Page 147 of When Ben Loved Jace

“Exactly!” I swipe to another photo. Jason is a headbanging blur. “Do you remember who we saw perform at the concert?”

Jace’s brow furrows up in concentration. Which frankly, scares the hell out of me, because the nurses are in here almost every hour doing neuro checks. He’s still at a high risk for cerebral vasospasms, and I don’t want to put him under any additional strain.

“It’ll come back to you,” I say, filling in the details for him.

He tries to contribute to the conversation but sounds more like he’s taking guesses. I get the impression that he wants to make us happy. I don’t know how much he actually remembers. We’ll figure that out when he’s better.

“What should we do about Jason?” I ask later that day as Michelle and I are having lunch in the hospital cafeteria.

She tilts her head to the side while considering the question. “Do you think it would help if I bring him here to see Jace?”

I press my lips together before forcing myself to be honest. “That’s not what I mean. The doctors say it’s going to be a long recovery.”

Michelle’s shoulders slump. “I know. Do you still want to go through with it?”

“Yeah,” I say without having to do much soul-searching. “I just don’t know when.”

“There’s plenty of time,” Michelle says, reaching across thetable to place her hand over mine. “Jason likes where he is now. He’s excited about the idea of coming to live with you, but it can wait. Although I’m sure he would love to see you again in the interim.” Her forehead creases. “Do you think Jace actually remembers him?”

“Yeah. I’m not sure how much, but worst-case scenario, we can always start over again. I’ve just gotta focus on helping him get better.” I swallow, tasting guilt. “That has to be my top priority right now.”

“Of course,” she says, patting my hand. “The rest will fall into place when you’re both ready. Jason is old enough to understand. I’ll take care of him until then.”

“Thank you,” I say, “for everything. This would be so much harder to face without you. Nobody else understands just how—” My voice squeaks to a halt.

I don’t need to explain. She’s already nodding. “Jace is special. I’m glad he found you. You’ve given him the love he always yearned for. I’ve seen how happy that’s made him. I’m so grateful, Ben." She leans back to dab at her eyes. "We should probably go back to his room. I’m a little worried about leaving him alone with Adrien.”

“He can be trusted,” I reply.

“Are you sure? Because the other day he kept talking about how all Jace needed to feel better was a good makeover.”

I snort. “He wouldn’t.” The smile slides off my face when I remember the overnight bag Adrien showed up with. “Would he?”

We stare at each other. Then we hop to our feet and rush for the elevators.

Chapter Thirty-six

“Samson!” I call after throwing open the front door. “Come see who’s here!”

“Please tell me I didn’t forget my own birthday,” Jace says when noticing the colorful balloons that fill the entryway.

“You didn’t,” I say with a chuckle. “I wanted everything to look festive. This is a special occasion!”

Jace is finally home after three long weeks. I’m over the moon! So is the gray furball who shoots across the living room to rub against our legs.

“Merrrrrow! Merrrrrow!”

Jace laughs and reaches for Samson. “I’ve missed you so much!”

“Easy now!” I warn. “You’re not supposed to pick up anything heavier than ten pounds.”

“He doesn’t weighthatmuch!” Jace shoots back.

I make a face. “He’s probably lost weight since you were gone. For reasons that should be obvious.”

“Follow me,” Jace coos, leading the cat toward the kitchen. “Daddy is going to give you an extra big pile of treats.”

I follow them to put away the medication the hospital sent us home with.