Page 69 of Cass

He runs his nose up and down my cheek. “You have no idea how much I missed you when you weren’t here. Let’s find some privacy, baby. I need you.”

I sink my head into his neck and squeeze him tight. God, I love the way he smells. “I wish we could, but we don’t have time. We have a special appointment.”

He smiles. “Oh right. Let’s go.” He slowly slides my body down his until my feet hit the floor.

He tilts my chin up. In a deep voice, he says, “We’ll definitely continue this later.” I nod, and maybe salivate just a little bit.

I peek into the designated exam room. “Is everything good in here?” Everyone nods that it is.

I run to the nurse’s station. “Jess, come with me. Quickly. I need you in exam room four.”

She pinches her eyebrows in confusion. “Uh, sure. What’s going on?”

“It’s Hayden. Something has happened to him. Jackson, Payton, and Trevor brought him in.”

She starts to freak out. “Oh my god. What’s happening?” She starts running towards room four.

“I’m not sure. It’s something with his chest. They just took x-rays. We’re waiting on the results. Brody went down to radiology to get them to expedite things. He should be back any minute.”

We’re both running toward the room. She opens the door. Hayden is laying on the bed, seemingly passed out. Jackson, Payton, and Trevor are sitting next to him, holding his hand. She screams. “Hayden. Hayden. What’s wrong?”

She checks his pulse and then lifts open his eyelids to check his pupils. She won’t find anything out of the ordinary.

She starts peppering his face with kisses, completely panicked.

Brody walks in. “I heard the x-rays are ready. Let’s pull them up on the screen.” He shields the computer with his body. “Ah, I see what this is. Very interesting. I’ve never seen anything quite like it before.”

Jess is now holding Hayden’s hand while kissing it. She’s frantic. “What is it, Brody? Tell me.”

“Jess, you should come and see this for yourself.”

She looks terrified as she crosses the room to the computer. Her back toward Hayden. She moves her head close to the screen. It’s an x-ray of a heart. In the middle of the heart, it reads “I love you - marry me?”

She slowly turns around, finding Hayden on one knee. Her chin drops in shock. Her hand goes over her mouth as tears form in her eyes.

He smiles at her. “Jess, in my heart, I know that you’re the one for me. It says so right there on the screen.” She laughs through her tears. “I love you. Spend your life with me. Marry me?” He opens a box with an enormous, gorgeous, square diamond ring. We all smile.

Tears are streaming down her cheeks. She takes his face in her hands and kisses him. It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.

She eventually pulls away. He looks at her in question. “Is that a yes?”

She nods her head enthusiastically. “It’s a yes.” He stands and hugs her. The whole room erupts in cheers.

Trevor turns to Payton. “She said yes. I guess I owe you twenty bucks.” They laugh.

Everyone hugs and kisses both Hayden and Jess.

Brody puts his arm around me. I lean into him with tears in my eyes. He whispers in my ear. “Let’s go find somewhere to be alone. Right now. I need you.”

I nod. I grab his big hand and lead him out of the room.

* * *

REAGAN

We’re all out to dinner celebrating Jess and Hayden’s engagement. I think we’ve made our way through about six or seven bottles of champagne among us.

Spirits are high. I’m happy for them, but when I look over to Aunt Cass, she seems like she’s in a different world. “Aunt Cass, come with me to the bathroom?”

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