Page 145 of Dear Rosie

Because it’s normal to have your parents tell you they love you.

Normal to have siblings or friends or cousins who love you.

My time with Nathan has made me forget.

I fight to keep my features neutral as his comment sweeps open the curtain I’ve been drawing over my past, revealing the hole in the center of my being.

The one that should be full of good memories.

Should be full of happiness.

Should be full of love.

But it’s empty.

I try to pull my hand free of Nathan’s grip. But he tightens his hold.

NINETY-SEVEN

NATE

I see it on her face.

What I’ve taken for granted my entire life, Rosie has never had.

No loving family.

No one to tell her they love her.

And it makes my fucking heart ache.

I hold her hand tightly.

It’s right there, sitting on my tongue, to tell her I love her.

That I’ll be her normal.

But I need her to believe me when I say it, and it’s not time yet.

I inhale slowly.

And since I’ve already ruined the mood, I bring up another bad topic.

“How did your dad die?”

Her gaze lowers to my chin, and she presses her lips together before answering. “The final diagnosis was heart failure.”

“Like a heart attack?”

She nods.

“Was it at home?”

“Yeah.”

“Were you there?”

She nods again.

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