silent again, watching—although not following—the telenovela playing on TV in the reception area, our eyes darting to the door every time a person walks in. He must notice I’m nervous, because he holds my hand. The gesture is so careful, almost reverent, it makes me feel warm inside, even though my clothes are soaking wet.

When I look at him, I hope he can see in my eyes how sorry I am to have betrayed his trust.

When he looks at me, I get the sense that he wants to say something. Something that scares him. Like he’s worried I’ll pull away afterward.

“I used to watch you when we were kids,” he says at last, “the way your grandmother treated you. The way you seemed so happy at Salt. How well you did at school, winning all those medals. And it felt like you had everything. It’s hard to say this...” Pedro frowns, looking regretful. “But I think I used to resent you.”