Chapter 1850

Naomi gently tightened her grip on the damp tissue in her hand. She stared into John's eyes, trying to read the emotion flickering there. At some point, the boy she once knew grew up. He now understood what it meant to like someone, what it meant to care. The tissue, warmed slightly by her touch, still felt clammy against the summer air. She loosened her fingers and parted her lips. "That girl your friend likes, does she like him back?" Emotion filled John's eyes—so much of it, it felt like it could spill over. His whole face was written with longing, like a man gazing at the person he loved deeply. Her quiet voice hit him like a bucket of ice water, dragging him abruptly back to reality. Panic flashed in his eyes. And when he met her gaze—those clear eyes that seemed to see through everything—he looked down quickly, afraid to meet them. Naomi watched his evasive expression but said nothing more. She waited. The infusion ward was unusually quiet, mealtime keeping most people a