Page 149 of A Little Complicated

“It isn’t only a portion of my heart.” He sighs. “It’s the entire thing, Lia. My entire fucking heart is hypertrophying, and it’s only a matter of time until it stops beating entirely.”

Angrily, I tear my hand from his and wipe the stream of tears from my cheeks, but they’re only replaced with more, making my attempts useless. I hate the acceptance in his voice. The resignation. The way he’s giving in and refusing to fight. “S-so we find you a new doctor. We get you some medicine—”

“Medicine doesn’t fix this.”

“Then we get you a new heart.”

“Not exactly an easy ask, Ophelia.”

Frustration floods my system, and I fist my hands at my sides. “I didn’t say it would be easy, but—”

“I’m doing everything I can.”

“Do your parents know? Does Archer? What about your little sister? Or Reeves, or—”

He shakes his head. “You’re the only one.”

I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Maverick’s always been a bit of a lone wolf, but he hasn’t toldanyone? Hasn’t let anyone else help him carry this burden? Not a single soul?

My back hits the edge of the door, and I start to collapse when his hands find my waist. He guides me inside, closing the door behind us. It’s dark, but neither of us bother to turn on any lights as my ass finds the ground in the middle of the small entryway. I cover my mouth, the weight of the situation finally hitting its mark and making it almost impossible to think straight, let alone breathe. I feel like I’ve been punched in the gut. Like this a dream. A nightmare. And I’d give anything to wake up from it.

“You need to tell your family,” I decide.

Towering over me, he shakes his head. “I can’t.”

I lift my head and look up at him. “Why not?”

Maverick sits beside me and rubs his hands along his thighs, staring blankly in front of him. “You think I want to look in my parents’ eyes and see them mourn me before I’m even gone?”

“So you’d prefer to blindside them?”

He jerks back as if I’ve sucker punched him, but I don’t stop. I can’t. Not now. Not anymore.

“How dare you, Maverick? I know you probably think I’m being selfish or whatever, but if I have to protect you from you, I will. How dare you hide this from everyone you know and love? How dare you carry this all on your own when it’s the last thing any of your family would want, and it’s the last thing you deserve? You have your friends, your parents, your little sister. Archer. Me. You’re not alone, and whether or not you want to hurt us by sharing this burden, you deserve to have your family and friends rallying behind you every step of the way.”

“Opie.”

He reaches for me, but I shy away from him again, my tears falling freely now. “No!”

“Opie.” He reaches for me again, pulls me into his lap, and cradles me like I’m a child. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I cry, letting my heart break for the man in front of me as every hope and dream dissipates. It isn’t fair. None of this is. It’s Mav. My Mav. My everything. He can’t leave me. He can’t die. He can’t. My hands fist the soft cotton of his T-shirt as sobs wrack my body. His arms tighten around me, his entire body enveloping mine in a cocoon of warmth and Maverick. His cologne clings to his shirt, and I breathe it in, committing it to memory.

“Sh…,” he coos against the top of my head. “Sh… It’s okay.”

It’s not okay. It isn’t. He knows it as well as I do. But sometimes life isn’t fair. Sometimes it isn’t a fairytale. Sometimes, it’s a tragedy. And my love story with Maverick Buchanan? It’s exactly that. A tragedy. One I’ll never recover from.

“I hate seeing you hurt, baby,” he whispers.

My head bobs up and down in the crook of his neck.

“I’d give anything to take this away.” His chest rumbles against mine. “Anything.”

“Promise me you’ll tell them,” I beg.

The familiar rhythm of his hands running along my spine ceases. “Ophelia…”

I pull away from him and look up. “Promise me, Mav. They deserve to know.”

“Do you have any idea how much it guts me to see you like this?” he demands. “To see the way your lashes are clinging together from crying and how red your face is?” He rubs his thumb along my left cheek, erasing the tracks of moisture. “You really think I wanna see my mom like this? My dad? My brother? My fucking baby sister?”

---