"Griffin, what's going on in there?" I lean in and whisper into his ear.

His hand is firm on my arm as he pulls me away from the door and practically drags me down the hall, back into the little conference room.

We stare at each other in horror. "What was that? Ash is here, sick, and despite that, I've never seen him look so ... so..." my voice trails off. It's hard to put into words how peaceful Ash looked just now.

Normally I think of my brother as a...I dunno. A wet blanket. A jerk. Too intense and serious.

Somehow, next to Zoe, he looks approachable and even (ewww) handsome. As weird as that seems, considering he's so sick.

Griffin exhales a long breath. "Happy? Content? Like a different person?"

"Yeah. That." I sink into the sofa and reach my hand toward him. He sits next to me and stretches his arm around my shoulders, his hand working into my hair. As always, I have a delirious desire for him, no matter the circumstance. "Ash usually always looks ragey or pissed off."

"Because he usually is ragey or pissed off."

"True. Not now, though." I can't get the image of my brother's pale face against the light blue of the hospital gown. How his eyes were closed and a little smile played on his lips. Practically beatific, like a painting. "What should we do?"

Griffin looks stunned. His normally commanding aura seems baffled, off-kilter. He runs a hand through his hair. "I. Don't. Know."

We sit, stumped.

"I knew my sister still had feelings for him. But I kind of figured those feelings had faded. We were kids back then, you know?"

I can't help but smile and nestle closer into the crook of his arm. "They weren't that much younger than I am now, though," I say in a teasing voice.

He tilts his head to look at me and the sides of his mouth lift adorably. "You don't mind if they're together?"

"No. Why would I?"

He shrugs. "They're two intense people. I've thought about what would happen if they got back together. If we'd get dragged into their drama. I wouldn't want their issues — and Christ, they both have a lot of them — to get in the way of us."

I press my lips to his cheek and kiss him softly a few times. Even though we're facing a potential clash of egos with Ash and Zoe, the way Griffin and I are acting like a team makes me feel comforted and whole. "We're immune to drama."

"Angel, I hope you're right. So what are we going to do right now?"

"Let's go in. Ash already said he wanted to talk with you. Let's not turn this into a big thing."

Griffin arranges my hair behind my shoulders and looks at me in that way. Like I'm the most interesting person in the world. "Okay. But remember. If Zoe and Ash start to fight about why they broke up before, we need to separate them."

I roll my eyes. "They're more mature than that."

We both stand up and Griffin stretches. "I don't know about that. They're both a little off."

No argument there.

We exchange confused smiles as we leave the room and walk down the hall. I peek into Ash's room before Griffin opens the door, and Zoe's still there, curled up like a cat. Griffin and I glance at each other before walking in, as if to say, let's get this over with.

My brother opens his eyes and Zoe twists her head, gives us a passing glance, then snuggles closer into Ash.

"Griff." My brother's voice is uncharacteristically soft.

"Ash."

I notice the two don't shake hands, hug, or anything. But it's an improvement from the last time they were near each other.

"Zoe," Griffin says.

She grunts in response. There's a palpable vibe in the room, one of three people who have a long, shared history. I feel left out.

"Hey," I say, waving to everyone in the room. Nobody glances my way. I sigh and take the bag from Griffin, extracting the bottle and cracking it open. "I got you a Gatorade."

I approach him on the opposite side of Zoe and he turns his head to her, stroking her arm.

"Panda, my mouth's dry. Let's sit up so I can drink this."

Panda? I've never heard my brother call anyone by a nickname, ever. He'd had plenty of girlfriends over the years, but he'd barely used their real names, much less a term of endearment. I stare at Griffin, who stares back.

PANDA? WHAT? I mouth.

His shoulders lift about an inch and I can tell by the way he's pressing his lips together that he's trying not to laugh.

Zoe sits up, on the edge of the bed and scratches her scalp. Her short, blue-black hair is rumpled, yet it somehow looks stylish and cool.

"I'm going downstairs for a smoke," she says. "C'mon Juliette."

"Uh, okay?" I'm used to a bit of Zoe's bossiness, but she usually displays it to her brother.

I move toward the door, and Griffin follows. Zoe clamps her hand on her brother's arm, making him stop in his tracks. "Not you."

Griffin and I exchange another what the hell glance.

Zoe pauses at the door and looks at Ash. "Boo, can I get you anything?"

BOO? I start coughing so I won't laugh. Zoe is not a user of words like boo.

"You okay, Juliette?" My brother asks.

"Fine," I slap my chest with my palm.

"Why don't you grab a paperback and you can read to me?" Ashton grins and Zoe grins and they're standing there grinning while Griffin and I look on in baffled amazement.

"Bye," I whisper to Griffin before trailing Zoe out of the room.

She hasn't bothered to wait for me and I scamper to catch up with her. We're silent until we get in the elevator.

"Panda? Boo?" I giggle.

She shrugs and smiles serenely. Honestly, I've never seen her look so calm. Usually she's a frenzy of energy and emotion.

Outside, the early-evening humidity slaps us in the face, and we follow signs to the smoking area, which is wedged between two small, saggy palm trees. It's hard to believe that hospitals even have one, but I guess sick people crave cigarettes too.

"Want one?" Zoe holds her pack out to me. I shake my head.

Zoe leans against a concrete pillar and lights up, staring at me the entire time. Both she and her brother have a way of looking at people that's intense and curious. With Griffin, the stare makes me feel wanted and desired. With Zoe, I feel like I'm a dangerous bacteria under a microscope.

"So, it must have been strange seeing my brother after all these years, after not talking." I figure there's no point in trying to act like all of this is normal. Plus, the intrigue between the two of them is a welcome distraction from the fact that we're all here because Ashton is really sick.

"I reached out to him on Facebook when you and Griffin went away to the Keys that weekend." Zoe blows smoke over my head.

"You did? Why didn't you say anything to me or your brother?"

She shrugs. "Those first few messages weren't exactly pleasant. But then he told me about how he hadn't been feeling well, and how he'd been thinking about me and Griffin a lot."

"You knew my brother was sick?" My hand goes to my forehead and rubs. That meant my mother and Zoe knew before I did.

"I knew he wasn't feeling well, and I told him to get his ass to a doctor. We chatted two days ago, a few hours before you got the call from your mom. But he didn't tell me about this," she waves her hand in the direction of the hospital building, "and so when you said he was here, that's why I came along. We'd already been talking for weeks."

"Wow." I can't think of anything more to say, and it seems like their feelings deserve more than my pitiful exclamation. But Zoe isn't really listening to me anyway, because she's staring at the tip of her cigarette.

"You know, I think part of the reason why I never got over him was that I couldn't imagine something so good could happen twice. And it didn't. I haven't met anyone like Ash."

"Hunh?" She's getting all philosophical now, and my skin feels uncomfortably sticky.

"We were — are — compatible in every way. Even though I was angry at him for cutting me out of his life, I couldn't stop loving him. I found pieces of him in every song I heard, every book I read, every movie I saw. No one else ever measured up."

I nod. Usually, my conversations with Zoe revolve around music, shopping and food. This is ... weird.

"I knew we were meant for each other. Have you ever felt that? with someone? It's an overwhelming feeling. Maybe you're too young to recognize it, though. I don't think I could've put this into words when I was your age."

She's only a few years older than me, and yet she's pulling the wise older sister act. Still, I know exactly what she's talking about. "I have felt it. With Griffin."

"Then you know."

She looks down at her black Converse sneakers and I think she's going to throw her cigarette down and stamp on it, when she lifts her head, sobbing.

"I'm so afraid right now. So afraid for him. Just when we've started to be friends again, he's going to...he might..."

"Don't say it." The words come out of my mouth sharp and loud. Enough to startle her into staring at me, wide-eyed. She hiccups in a breath and stubs out her cigarette on a nearby metal garbage can.

"Don't say it." My stomach, which had been sour all day, now felt like it was filled with curdled milk. "Please."

"I'm sorry. Now we're both crying."

I try to wipe the tears off my cheeks but they won't stop leaking from my eyes. "It's just that I was such a jerk to him before he and my mom left Miami. Being here makes me wonder, if I should move...I dunno."

I stop myself, unsure of how much to reveal to Griffin's sister. All day I've been worried about my brother, and my mother. How they'd cope. How they'd pay for Ashton's medical care. How my mom would need help around the house when Ashton gets home.

If he gets home.

The thought of that turns my blood to ice, and I gaze at the nearby palm tree and sigh.

"Please don't leave Miami." Zoe reaches out for my hand and I allow her to grasp it. "My brother needs you."

I'm really sobbing now, and I shake my head. "My mom doesn't have the money to pay for this and her insurance sucks. She's going to need help. But I won't leave Griffin."

"Don't worry about the money," Zoe says fiercely. "I've got it covered. Griffin and I have it covered. He'll probably balk but I think I can convince him."

I look at her skeptically through my wet lashes. "He's pretty stubborn. He hated the fact that your brother sold, well, you know."

"He still hates it, but I think his views have changed. He knows Griffin's trying to get out, and trying to make you happy. I think the possibility of him being sick has made him look at life a little differently."

I squeeze my eyes shut. Why was this happening now, just when life was so good?

"Hey, we'll fight this. I know Ash will. And I know Griffin will want to help, too. Griffin loves your brother and doesn't hold a grudge. That's what I told Ash."

"I know."

"I was thinking about staying here a while so I can be with him."

I open my eyes. "You'd do that?"

She nods. "I haven't said anything to Ash yet. But the idea came to me when I was lying there with him. I mean, why not? I can work on the more legitimate side of our business from here. I don't want you disrupting school, and what you've got with Griffin."

"Oh, Zoe. That would make me feel so good, you being here."

I lean in and give her a tight hug. For all of her eccentricities, Zoe's heart is pure. I pat her on the back, feeling her ribs underneath. She's so tiny in her black vintage band T-shirt and black skinny jeans.

"Let's get back. Ash and I have a lot of catching up to do. We have to stop at the hospital gift shop for a book."

I break away and smile. "You really read to him?"

"Used to, all the time. Your brother's a pretty romantic guy."

I jokingly fake a wince as we walk toward the hospital's front doors. My brother's always been so serious. At least around me. Never could I imagine him being the romantic type.

"Oh, and Juliette?" Zoe stops, and I twirl in her direction. "I'll be able to stay a week, and then I'll come back up after the trip."

My smile fades, and I move aside when a nurse wheels a woman with a broken leg past where we're standing. "Trip? What trip?"

"Amsterdam," Zoe replies in a breezy voice. "I'm going with Griffin to see Paul and some others. Griff wants to leave next week, but I'll see if I can convince him to put it off a little longer. And don't tell your brother what we're doing or where we're going. He doesn't need to know right now that this is our final deal." She sweeps past me and heads inside.

Amsterdam? Next week? With Victoria? My stomach cramps. How could he do this to me? Especially now, that Ash is sick?

As we make our way to the hospital gift shop through a too-bright corridor, my gut fills with dread. Griffin had mentioned Amsterdam a couple of months ago, but hadn't uttered a word since our one and only fight.

I don't like the idea of him going at all, with or without Victoria. Loathed the fact that Skeevy Paul was involved and feared what would happen if they were caught doing something massively illegal. Because Griffin hadn't said anything, I assumed the deal had fallen through.

Obviously it hasn't, leaving me with a single question and a tight sensation of dread in my chest.

Why hasn't he told me about his plans to leave next week?

____