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
Combined POVMiaI was on cloud nine when we left the hospital. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect meeting with Ethan’s sister. She was even sweeter than Ethan described, and I was already planning my next visit in my head.Ethan, Ryan, and I all piled into Ethan’s car. Hector held the back door while Ethan and I climbed into the backseat and Ryan helped himself into the passenger side. “Where to, sir?” Hector asked once he was back in the driver’s seat.“First to my building to drop off Mia.” Ethan answered. “Then to my office.”“Yes, sir,” Hector answered as we pulled away from the hospital curb. “So?” were Ethan’s next words to me once we were on the road. “What did you think?”“Lily’s incredible.” I smiled. “She’s a really special girl.”“That went so well!” Ethan murmured with a cheesy grin. “I knew she was going to love you, but I didn’t expect her to love you so much.”“I know.” I laughed. “It was perfect.”“Too bad your mom hates her.” Rya
Mia's POVAfter eating a delicious late lunch, prepared by Stacy, I retreated to my room while she made herself busy with housework. I took a quick shower and quickly changed into sweats afterwards.My mind was racing with thoughts about Ethan and I was dying to know what was going on with him. I knew we were far from saying ‘I love you’, but still I wondered if he had any feelings for me at all. Last night took us both by surprise, and a part of me wondered if it would happen again tonight. A memory of our night together came flashing through my mind as I laid on the bed. The feeling of his tongue licking every part of me sent a shiver down my spine.Before I could let myself get too comfortable with the idea, I needed to know where we stood. A part of me just wanted to march down to his office and make him tell me. I wanted to shake it out of him so I wouldn’t have to feel like this any more. I pulled out my phone and dialed the only person I could think of. “Hello?” Sh
Mia's POVI stared at the messages from Jake for a while. I was paralyzed as I sat at the edge of my bed, wondering what to do next. I knew I needed to call him, but a part of me was clueless as to why I was avoiding it. It wasn’t like we’d had a fight. I just didn’t want to talk to him. I thought about what Emily said. Was Jake manipulating me, or was he just struggling because he didn’t get to see his best friend as often as before? Maybe he really did just miss me. Before I could ponder any longer, I heard a knock at the door.“Come in!” I called out as Stacy popped her head inside.“Hey!” She said in a friendly tone. “I was just going to change your linens. Is that okay?”“Sure.” I shrugged, rising from the bed as she walked in carrying new sheets. I helped her pull off the old sheets and pillow cases. She told me there was no need for me to help her but I told her my mother raised me better than that. We stretched the corners of the clean fitted sheet around the
Mia's POVI woke up in my room. It felt like the morning, but I couldn’t really tell. I sat up in my bed, trying to recount what happened when my bedroom door opened and Ethan walked in carrying a glass of ice water. “Hey.” He said sweetly when he saw that I was awake. “How are you feeling?”“Okay.” I was still trying to make sense of everything. “What time is it?”“Seven.” Ethan placed the ice water on my nightstand along with two pills. “Here’s some aspirin. You cried so much last night, I thought you might wake up with a headache.”“Thanks.” I reached for the water and aspirin. “You were right.”I heard my phone buzz, but I couldn’t find it. I looked around the room as Ethan walked over to a desk in the corner. He picked up the phone and waved it at me.“It’s Jake.” He said. “I’m handling it.”“How did I end up in here?” I asked, still feeling confused.“I carried you,” he looked over at me. “You cried a lot, and then you fell asleep in my arms.”I spotted Ethan
Mia's POVIt was early in the morning. I assumed Ethan was still sleeping, so I kept to myself for a while. I made myself a bowl of cereal and retreated back to my room to enjoy them. I decided to call Emily on my new phone. She was the only person aside from my mom who I knew would be up this early.“Hello?” She answered, a little suspiciously. “Hey.” I said, shoveling a spoonful of cheerios into my mouth as I sat on my bed. “Mia?” She said, “Whose number is this?”“Sorry.” I said, forgetting. “I got a new phone. Save this number.”“Oh, right! Ethan did mention that, he said you were getting a new number, I was just too busy with the wedding rehearsal that I forgot…”I chuckled at her. “How are you?”“Fine.” Emily sighed. “I’m just taking Joe for a walk.”Joe was Emily’s family dog. He had to be at least fifteen years old, and was still as energetic as he was when they first got him. The thought of Emily walking through the neighborhood in the early morning