“It’s not?” I asked.
“No.” Joshua took a deep breath before he continued. “Michael was here that night. I know you two had plans, and I know you think he stood you up, but he didn’t. He got the message that I was in the hospital, and he came up here without thinking. It wasn’t his fault, Julie. He just did what any good brother would have done, even though I didn’t deserve it.”
“He was there?” I asked. “On Tuesday night?”
“Yes,” Joshua said firmly. “He was here all night. My mom said he didn’t leave until early the next morning.”
“I—” I started to speak, but Joshua’s words suddenly registered. His mom was there. Michael’s biological mother, who he’d never met before.
“That’s why he never called,” Joshua said softly. “When he got here, he was ready to call and explain himself. Then, he saw our mom and he just, well, you can imagine how that must have felt.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I can’t believe it.”
“It sounds crazy,” Joshua said. “But it’s true. Michael didn’t do anything wrong. He didn’t stand you up. He didn’t forget about you. He just had one hell of a night.”
“I’m an idiot,” I said, speaking more to myself than to Joshua.
“Why?” Joshua asked.
“I wouldn’t even let him explain,” I said. “I just slammed the door in his face.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t blame you,” Joshua said kindly. “You were upset. You didn’t know what happened.”
“But I should have let him explain,” I said. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“You can still fix it,” Joshua said. “That’s why I’m telling you.”
I didn’t know what to say. It was weird enough that Joshua called me, but for him to defend Michael, it was like my entire world had just flipped on me.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked suspiciously. “You’ve made it clear that you don’t want me to be with Michael.”
“Because I was wrong,” Joshua said. “I was being selfish, and I’m sorry.”
In all the years I’d known Joshua, I’d only heard him apologize a handful of times. He wasn’t the type of man to admit when he was wrong. If anything, he would go to blows just to prove himself right. Maybe his brush with death had changed him.
“You and Michael obviously care about each other,” Joshua said. “And I shouldn’t have stood in the way of that. I’m sorry, Julie. I really am.”
“Thank you,” I said softly. “But that doesn’t change what I did. Michael isn’t going to talk to me after I slammed the door in his face.”
“He will,” Joshua said. “Of course he will.”
Joshua and I talked a little more, mostly about how we were both sorry for the way things ended between us. He knew he was lucky to be alive and he didn’t want to waste the gift by continuing to be a huge dick. We admitted that we were never right for each other, and we promised to stay civil for Michael’s sake. It was hard, but the conversation ended well.
“Go see him,” Joshua said. “Just try.”
“Okay.”
I said goodbye and stared down at my phone. I thought about calling Michael, seeing if he would meet me, but that didn’t feel right. After everything, I knew we needed to talk in person. This wasn’t a conversation we should have over the phone.
Tucking my phone into my pocket, I ran outside. It was freezing, but I barely felt it. The only thing on my mind was getting to Michael’s place and making things right.
As I drove through town, I cursed myself for being so stupid. How could I have let my anger get the better of me that way? Why didn’t I just let Michael explain himself? All of this could have been avoided if I had just taken a step back and calmed down. I felt like an idiot as I pushed my foot down harder on the gas and turned down Michael’s street.
The lights were on in his house when I pulled up. I shut off my car and ran to the front door. When I knocked, I was out of breath and I could feel my hair whipping around my face in the wind.
“Julie?” Michael’s eyes flew wide with surprise when he saw me standing there. He stood in his doorway, staring at me like he wasn’t sure if I was real.
“Can we talk?” I asked. “Please?”