Second Dive (Kings of the Water #3) - Jasmin Miller Page 0,96

free hand flying to her mouth.

Thank goodness the outpatient clinic is closed on weekends or this probably wouldn’t have been possible. Thankfully, we’ve had some great staff helping us pull this off.

Chloe’s mom and uncles, Eadie, my sister, as well as most of my—now our—friends are smiling at us before they step aside to allow Chloe a good look at the wall behind them. The wall that showcases her beautiful mural, her beautiful finished mural.

My stomach is tight in knots, maybe a little nervous she’ll be mad that we finished it, that I set all of this in motion. Maybe I overstepped after all and should have left it alone?

But when she was supposed to rest after her procedure, all she wanted to do was get up because she needed to finish the mural. With me leaving her hanging, and Hunter being occupied too, things haven’t quite gone as fast as she’d hoped, and I wanted to take the weight off her shoulders. Make up for the delay I was partially responsible for.

With everyone’s help, we got the task done in no time, especially since Chloe did all of the major work anyway by drawing and outlining everything in the first place. All we had to do was color it in.

“You did all of this?” Chloe’s big eyes are on me, her fingernails biting into my arm.

“Everyone helped.” I face her, needing to make sure this was okay. “Are you mad?”

Her eyes widen even more. “Mad? How could I be mad about this? I think this is the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me. Thank you so much.”

“Anything for you. We all wanted to help and thought we could celebrate you today. Everyone’s so happy all of your tests went well.” My throat clogs up and I pinch my lips together.

She goes up on her toes and gives me a tight hug before walking over to say hi to everyone and to look at the work we did. I stand back and take in the scene in front of me. Chloe laughing and receiving hugs. My friends showing her what we did, and Chloe oohing and aahing over all of it, and throwing a thumbs-up in my direction that makes me laugh.

Hard to believe that this is my life.

That she’s finally mine—again.

Am I scared shitless about our outlook on life together and what role her health will play in it? Hell, yes.

But I can’t let that fear run my life. Just the thought of having to let her go—or not having her at all like my nightmare depicted so brutally—is unimaginable to me. It makes my insides churn so much that I’m afraid I might never recover from the repercussions of going down that path, even if it was only theoretical.

I’d go through all the pain again, all the loneliness in the last decade, if it brought me to this point where I know it was all worth it. Things might not always work out the first time around, but if they’re meant to be, life will make a full circle, and throw you right back into it. All you need to do is hang on, and for the ride to take you where you’re supposed to go.

When the whole group leaves the hospital a short while later, I can’t stop staring at Chloe’s beautiful smile. All of the work this last week, sneaking away from her to go painting at the hospital without her knowing anything about it, was so worth it.

Chloe’s excited we’re moving the party to the Parrot Lounge, and the whole drive over, she’s either squeezing my hand or my leg, telling me how beautiful the mural looked. There’s so much awe in her gaze, so much radiance I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fully comprehend what it means to be in her shoes.

But what I can—and will—do is to be right beside her, the whole entire time.

When I get out of the car, Chloe’s phone rings and she answers it while I walk around the car and wait on the sidewalk, watching her through the car window. That’s the reason why I don’t miss a single second of her expression shifting. From wary to friendly, to confused, and then absolute elation.

The smile on her face is so wide, I grin like a damn fool myself, even though I have no clue what’s going on.

Chloe nods, and nods some more, words flying out of her mouth until she finally ends the call, gets