Page 102 of Courageous Hearts

“I swear,” I say, pulling out my phone and dialing my brother. “Just wait, please.”

Bo doesn’t say anything or move a single inch as the call connects, and after a few rings, my brother’s face fills the screen.

“Missed me already?” Grant teases.

I skip the formalities. “Grant, can you please say hi to my partner, Bo? I’ll explain everything later, just…”

Spinning my phone, I show Bo the screen, and after leaning forward, they inhale sharply and cover their mouth with their hands.

“Hi, Bo,” Grant says, sounding confused.

“Oh. My God,” Bo mutters, their voice hoarse.

“Is everything all right?” my brother asks.

Bo’s eyes flick to me once before landing back on my screen. “You’re a teacher?” they ask, not answering the question.

“I am,” Grant replies hesitantly. “High school English. Why do you ask?”

“Oh my God,” Bo repeats, spinning and walking away.

I flip the screen so Grant can see my face. “Thank you. Gotta go. Sorry,” I rush out before hanging up on my wide-eyed brother.

I follow Bo into the kitchen, finding them walking a tight line back and forth near the counter.

“You’re a twin,” they say, eyes bright and shining, hand hovering near their mouth. “I… Fuck, I thought you… I thought…”

Bo trembles, and I can’t take it any more. I stride their way, and this time, Bo doesn’t stop me when I tug them into my arms. They come willingly, burying their face in my chest, back heaving as they suck in air.

I don’t know precisely what happened, but I get the gist of it. Bo thought I rejected them in public. They thought I was ashamed of them or our relationship. The very idea that they were hurt over this for the past however many hours tears at me.

I squeeze them tighter in my arms.

“I will never, ever pretend like you don’t exist,” I tell them vehemently, my own eyes blurring. “God, Bo. You’re all I see some days. I don’t want you to be anything other than who you are. I love you. Every single piece of you. Every eyelash. Every molecule. Every note that falls from your lips. I’m so proud to call you my partner. So proud to be the one you’ve picked. And I promise you I will do everything in my power to make sure you and everyone else knows that.”

Bo shudders, their breaths turning into a sob as they clutch my sides almost painfully. “You love me?” they finally get out.

“God, yes,” I answer, my relief that Bo isn’t upset anymore making my words come out in a whoosh. This isn’t how I planned the big I love you, but in for a penny, in for a pound. Leaning back enough for Bo to see my face, I tell them, “I think I have loved you since the moment I found you. You’re it for me, Bo. The only one. My only one.”

“Jamie,” Bo breathes out, their blue eyes swimming. “I’m so sorry I doubted you. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I should’ve realized—”

“Hey, no. No.” I swipe away their tears, not wanting them for one second to feel guilty about what happened. “How could you have known? I thought I mentioned Grant being my twin, but I must not have. And you saw someone that looked identical to me. What were you supposed to think? I’m just so glad you came to me. I’m so glad you came back instead of running.”

“He didn’t even have a bandage,” Bo says sullenly, stroking over my cheek with a featherlight touch. “I should’ve noticed.”

“I’m guessing you were a little too upset to get caught up in those kinds of details,” I point out, expelling a breath. “I’m sorry that happened, Bo. So sorry. I can’t even fathom what must have been going through your head.”

They cringe slightly, as if the memories are still right there. As if Bo hasn’t quite sloughed off the negative feelings. Like when you wake up after a nightmare and that dread follows you around for a while.

“I couldn’t make sense of it,” they say, shaking their head slightly. “On some level, I knew you wouldn’t do that to me. I know you. I trust you. But…”

“But you couldn’t rationalize away what you saw,” I fill in.

“I’m so embarrassed.”

“No, don’t be,” I say, framing their face in my hands. Their cheeks are blotchy red, and a little bit of moisture clings to their lashes. I hate seeing the evidence of Bo’s pain, but I’m honored to witness their vulnerability. It’s a show of trust, and I cherish that gift. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. It was an honest mistake.”

Bo sniffles.

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