Taking a breath, I throw my backpack on the front stoop of my house and jog over to theirs. I knock on the door, in case the baby’s sleeping. Mrs. Weeks answers a moment later. “Hailey,” she says, smiling. “How are you?”

“Good. I—”

I don’t have time to explain. She motions me inside, and I follow her up the stairs. By the time we get to the end of the hall, my heart is in my throat. But I swallow it down. She turns to me. “Are you going to be okay?”

I nod.

And I go inside.

They painted the room. It’s a mint-green color, and there are cartoon turtles all over the walls. I smell baby powder. The crib and matching furniture is new, white wicker. They didn’t change out the carpet, though, and there are impressions where his bed frame had been. I hover in the doorway, thinking of him sitting there, the first time we met, playing that silly song for me on his guitar.

Then I take a step inside. I feel warm, dizzy as I peer into the crib, meeting Mr. Cooper Weeks for the first time. Declan’s little brother. He’s wrapped tight in a green blanket, but his arms are free, raised like a goalpost. Thick eyelashes, chubby cheeks. Long, pink fingers, the kind I could see playing an instrument.

But what strikes me most are the eyebrows. The very familiar arch.

“Oh my gosh,” I breathe. “He’s beautiful.”

“So you came to see my little brother, not me?” someone whispers from the door. “I’m beautiful too.”

We turn to see Kane standing in the doorway. He’s barefoot and bare-chested, wearing the sling and a pair of sweatpants. Mrs. Weeks shushes him and ushers us out the door.

Making jokes? So he isn’t angry at me? And here, if the roles had been reversed, I’d be livid.

When Mrs. Weeks closes the nursery door on us, leaving us alone in the hallway, I say, “I’m so sorry.”

“You should be.” Then he smirks. “I get it. I’m an asshole.”

“No, you’re not. All the things you did to protect me. You are definitely not an asshole.”

He seems surprised. “What are you talking about?”

“I remembered more. Even before Declan died, I was falling apart.”

“Yeah, you were. He wasn’t very nice to you, Hailey. Especially at the end there.” He shrugs. “But I’ve done stupid things in the name of love too. So I get it.”

“You kept me together.” I shrug. “So anyway, thanks. When are you coming back to school?”