Page 99 of His Heart

“I think maybe something small, but I’ll find out more when I get there.”

“I’m absolutely going,” he said.

“No.” I put my hand on his chest. “I just need to go take care of some things. I know it’s my mom, but… god, this makes me sound like a horrible person, but the last time I saw her she tried to beat the crap out of me. And that was years ago. It’s not like we were close.”

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’m going.”

“I already booked my flight,” I said.

“I don’t care—”

I gently touched his lips. “Sebastian, listen to me. I’ll feel terrible if you miss your finals. There’s no way I’m doing that to you. It’s bad enough that I have to go. Please don’t make this worse for me.”

“What about Olivia?” he asked. “Can she stay in Phoenix with you?”

“She’s on a plane coming back here right now,” I said. “I can’t ask her to turn around and go back. She has to work.”

He put his hands alongside my face. “Will you stay with the Harpers?”

“They offered, but…”

“Stay with them, and I’ll stay here and take my finals. I don’t want you to be alone.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay, I will.”

His brow furrowed and he brushed my hair back. “I still don’t like this. I should be there with you.”

“I know, but I’ll feel so much better knowing you’re getting your finals out of the way,” I said. “Please. This is what I need you to do for me right now. Ace those tests. I’ll be back Friday and we can celebrate.”

He kissed my forehead and wrapped me in his arms again. I knew he didn’t like it, but the guilt would kill me if he missed his tests because of this.

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