“He's my family," she said finally. Quietly. "He's everything.”

“A longer pause, and the carriage came to a halt. “I see very little difference,” he finally said into the quiet. “My life is duty. Essentially.” Miranda wasn’t certain if she hurt more for him or for herself. “What part of your duty am I?” He squeezed her hand. “You’re the ray of sun at the center of the storm.” It choked her up, that image.”

“I'm here," he said into her ear, as the tears came faster. "Emma, I'm here with you now. Listen to me: I will always be here."Always, she thought. He said "always," but he had forgotten to say finally. Finally you are here. Thank God, finally at last.”

“Do you laugh at me?"He was quiet for a moment and finally the tention drained from him. "No, Jaron," he said darkly. "I curse you with every breath I exhale, but I do not laugh.”

“Okay,” he said. “I gotta go to sleep. It’s almost one.” 
“Okay,” I said.
 “Okay,” he said. 
I giggled and said, “Okay.” And then the line was quiet but not dead. I almost felt like he was there in my room with me, but in a way it was better, like I was not in my room and he was not in his, but instead we were together in some invisible and tenuous third space that could only be visited on the phone. “Okay,” he said after forever. “Maybe okay will be our always.”
 “Okay,” I said.
 It was Augustus who finally hung up.”

“After a few minutes, he asked, real quietly, if you turned into an animal, too. And I said, ‘She wishes she was that cool!”