The Proposition 5: The Ferro Family by H.M. Ward Page B

me back into the present. She shrugs and pulls her purse strap up onto her shoulder. “I’m all right. I think I found us an apartment, but I heard Neil bought you guys a house.” She makes a face, well, tries not to make a face, which makes her pained expression even worse. The line moves again and, as we step forward, she blurts out, “Are you really going to marry him? I thought you loved Bryan? Like were totally smitten with the sex kitten. Well, you’re the kitten. Guys are what, tigers? Sex tiger sounds wrong.” She laughs, but her light laughter fades when she sees my fake smile. “What’s wrong, Hallie?”
    I try to keep my voice steady, but it quivers without my permission. There’s no point in stalling any longer, and besides, I need her. Even though she’s going to run, I have to talk to someone while I have the chance. “Maggie, he’s dying.”
    “But, he can’t be! He—” Maggie blurts out too many words at once and nearly starts crying. She’s the most empathetic person I’ve ever met. My pain is playing across her face when she stops, squeezes my hand, and pulls me into a bear hug that could pop my head off. “I’m so sorry, Hallie.” She wipes away her tears with the back of her hand and looks at my shoulder, not wanting to ask. Every word is like a knife in my side. “What’s wrong with him?”
    I fill her in with what I know, what’s happened so far. My voice goes hard as I come to the end of the story. “We broke up because of his Aunt Constance. She thought I’d ruin her with information I shouldn’t have known, so she figured out a way to break us up.” Anger I hadn’t noticed until now bubbles beneath the surface of my mind. I won’t be angry, I can’t be. I refuse to waste my time on her or what she did. “Maggie, I couldn’t care less about her, but I’ve wanted Bryan all this time and didn’t have him because of her.”
    “And yet, you don’t sound mad. You sound more creepy serene about it.” A red brow lifts slightly on her freckled forehead.
    I glance over at her as we move with the line inside the little shop, and approach the case of baked bread. Maggie orders first, then I order and pay for our items. Taking our breakfast, we cut back through the line, out the door, and into the parking lot. I stand there in front of her, wanting to speak but unable to find words, then hand over her bagel and orange juice.
    My mouth opens twice, but no words come out. I finally look her in the eye and explain. “I’m not mad. Well, I am—but I don’t want to be. It’s a waste of time and I have no time left. I’m planning on staying with him, Maggie. Whatever time he has left, I want to be there.”
    “I understand, and I’m here for you.” She takes my hand, but I can’t look at her.
    “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Maggie.”
    “I’m keeping them this time.”
    “I’d rather know now that you’ll vanish. I can handle this on my own. I’m fine, really. I know what this does to you and—” I make excuses for her until she cuts me off.
    “No. Last time I wasn’t there for you because Victor was an asshole. I didn’t have a choice. It was part of the way he was controlling me, but he’s gone now, Hallie. I won’t run. I’ll be there for you. You won’t have to deal with this alone. I promise. We can get through anything, you and me. I won’t leave you Hallie. We’re sisters. I’ll be there this time.” She smiles awkwardly and looks at the pavement beneath her boots.
    She shifts her weight to her other foot and glances up at me from under too much mascara. Her mouth hangs open for a second and her lip curls, like she doesn’t want to say whatever is about to fall out of her mouth. “There’s something you need to know, and I don’t know if you’ll like it or not with everything that’s happened, but you need to know. You need to. And I hate to tell you this now, but maybe it’s best this way. I’d wait if I thought it would