My body was stiff and sore, twisted up in an uncomfortable position, with hard wood pressed against my hips and knees. I unfolded myself as my eyes slowly peeled open, and I blinked several times, trying to figure out where I was. Finally, Dr. Morris’ face came into view, and the events of the night came flooding back again, threatening to drown me. I tried to push the others back so I could focus on the top priority.

“How’s Steven?”

Dr. Morris gave a kind smile. From up close, I noticed wrinkles I didn’t remember and a slight clouding to his sky blue eyes. He had aged some, after all. “He’s stable, resting. We’ve done some basic tests on him and didn’t find anything, so we’re going to release him.”

“Already?” I patted my hips, feeling for my phone to check the time, before I remembered I didn’t have it.

Dr. Morris glanced at his watch. “Well, he’s been here for several hours. There’s no real reason to keep him any longer.”

“But you don’t know what’s wrong with him.” I stared at him, not comprehending. Maybe I was still groggy. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head, trying to clear it.

“It could be a lot of things, but like I said, preliminary tests show no abnormalities.” Dr. Morris tapped Steven’s chart on his knee then stood up. Was he getting too old to do his job right anymore? How could he think Steven was all right?

I stood up too, not liking the way he was looming over me like an authority I didn’t dare defy. Of course, I was still several inches shorter than him. “But what happened in the car wasn’t normal. You should’ve seen him; it scared me to death. And he said he’s been sick. There must be something else wrong with him. Can’t you do more tests?”

Dr. Morris nodded and spoke slowly, like he was talking to a child. “We could… but he doesn’t have insurance, and hospital policy doesn’t warrant extra testing when the patient is stable with no evidence of threatening issues.”

Ire welled up in me, taking the place of the energy I’d been depleted of. “No, that’s not right. He deserves to be treated. Look, if I pay for it, will you run more tests on him?”

He pinched his brow and crossed his arms over his chest. “It would be very expensive. Look, Layla. This is Steven Montgomery we’re talking about. He has a history of alcoholism.”

“Are you saying he’s not worth it? Why? Because he drinks too much? Because he’s a Montgomery?” My voice was loud, screeching; it echoed down the empty hallway. But I was sick of people treating the Montgomerys like they weren’t worthy of human decency.

He winced and backed away from me, holding up hands that were red and chapped. “No, I’m not saying that. I’m just saying he probably drank too much, that’s all.”

I stepped closer again. I wasn’t going to let him get away with what he was trying to do. “I know what drunk looks like. That was something different. Run the tests, Dr. Morris. I’ll take care of the bill.”

He sighed. “Fine. But you’ll have to provide some form of payment upfront. Hospital policy.”

“No problem.” But the reality hit me as soon as I turned on my heel and stalked off.

I didn’t have any money to pay for Steven’s care. I’d just paid the rent on my apartment for the last two months and the back rent I owed. I barely had a dime leftover.

But Calvin had plenty of money, and although he and Steven were at odds, they were still brothers. Surely Calvin would be willing to pay for his brother’s medical treatment. Wouldn’t he?

I knew what the answer should be, but I also knew Calvin. He could be very stingy, and he wasn’t in the habit of helping others. No one had ever helped him, so he didn’t think he owed anything to anyone. He’d recently become more generous towards me, but he’d already shown an unwillingness to help his brother.

He had to see the importance of this, though. No one would want their family member to go without proper medical treatment. Not even Calvin.

But the cruel words he’d spoken to his brother earlier rang in my head. True, Steven was a troublemaker with a reputation for all kinds of offensive behavior, but he was Calvin’s brother, and he was sick and needed help. The way Steven talked, he knew he needed medical care and had discussed insurance with Calvin. But Calvin hadn’t done anything to help him. How could he feel so little sympathy for him?

I should’ve called him, even though it was the middle of the night. But I was afraid he’d say no, afraid he wouldn’t believe me or care any more than Dr. Morris had. Instead, I headed back to the resort to fetch my purse that still contained Calvin’s credit card.

The party was long over by the time I got there, the resort empty and quiet. Thankfully, some of the doors had keypads instead of keyholes, so I could punch in a code to gain access, even without my keys. I padded through the dark, silent halls and retrieved my purse and phone from my desk. The screen showed several missed calls from Calvin and a few from my parents.

I felt bad for worrying my parents, so I quickly dialed my mother, even though I knew she was probably asleep. She answered on the third ring, her voice grumbly with sleep but still demanding. “Layla, where are you? Are you all right? Why haven’t you been answering your cellphone?”

I waited for her to get all her questions out before I tried answering. Then I explained what happened and promised I’d be home soon. When I hung up, I stared at my phone for a long moment, debating whether or not to call Calvin. But in the end, I put the phone in my purse and headed back to the hospital.

I was too nervous and exhausted to have the conversation we needed to have. Besides, his last call was more than an hour ago. He’d probably gone to sleep. I’d call him in the morning.

I tried to keep my hands from shaking as I handed the credit card to the receptionist at the hospital and told her to put Steven’s medical bills on it. Would she question it? She glanced at the card, took down the info, then handed the card back to me.

I breathed out a quiet sigh of relief. “Can I go see Steven? Where is he?”

She sent me back to the emergency room where Steven snored on a gurney in the corner. Dr. Morris was with another patient, so I waited by Steven’s bed till he walked away, then I hustled over to him and grabbed the sleeve of his lab coat.

“Dr. Morris, I’ve made arrangements to pay for Steven’s care. Have you done those other tests yet?”

He sighed and stopped walking then peered at me over his reading glasses. “We’ll do them in the morning. Steven needs to sleep off his intoxication first. Why don’t you go home, and we’ll call we when we get the results?”

What he said made sense, even though I didn’t like it, and I was so tired I was practically dead on my feet. I sighed and nodded then headed back out to the parking lot.

As soon as I got home, I dropped my dress on the floor, slipped on some pajamas, pulled the pins out of my hair, and collapsed into bed. For the first time in years I didn’t bother with my full, nightly skin routine.

I woke up hours later to the sound of my phone ringing. I was too out of it to answer before it stopped, so I closed my eyes again and tried to go back to sleep, but a few minutes later, another chime sounded, indicating I had a voice mail. I tried to ignore it, closing my eyes again and pulling the covers over my head, but curiosity got the best of me.

Eventually, I stuck my arm out and felt around till my fingers landed on my cell phone. When I picked it up, the name on the screen was Calvin’s.

It was the first message he’d left, so I pulled myself into an upright position and hit play on the voicemail. I knew I needed to talk to him, but I wanted to gauge his mood beforehand.

I hoped he wasn’t too upset at how I’d reacted last night when he announced that I loved him. I knew I’d hurt his feelings, and I should’ve called him last night, but I’d been a coward.

My body froze as my blood turned to ice at the sound of his cold voice and the threat he barked out. Arrested for credit card fraud? That was his first thought, that I’d tried to swindle him? I sat there, staring at the phone, stunned and fuming. I couldn’t believe Calvin would talk to me like that.

I knew it was risky, using his card like that, but I figured I’d have a chance to talk to him about it before he found out about it. How did he even know I’d used it?

I was trying to think of what to say and work up the nerve to call him back when the doorbell rang. A minute later, I heard my mother climbing the stairs, calling out my name. She knocked on my door then peeked her head in. “Layla, that Montgomery boy is here to see you.”

I was so upset, I didn’t even bother to look in the mirror. I just stomped down the stairs. Calvin perched on the edge of one of the armchairs, wearing a suit like this was all about business. He stood up and walked towards me.

It was only when he flicked his eyes up and down my body with a surprised look on his face that I realized I was still in my pajamas. I crossed my arms over my chest since I didn’t have a bra on and glared at him.

“You want to have me arrested? Really, Calvin?” I winced as soon as the words left my mouth. My parents were probably listening from the kitchen. I thought about pulling Calvin outside so we could talk in private, but there was no point now. I knew they’d pepper me with questions later till I told them everything.

He put his hands on his hips and glared back at me, his eyes and his gold cufflinks flashing. “There’s a transaction on my credit card this morning for $20,000. The card I gave you yesterday. What else am I supposed to think?”

I threw my hands up in the air, forgetting my modesty. “I don’t know, a lot of things! But your first thought was to have me arrested for stealing from you? I thought you knew me better than that, Calvin. I thought you trusted me.”

“I thought I did, too, until this happened. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you had nothing to do with this.” His tone was still harsh, but his eyes begged me to reassure him. But I couldn’t.

My body slumped. I never should have done it without talking to him. I knew how cautious he was about money. Even if he understood my reasoning, he was so angry, I knew he’d still be upset with me.

“I didn’t think they’d run the card so soon. I thought I’d get a chance to explain it beforehand.”

He sneered and leveled his gaze at me, crossing his arms over his chest. “I called you three times last night and again this morning. You had plenty of chances to talk to me.”

I dropped my head and stared at the glossy, marble tile. It chilled my feet, and Calvin’s mood made the room feel even colder. I rubbed my hands up and down my goose-pimpled arms. “I know, I just… I didn’t have my phone on me when I left last night, and then it was so late, I didn’t want to wake you. I was sleeping when you called this morning—”

He moved closer, looming over me and invading my personal space. I savored his nearness yesterday, but today it intimidated me. “Enough of the excuses, Layla. Cut to the chase. What did you spend $20,000 of my money on before 9 am this morning? You look like you just crawled out of bed.”

I still felt exhausted, and I wanted to put some space between us, so I headed towards the parlor and sank down on the sofa. Calvin followed me but stayed standing, hovering over me.

“I was driving your brother home last night because he was drunk, but he got sick in the car, so I took him to the hospital. They said they didn’t see anything wrong with him besides being drunk, and they were going to release him since he didn’t have any insurance. But I knew it was more than that. I saw how he was acting. There was something else wrong with him. They needed to run tests to find out what it was, so I gave them your credit card.”

Calvin gawked at me. “And you didn’t think to ask me before you did that?”

My hands clutched at the piping on the edge of the sofa cushion. “He’s your brother; I thought you’d want to help him.”

“By wasting $20,000 on unnecessary medical tests? He’s a drunk, Layla! That’s what’s wrong with him. I can’t believe you’d waste that much money, my money, on something like that.” He raked a hand through his hair and started pacing back in forth in front of me.

“He’s your brother, Calvin! Don’t you care about him at all? Aren’t you the least bit worried about him?”

Calvin stopped cold and turned on the heel of his shiny, Italian leather shoes. Shoes that probably cost thousands of dollars. Why was he willing to spend money on stuff like that but not on other people?

“No, because he’s done it to himself. He and everyone one else in my family deserve the crappy life they live because of the way they act. They’ve ruined my life for long enough.”

“Do you hear yourself? You sound just like the people of this town that you hate for treating you badly.”

He glowered at that, his face turning red and his nostrils flaring like a bull, ready to charge. “You were one of them! And you’re still judging me. You don’t know anything about me and my family, Layla. You sit here in your ivory tower, looking down on us for everything. None of this is any of your business, and you had no right making a decision like that with my money. I want my credit card back before you waste any more of it.”

He stuck his hand under my nose, so I stood up and stalked over to the table by the front door where my purse was lying. I dug the card out and slapped it on his palm. He pulled out his wallet and stuck it in a slot behind a dozen others.

“That’s all you care about, isn’t it? Your stupid money.” I shook my head and started to walk away, but then I turned back around. I had a few more things I needed to say to him.

“You know, when I first started working for you, I felt terrible for how I’d treated you in high school. You weren’t anything like the rest of your family. But even if you were, no one deserves to be treated like everyone treated you. I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry you got a raw deal.”

His scowl softened at that, and I second-guessed what I wanted to say next. Odds were, it would ruin any chance we had at salvaging our relationship. I still loved him, but if something didn’t change, I couldn’t be with him.

“You may not be a lawbreaker or a troublemaker like the rest of your family, but you are cold and heartless. You have more money than you could ever spend. You could do so much good with it, help so many people. But instead, you hoard it and take advantage of people so you can make more of it. That sounds just like a Montgomery to me.”

I stared at him for a long moment, waiting to see how he would respond. His eyes narrowed, and his lips flattened into a thin line. He breathed heavily and glared at me. Then, without a word, he whirled around and left, slamming the door behind him.

My heart fell from my chest and shattered on the cold, hard tile beneath me.