Page 86 of Falcon’s Forever

My throat closes around the words. “Hi.”

Emily studies my face. “You cried.”

“No,” I say, wiping beneath one eye.

“Liar,” she murmurs.

“You’re feeling better, apparently,” I tell her.

“Knox said I can blame the drugs for anything I say.”

“Convenient,” I say, pulling a chair closer to the bed.

Neither of us speaks for a moment. Then she reaches for my hand, and I take it.

“You stayed,” she says.

“Of course I did.”

Her fingers curl around mine. “You kept talking.”

“You asked if you were dying,” I remind her.

“I remember.”

“I didn’t know what else to do,” I admit.

Her grip tightens. “You were scared.”

“Yes.”

Surprise flickers across her face, and it bothers me.

“You never look scared,” she says.

I think about what Frankie told me. Strong doesn’t mean nobody sees.

“I was terrified,” I tell her.

Emily watches me carefully. “I thought if you were calm, I should be too.”

Shit, that’s the danger of pretending well enough.

“I wasn’t calm,” I say. “I was doing the next thing. Pressure, then questions.”

“Yellow,” she says.

I smile. “Terrible color.”

“You said it was your favorite,” she reminds me.

“I lied.”

A weak laugh slips out of her, and it’s so good to hear that my chest aches.

She closes her eyes for a few seconds, then opens them again. “Falcon wasn’t there.”

“No,” I say quietly.