Ethan's POVMy parents and I all crowded into Lily’s room. She was asleep when we came in so we waited for her to wake up naturally. My mother took the chair closest to Lily’s bed while my father and I sat in the seats by the window.“So that Mia girl.” My mother folded her arms. “How did you two meet?”I rolled my eyes, not in the mood for anymore of my mother’s mind games. She could be the nicest person in the world or the cruelest person you’d ever met. Today, she was clearly choosing the latter.“Like she said.” I answered coldly. “We met in Greenbrooke. I’m working on a project out there.”“Right.” My mother said, still not satisfied. “You know, it wouldn’t kill you to be a little more forthcoming about your personal life.”“Grace.” My father cut in. “Give it a rest, will you? He doesn’t have to share every detail about his life with us.”“The hell he doesn’t!” My mother snapped. “I’m his mother. I raised him and I expect a little more respect.”“What is the
Mia's POVThe day had been long, and I was grateful to finally be alone. Ethan put me up in a guest bedroom at the far end of his apartment and I was enjoying a moment to myself. I laid back in my bed and enjoyed the view of the tall buildings surrounding us.I couldn’t believe that people actually lived like this. It felt like I was living in a fairy tale.I rolled over on my stomach and pulled out my phone. I dialed my home phone number, which had been etched into my brain since I was ten years old, and called home. After a few rings, Amber picked up.“Jones residence.” She said, sounding a little tired.“Amber, it’s me.” I said, surprised at how happy I was to hear her voice.“Mia, where are you?” She quickly asked once she realized it was me. “I thought we were going to have a girl’s night for Allie tonight.”“I know.” I said, feeling guilty. “I-I had to leave town suddenly.” “Is this about your new boyfriend?” She asked, with an attitude. “I can’t believe yo
Ethan's POVIt wasn’t my intention to stare. I honestly don’t know how it happened. I was in the kitchen, pouring myself a well deserved glass of whiskey. I told myself it might be nice if Mia joined me and we could talk about life and perhaps sit out on the balcony to enjoy the view of the city for a while. I walked down the hall to my guest bedroom where Mia was staying and noticed that her door was cracked just a hair. I peeked through the small opening to see if she had already gone to bed and that’s when I saw her. She was wearing nothing but a towel and was laying across the bed looking more beautiful than I had ever seen her. I didn’t mean to stare. I just couldn’t help but to watch as she made herself comfortable in my bed. A part of me wanted to go in and make love to her right then and there. I wanted to be with her, and there was no denying it now. ‘Stop it.’ I thought to myself. ‘This isn’t right.’But I couldn’t look away. I needed to watch her. It was as
Ethan's POV“Well?” Mia glared, as she demanded an explanation. “What the hell were you doing?”Once again I was frozen. But this time it was out of fear. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me. I usually had much more tact than this and I was wracking my brain trying to come up with an excuse.“I-I’m sorry.” Was all I could manage to say. Mia raised her eyebrows, not satisfied with my response. She said nothing but continued to glare at me with justified anger. “I’m really sorry.” I said, still trying to dig myself out of the hole I was in. “I just wanted to check on you, if you needed anything, then I…” I shook my head. “It won’t happen again.”Mia continued to glare at me in silence. I didn’t know what she wanted, but I knew I had to fix this. She was clearly waiting for me to give her a better explanation of some kind, but what could I possibly say? I was spying on her and there was no way around that. Even in my predicament, I still couldn’t keep my min
Combined POVMiaThis entire night had been one big whirlwind of confusion. I was so angry with Ethan for spying on me. But now, it was all I could do to keep myself from marching back into that hallway and ripping his clothes off. I felt safe with him, and my body seemed to like that. Though I was furious with Ethan for spying on me, it was arousing to know that he had been watching. If I really thought about it, I suppose I was only angry because I didn’t want our attraction to each other to sabotage our deal. But I wanted him. And it was even hotter to know that he wanted me back. I waited in the darkness of my room, hoping that he would follow me in. The waiting seemed to take forever as I sat at the side of my bed. I could see his silhouette in the hallway. He seemed to be frozen in time as he tried to decide what he would do next.Every second was agony. I just wanted Ethan to make up his mind already. A part of me wanted to go get him, but I felt it was best if he
Mia's POVWhen I woke up, Ethan was gone. I thought it might be cold for him to leave, but then I figured he wanted to give me a little privacy to move about my room since I was still completely naked.The memory of what we shared last night came rushing back to me, and my entire body tingled as I reimagined Ethan’s hands all over my body. It was like a dream. I had never felt like that before, but I was so happy that it happened with Ethan.I wondered if Ethan felt the same way. A part of me felt a little insecure that he wasn’t with me when I woke up. Perhaps he thought it was all a mistake. The feeling crushed me and I forced myself not to think that way.No matter what I was feeling, today was about Lily. Everything had to go smoothly for her sake. I decided I’d talk to Ethan later, after we came back from the hospital. Until then, I’d be the perfect pretend girlfriend. I went to the bathroom and turned on the shower. I waited for the water to get warm before stepping i
Mia's POV“Did you enjoy your breakfast?” Ethan asked on the way to the hospital. “Oh, my god.” I said, playfully rolling my eyes. “I’ve never had so many options before!”“That’s Stacy.” Ethan laughed. “She’s a bit of an overachiever.”“She can overachieve my meals anytime she wants.” We both laughed.We were quiet for a moment. My mind started thinking about last night and I was growing more and more anxious the longer we went without talking about it.“How are you feeling about everything?” Ethan asked as Hector slowly pushed through traffic.“Okay.” I shrugged, feeling a bit strange. He hadn’t even mentioned last night to me yet. Was he just going to pretend it never happened? The thought of it was making me anxious, and I was trying my best to compartmentalize so we could focus on Lily. We stopped at a coffee shop on the way and got cold brews. Ethan ordered his with lots of cream and sugar, while I ordered mine plain black. We stood in the corner c
Mia's POVWe had to sterilize ourselves before entering Lily’s room. Apparently Lily’s immune system was so weak that even an innocent cough could send her body into a downward spiral.Ethan had told me once before that Lily’s body was producing an alarming amount of abnormal white blood cells which were failing to function properly. He said that soon she’d have no way to fight off sickness altogether. It was the ugly truth about leukemia and many people didn’t survive it. A nurse had us wash our hands in a nearby sink, before putting on gloves and masks, to cover our noses and mouths. They were only letting in a few people at a time, so Ethan and his parents went in first, while Ryan and I waited in the hall for our turn. I noticed that Ryan was heavily sweating while we waited in the hall. He seemed to be nervous about something, and he was struggling to stand still. He kept taking in deep breaths and shaking out his hands like he was trying to pump himself up.“Are yo