"Hey, Noah?" Violet asked softly, finally giving up on trying to sleep.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for coming to get me," she said. "I'm not sure what I did to make you hate me, but whatever it is, I'm really sorry. You don't have to wait with me. I'm sure someone else will answer their phone by the time I get out of here." She offered a tired smile.

Hate her? He could never! But Violet had always been sensitive to others' actions. In her mind, his avoidance could easily be misinterpreted.

"I could never hate you!" Noah blurted. "I was just I only I"

"You what?" Violet asked dully. "What other reason could you possibly have for not answering my messages for weeks and then not reaching out at all when I stopped trying? No matter how busy you've been, you've never done that before."

He couldn't explain without telling her the truth—a truth he'd hidden for half their friendship. Telling her now might end their friendship entirely. But they hadn't been talking anyway

This had all happened because Noah kept things to himself. If he'd been less of a coward, he would have confessed years ago. But was it okay to tell a woman you love her when she's with someone else?

Maybe different words He didn't have to say "I love you." He could focus on Jeremy.

"You ignored me first," Noah pointed out. "I didn't want to interfere with your relationship, so I stepped back. But Vi that guy is no good. He didn't even come when you got hurt."

Confusion and hurt flickered in Violet's eyes. "You've never had a problem with my boyfriends before. Was that really it? You avoided me for the first time in our lives because you don't like Jeremy?"

It would be easy to say yes and let it blow over. What should he do? Saying 'he was taking you away from me' would sound childish. That was the last thing he wanted.

Nothing lasts forever. This had to happen eventually. The time had come to tell the truth.

If he didn't, he'd remain a pitiful little brother figure for life. Even if rejected, he needed to say it. Tiptoeing around wasn't fair to either of them.

Violet didn't like change; neither did Noah. They were comfortable together, sticking together for twenty-four years. But they weren't siblings, and they couldn't pretend to be when his feelings were anything but brotherly.

If he didn't say this now, he could never truly move on. There would never be anyone else like Violet, but he couldn't hold her back anymore.

"You think I want to watch you with someone else? I'm sick of it, Violet. I can't take it anymore. I know I never said anything but it's not fair to make me wait forever," Noah began.

Once the words started, they wouldn't stop. This had been building for over a decade.

"Everyone else sees it but you. Your brothers haven't been teasing you about me for nothing! They know I've been in love with you for most of my life! So please I know you don't feel the same, but at least don't make me watch you with a guy who's wrong for you and expect everything to be okay."

Violet gaped at him, speechless. She opened her mouth several times, unable to speak.

A nurse called her name, arriving with a wheelchair to take her to an examination room. Violet continued staring wordlessly at Noah as she was wheeled away.

Great. He'd blown it, but at least it was out.

Now what? He didn't want to leave her alone, unsure if someone would pick her up. So he remained seated in the hard plastic chair, dreading her response.

He'd already called Kaleb and Nathan, but neither answered. He didn't have Jeremy's number. Calling her parents was useless; they were on a European cruise.

He waited. And waited. And waited some more. What was taking so long?

He hadn't picked Violet up from her show until nearly 10 PM, so it was after midnight. Normally he'd be asleep, but he was too keyed up after confessing. He wasn't tired at all.

Dread filled him. Violet might cut him off completely, but wasn't that better than wasting away while she was with someone else? It was a lose-lose situation.

If she broke up with Jeremy, he'd likely fall back into their old pattern if she wanted. But he doubted she would.

Who keeps someone around who harbors unrequited feelings? He'd lost her either way, and now he'd have to get used to life without her. The promotional sentence at the end was removed as it was irrelevant to the story.