Page 48 of One Rule

“Good?”

“I’ll be back again, Thiago.”

“Glad to hear it and any time. You’re family.”

“Thank you.” Giving the clock on the wall a quick glance, I catch the time and grimace. “I better get going, though. Promised my boss I’d stop by the—” The sound of my cell phone ringing cuts me off. At first, I thought it’d be Micah to verify when I’d be stopping by, but it’s not. It’s the hospital. “Hello.”

“Hi, I’m looking for a Liliana Armas?”

“She’s speaking.”

“Good. Because your brother’s awake and asking to see you.”

* * *

To sayI’m nervous on my way to the hospital would be putting it mildly. My entire body is jittery—excited—but there’s an edge of worry too. Not just for what Luna and Thiago showed me, but his parting words.

Don’t close yourself off from seeing the bigger picture, little cousin. Men oftentimes aren’t the best at expressing their emotions, but their actions fill in that void. A man who loves you will move mountains for you—eliminate any obstacle in your way—before you’re even aware of the dangerous terrain up ahead. They’ll take care of the little things, and make sure you’re never without, and by the time you’re ready to walk the path, the stones are smooth and flat and without the possibility of inflicting pain.

I can see that in him. How he nurtures his wife, but he’s wrong about one thing…

There’s no one in my life willing to sacrifice and give for me. Not in a romantic way.

Surprisingly, traffic isn’t too bad and I make it to the hospital quicker than I thought. Parking is a little different, nothing near the entrance for three floors, but my luck changes on the next one. It’s right beside the elevators and I slide in, taking it before someone else does.

Because of his injuries, he’s been in the ICU for the last ten days. It was the maximum occupancy for a patient unless the case had extenuating circumstances. The mild swelling in his brain has gone down, something the doctors found after the first twenty-four hours. At first, they put it down to the hair-line laceration and him being concussed, but when the CT scan came back, his diagnosis changed from mere laceration to fracture.

We’ve visited him. Mom and me, but for some reason not together.

She hasn’t been around as much as I expected after everything that’s happened, but I guess that’s her way of grieving and I’m no one to judge. However, I won’t deny that I’m highly disappointed when I walk into the unit and don’t find her there.

“Liliana, so good to see you!” The nurse in charge of his care, Karrie, exclaims when she sees me. She’s a mid-fifties woman with the looks of someone who’s thirty something and glowing. Lively. Always has an amazing attitude. “We were working on his admittance into a general ward this morning when he started groaning. It was low at first, but over the last few hours Lionel’s become more alert—responsive to stimuli—and now he’s asking for you.”

“Jesus,” I breathe out as tears gather at the corner of my eyes, so much tension draining from my body. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear this.”

“That’s what Mr. Royce said.”

“Mr. Royce? Micah Royce?”

“Yes.” Kerrie smiles at me. “He’s the one who pointed out the changes in Lionel’s behavior.” She pauses for a second and leans over as if she’s telling me a secret. “Mr. Royce comes every day before visiting hours, but the head physician approved of this so no one questions it.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Seems he’s a private man.” Over the intercom speakers, a code is read and she rushes off without another word, leaving me a few doors down from my brother’s room. Won’t deny I’m a little nervous about seeing him. The things I need to tell him won’t be easy, but I still knock on his door wearing a false sense of bravado and a smile.

“Come in.”

Peaking my head in, I’m happy to see him at ease. Completely awake. “Hi.”

“Come in, little sis.” His complexion is a little pallid, but the bruising that formed above his eye after the accident is now a fading greenish yellow. His staples are also out, the line left behind is still a bit red, but that’ll heal with time and the damage left behind will be minimal. “Sit with me.”

“Can I get a hug first?” I hate how my voice shakes when I ask, but so many emotions are battering me at once. Nervousness being the predominant one.How do I tell him?

“I’d be pissed if you didn’t.” Those words and the soft way he says them break the dam and I’m rushing to his side, hugging him while being mindful of his injuries. His shaky hand goes to the back of my head and he holds me, lets me cry and make a mess, but my big brother doesn’t care. Occasionally, I get a lowshushingsound in comfort. “It’s going to be okay, Lili. We’ll get through this.”

That catches me by surprise and I pull back, careful not to jostle his ribs. “You know?”

“Everything. More than you do.”

---