Forces of Nature

The Sick and Injured

I pulled my right hand into view and placed it in both of his. He ran his fingers over the still vivid scar. It hadn't begun to fade yet, and I doubted it would for a long time.

I didn't think Riley could have stopped anything from happening to me where Aidan was concerned, but I liked knowing that he would have done everything in his power to try. Though I supposed if he'd packed up house and taken me to China with him that would have been effective.

"Must have been nasty," he commented, still tracing the mark.

I shrugged, then yelped as the ache in my shoulder flared to life again. Damn it, I'd have to remember not to do that for the next few days. "It wasn't that bad. Only ten stitches," I said through clenched teeth.

Riley sighed again, this time in defeat. "I suppose this is partly my fault," he said. "If I was around more, maybe none of this would have happened."

I twisted around to face him without thinking, spurred into action by his ridiculous comment. My back and shoulder screamed in protest, causing me to groan in pain.

"Jesus, Noah, what're you trying to do?" He helped settle me back down, cradling me gently against his body. When I could breathe properly again, I stared daggers at the wall opposite the bed. Daggers that were meant for my brother.

"You're stupid, Riley," I muttered. "You couldn't have done anything. Yes, the first time you weren't here. But today you were here and I still ended up needing medical attention. Let's face it. Short of chaperoning all my outings you couldn't have stopped something like this from happening."

Before he could respond the door to the room was flung open, startling us both. Courtney stood in the doorway, well, huddled would be more accurate. She was wrapped in a red duvet that was trailing the ground behind her. Her usually springy curls were hanging limply at her shoulders and the upbeat happy energy she normally exuded was notably absent.

"Courtney?" I asked perplexed, as if maybe I was seeing things. I craned my neck around to look at my brother. "You kind of forgot to mention she was here," I said to him. Though even as I said it I was smiling, glad to see her.

He laughed. "I was getting to that." He patted the bed next to him. "Come here, mischief number two."

She cracked a grin - and in her flu stricken state, it looked to be quite an effort - before shuffling over and snuggling up on Riley's other side.

"You missed a great day at school," I said to her dryly.

She sniffed, though I couldn't tell if it was at my dry joke or because she was, well, sick.

"If I was there, Aidan wouldn't have hobbled away. They would have needed an ambulance for his crippled ass." Oh, and there was the mortally wounded frog taking its last breaths. Cripes, she was no better than Saturday, which made me wonder how she'd gotten her mother to give her permission to come over. My guess was, she hadn't.

"Courts, not that I don't love your company, but does your mother know you're here?"

Her smile was sheepish. "Yes, she does," she croaked, then coughed into a wad of tissues I hadn't noticed she was holding. The sound had the fine hairs on the back of my neck standing on edge. It was like something rattled around inside her lungs. Riley rubbed her back vigorously in an effort to help.

"Courts, if you pass your germs on to me, I will be one very unhappy camper," Riley said. Then to me, "Yes, mischief number two over here snuck out of home and stole her mothers car while she was at it."

"Borrowed," Courtney piped up, back to sniffing again.

Riley gave her a droll stare before he continued. "Though how she managed to get past the 'rents without one of them noticing the absence of that hacking cough is beyond me. I had Mrs. Keller screaming in my ear an hour and a half after Courtney arrived, demanding that I bring her baby home or else."