Charis.
He nodded slowly, accepting it even though it clearly hurt. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the ring box again. For a horrible moment, I thought he was going to try again.
But instead, he held it out to me. "Keep it anyway."
"Marcus, I can't—"
"Please," he said. "Even if you won't be with me, I want you to have it. As a reminder that someone out there thought you were worth a sapphire and diamonds. That someone saw you for who you really are and loved you anyway."
"That's actually kind of beautiful, man," Slater said.
"Shut up, Slater," Marcus muttered, but there was no real heat in it.
I took the box reluctantly. The ring sparkled inside, beautiful and sad. "Thank you. But I can't keep this. It's too expensive—"
"It's yours," Marcus said firmly. "Do whatever you want with it. Throw it in a river for all I care. But I'm not taking it back."
He turned and started walking toward the door. The three boys parted to let him through.
