Page 296 of Falling Backwards
I’m not sure when my pulse and emotions will calm down, but the feel of her in my arms definitely starts it.
She murmurs, “I love you.”
I turn my face into her hair.“Iloveyou,and I’m so sorry all of that happened.It came out of nowhere.”
“Yeah, it did, but it’s okay.”
“It’s not okay that he hurt you.”
“Well, no, but you took care of that.”She eases out of our hug and looks at me again.“Thank you.I’msorry it came to that.”
Bits and pieces of the encounter flit through my mind…including….
“No problem.”I touch her face, her scar.“He didn’t hurt your feelings, too, did he?When he was saying what he thinks of you?He’s so wrong about you, Maggie.You’re so beautiful and significant that it—”
“I’m all right,” she cuts in softly.“It’s all right.He—he did hurt my feelings a little, but….”
That bastard.It was one thing if he wanted to insult me.It was something else if he wanted to insult Maggie.
My chest clenches and my blood starts heating up anew.
Until I see the sweet honesty in her eyes.
“I’m all right,” she repeats.“I trustyou,not him.”She pauses, then lifts her shoulders.“I…trust myself.Not him.”
Yeah, this does something to my chest and blood and mood that I love.
“I’m so glad,” I exhale as I hold her face, moving in and down.“Soglad.”
I kiss her firmly, slowly.She kisses me in kind, breathing with me, her arms slipping into my coat and around me for a more intimate hug, which can’t last long but is still very much wanted.
Shortly, she says, “Question.”
“Shoot,” I reply.
“Jayden has been cheating in medical school?”
I roll my eyes.“That’s what he said when I went out with him.Said he thought it’d be harder to cheat there than it was in college, but it’s not, and it helps him get through his classes.”
“Ugh.”
“I know.”
We put a little more space between us again.“Do you think you should report him for that no matter what he does or doesn’t do to get back at you for punching him?We shouldn’t let him get away with it and become a doctor who doesn’t know what he’s doing, right?”
“I thought about that even before today, actually,” I divulge.“It was sitting in the back of my mind, bothering me.But if we think about it, he can only cheat at certain things.Times are gonna come when he can’t fake understanding the work or the tasks, and that’s when it’ll come to light that he shouldn’t be made a doctor.”
Maggie’s eyes narrow pensively.She nods her comprehension.“You don’t need to tell on him because he’s eventually gonna do it to himself.”
“Exactly.”
“And it’s gonna happen before anyone actually lets him be a doctor.He’s gonna start obviously failing somewhere before that.”
I smile dryly.“Yep.Probably in places that matter more than written assignments.”I shrug.“Or maybe he’llgetcaughtcheating.He’s arrogant, and arrogance will bite you in the ass if you’re not careful.”
Relief shows on her face.“Good points.”
“But that’s just where I’m at right now.I can always talk to someone if I change my mind about what the right thing to do is.”
