Dropping Like Spies - A Gallagher Girls Story

Time for a Sneak Peak

"You're aware that this is your last night here, correct?" she asked.

I nodded. She knew that yes and no questions were the easiest to answer, which I appreciated. Dad and Matt kept trying to get me to talk, but every time I tired, my mouth crackled dry. There were just too many words to chose from and by the time I could fish out the right ones to make the sentence I needed, no one was interested in hearing me anymore. It was exhausting. I couldn't make myself say anything if no one was going to listen. If I did, I'd only be talking to myself.

But that didn't matter much either. They already thought I was crazy.

She stuck her hands into the pockets of her crisp white coat. "And you're aware that the Gallagher Academy has a team of specialists, all fully informed of your condition?"

Again, I nodded. Doctor Alex had made such a big deal out of sending my files to Gallagher that it was impossible to forget about the team over there. That was one more thing I liked about her. Every time she sent out information or consulted someone else in a different field, she'd let me know. With her, I was always in the loop.

"Good," she said with a definitive nod. "I'm going to let you sleep in your room tonight. It's not much, but maybe it'll help your mind get used to your normal routine. You know where my room is in case you need anything?"

I nodded.

"And, Morgan," she said. When I finally worked up to courage to look her in the eye, she gave me her final order. "No fighting."

There was no question in her voice this time and I knew that she had made it that way on purpose. She wasn't waiting for an answer, she was waiting for my acceptance. There would be no room for debate on this matter and so I nodded, knowing that it didn't matter anyways. The fight in me had already been stolen long before then.

Two knocks on the door. "Hey there, ladies."

Doctor Alex glanced over her shoulder and when she turned back, I recognized a look that only came along with big brothers. It was the sort of love that was most often disguised by false disgust. "Welcome back, Blake," she said to the shadow that was hanging in the doorway. "How was your break?"

Mr. Hughes smirked at her. There had been a time when that smirk could make my insides melt, but the heat was gone, leaving me with nothing but a shiver. That was the way it had gone lately. My friend's blade had sliced through my skin and I had been shivering ever since.

"It was good." He took a few smooth steps in, the pale light shimmering off of the tin foil in his hand. Even his walk was a dance, matching the music that was always humming against his lips. "Auntie Mae sends her love. And her pumpkin pie."

Doctor Alex's face lit up and she attacked, snatching the foil, but all I could do was wonder where a man like Blake Hughes went home to for the holidays. And he had an aunt? An aunt who made pumpkin pie? The whole thing was so normal that it was almost hard to believe. "She says she's sorry you couldn't make it," he went on. "You missed out, Alex. There was karaoke."

She peaked under the foil, licking her lips at the contents. "Yeah, well, I had a patient."

"Gallagher could've handled it," he grumbled.

"When Joe Solomon tells you to work the winter break, you work the winter break, Blake."

I knew it was only sibling rivalry that was causing the friction between them, but a part of me couldn't help but feel a little responsible. She wouldn't have missed karaoke if I hadn't been here. She wouldn't be eating leftovers of homemade pie if Dad hadn't wanted me in his line of sight for every moment of the day. If I had just listened to him and stayed away from dock twelve.