There was a taxi parked across the street. I waved my hand trying to get his attention. It only took three tries. I gave the man directions to my house. My animals were still at Tyler’s place, so my house would feel lonely.

I had a hide-a-key under the large flower pot by the left side of the door on my porch. As I stepped inside, I had the urge to call my parents. I pulled my phone from my back pocket and noticed several messages. There were ten from Tyler.

I ignored them and pulled up contacts to find my parents’ home number. After the second ring, my mom answered. “Are you okay, honey? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Yeah, I just needed to hear your voice.”

“Zoe.” I heard my mom yawn. There was rustling in the background and muffled sounds.

“Zo, what happened?” My dad was my protector.

“Nothing happened. Can’t I just want to hear my parents’ voices?”

“You only want that when something has happened.” My dad sighed. “Talk.”

I lightly laughed at my dad’s directive tone. “I’m that transparent?”

“Pretty much, darling,” my mom said.

“I think I did it again.”

“What, sweetie?” Mom seemed worried.

“Gave my heart away.”

“He or she didn’t give theirs back in return?” I loved how Dad said he or she.

“They were too in love with each other.”

“They,” my mom said and cleared her throat.

“Two men. It wasn’t planned.”

“They never are,” Dad teased. “Were they together long before you came in the picture?”

“Yeah. I just let myself believe it wouldn’t matter.”

“Do you think you are reading too much into this? You did always overthink and put words into people’s mouths.” Dad yelped. “Well, she did.”

“Ignore your father, honey. He forgot about the word compassion.”

There was a knock at my door. “Hold on.” I kept the phone to my ear as I checked who was knocking at this hour. It couldn’t be Tyler; he was at the hospital with Stephen. I lifted up on my tip-toes. “Fuck.” I stumbled back and my butt came in contact with the back of the couch.

“What is it, Zoe?” My dad sounded worried.

“It’s him.”

“Him him? Well, open that damn door. The bad guys don’t make a habit of just showing up in the middle of the night.”

“Mom,” I hissed.

“Your mom’s right. If you didn’t mean anything, he wouldn’t be there right now.”

“You both are no help.”

Tyler started to yell my name. “Honey, I can hear him through the phone. Hang up and answer that damn door.” My dad loved to be demanding. “Then call us tomorrow and tell us all about these two men.”

“Yeah, okay. I love you,” I mumbled and hit end on my phone.

“Zoe, I’ll stay out here all night if I have to.”

I rested my forehead against the wood surface. My parents were right; I did read too much into things. Not everything, but most things. Before I had the strength to open the door, I closed my eyes and counted to ten while doing a deep-breathing exercise. When I felt ready, I stepped back and pulled the door open.

Tyler lunged forward and picked me up around my waist. My feet were off the ground as he kicked the door closed. “Don’t you ever leave me like that again.” He slid my body down slowly. “Stephen woke up and asked where you were. I looked around and saw you were gone.”

I grabbed his hands and pulled out of his embrace. “I freaked out.” Saying the words out loud helped me see how ridiculous I was being.

He grabbed my bicep and turned me to face him. “I don’t understand?”

I let out a heavy sigh and closed my eyes, trying to find that inner calm. “It’s dumb.”

“Zo, tell me.”

“I saw you with Stephen,” I said and rolled my head side to side. “It made me feel like a third wheel. Like I didn’t belong there.”

He stepped forward and bent to be eye level. “But you do belong. It is going to be weird. We took this a little too fast maybe.” He placed his hands on either side of my face. “I’m the type of person who takes what they want. Life’s too short.”

“You just waited two years to do that with me?”

He dropped his hands and stood up. “Yeah, sometimes I’m an idiot.”

I don’t know what it was about his words, but I started to giggle and couldn’t stop. I bumped into the back of the couch and fell over the edge, which caused me to laugh louder. Tyler surprised me by falling over too and pulling me into his arms.

“I never let you go in those two years.”

He was right. I put up with his cranky attitude and kept him as my trainer the whole time. “Most women would have said ‘fuck you’ and left.”

“You’re not like most women.”

“Maybe.”

Tyler leaned forward and kissed me lightly. “Come back to the hospital with me.” He kissed me again. “Please.”

I didn’t move for the longest time. My eyes were locked onto him. This was different and somehow my parents knew that even two thousand miles away.

“Okay.”

The moment we stepped into Stephen’s hospital room, my body started to shake. There were several machines surrounding his bed and continuously beeping. The sound was unnerving. He looked so peaceful lying there, but I knew that was a lie. There was nothing peaceful about what Stephen had experienced.

I took the last few steps, and my body touched the side of the bed. Stephen slowly opened his eyes. “There you are,” he said in a hushed tone.

I reached for his hand. “Yeah, I had a moment of dumb.” I looked up at Tyler. “It happens to the best of us.”

Stephen smiled. It was good to see his face light up. “I’ve been there.”

There was awkward silence between the three of us. What did we say next? “How are you?” seemed wrong. It was too soon to ask about what happened in that house.

“Zoe,” Stephen said and coughed. “You do belong here.”

His words caught me off guard. “I’m not sure what you mean, Stephen?”

Before he could answer, his body shook and the machines lit up. I watched as he let out a deep sigh and then I noticed two straight lines on one of the machines.

“Stephen,” I screamed and bent over his body. “Stephen, wake up.” He couldn’t be dead. I felt numb. My mind felt foggy. I rested my head on his chest. “Stephen, give me more time. Please.” Suddenly, my body was pulled back. “No, I can’t leave him.” Whoever was tugging me backward wasn’t listening to a word I said. “No,” I screamed louder.

Then my head was resting against a warm chest. “Zoe.” I could hear my voice spoken over and over. It was Tyler, and he was moving his hand up and down my back. “Shhhh, I’m here.”

I turned my head slightly, trying to get a glimpse of Stephen. There were four medical professionals huddled around his bed.

I tightened my arms around Tyler’s waist. This wasn’t the end, right?