Page 111 of Trust Again

Slowly, Olivia turned the pages of the book. When she reached the page with the lyrics toThrough The Darkby One Direction, she smiled and let her finger trace the words. On the following pages were photos of Spencer and our friends in Coos Bay.

“That’s, um…?” Olivia looked up at Spencer.

“Yeah, that’s the fountain. I never got to see those photos,” he said, bending down closer.

“Cute,” Olivia said, circling her finger around Spencer and me.

“Of course we’re cute,” Spencer replied.

The corner of my mouth twitched.

“You can’t call yourself…” Olivia began. Her mouth stayed open a second. “That’s…”

“Conceited?” Spencer grinned down at her over the back of the chair. “If it has to do with me and Dawn, I’m never modest. You should know that by now, Livvy.”

She smiled. It was heartwarming and also fascinating to see how brother and sister communicated. I’d read that people with aphasia shouldn’t be made to feel insecure about their speech; that they should be supported in finding the right words rather than have their sentences finished for them.

“He really talks a lot about you. Sometimes it’s… annoying,” Olivia said, looking at me and then down again at the scrapbook. She turned the page. “What… song is that?” she asked.

I tilted my head and looked at the lyrics. “Don’t tell me you don’t know that one.”

She shook her head and several strands of hair came loose.

I looked at her in disbelief. “I was told that you knew all the teen films ever made. But if you don’t knowA Cinderella Storythen… you need to see it! If I’d known, I would have bought that for you instead of all the stuff in this box.”

Spencer covered up his laugh with a cough.

I pointed accusingly at him. “It’s your job to show her the classics, Spence!”

“I never claimed to be good at this job,” he countered, with a grin.

“You can have the, um…” Olivia cleared her throat. “You can have the job. I’m firing Spence.” She looked at both of us, twisting her neck back and forth. “Besides, you’re going to be visiting us more often. Right?”

I was still lost in Spencer’s smile. His happiness filled the room and made my heart pound. Then I looked at his sister—the girl who meant everything to the man I loved.

“You better believe it.”

Epilogue

Three months later

Isaac was pushing his way toward us through the crowd. I reached up and waved. He saw me and grinned.

“Hey, guys,” he greeted Allie, Kaden, Scott, and Everly, who were all sitting together.

We’d managed to snag our favorite corner table at Hillhouse.

“Hi.” I smiled up at Isaac. “Great that you could come.”

“With such a mysterious invitation, what else could I do?” he replied, sitting across from me. “What are we celebrating?”

“She’s not saying until everyone’s here,” Allie said.

Everly and I grinned at each other across the table. She already knew the secret.

“She’s been giving us that shit-eating grin for hours,” Scott said, sipping his beer.

Everly glanced at the clock. “We’ve only been here for half an hour, Scott.”