“Are you in pain?” I ask Blake who hasn’t acknowledged me since I came into his room. All he’s doing is staring out of the window while his fists clench the covers every now and again.

I’m so used to my brother being the strong one. The one who always has an answer. The one who is larger than life in a room full of people, and seeing him like this hurts. He’s shut me out and I hate that. I’m trying my best to understand him, but it isn’t easy. Blake always has something to say about everything, and I’m not only upset because he’s shut me out, I’m worried sick. He needs to fight, not give up, and I sure don’t know how to get him to do that.

The doctor has been in a few times since I arrived first thing this morning, and there’s one nurse who keeps popping in and out to check his vitals. Apart from turning his head and watching them with his eyes, he hasn’t spoken or really acknowledged anyone. Mainly me.

Letting the tears silently fall down my cheeks, I move so that I’m in his line of sight and lean against the windowsill. He closes his eyes but I’m not fooled. I’m starting to feel angry at his rejection, hurt that he could do this to me, and maybe a bit selfish that I’m thinking about myself right now, and what he’s making me feel.

Moving closer to the bed, I see his eyelids twitch and when I lean over and kiss his cheek, I feel him tense. “I know you’re awake,” I whisper. “I know you’re ignoring me, which is breaking my heart. I’m your sister and I love you. I’m not going to stop being here for you.”

A choked groan leaves his mouth and then his arms crush me to him. He doesn’t say anything and I keep quiet, not wanting to ruin whatever is going on with him right now. But he holds me tightly and eventually I feel wetness through my shirt and realize that he’s crying. My tears roll down my face and into his hair.

Very carefully, I cradle his head in my hands and hold him against me. The silence stretches and I have no idea how long we stay like this, but eventually he starts to pull himself together and I help him get comfortable again on the pillows. Grabbing a handful of tissues, I pass some to him and use some myself. We’re both a bit of a mess, but I’ll keep that quiet for now. I don’t think he’d appreciate the observation.

I move the chair so that I’m sitting against the bed and take his hand in mine. “Don’t shut me out again, okay? That’s something I can’t handle.” He winces but I have his attention. “You can’t push me away as easily as you could someone else. We’re family, so I’m afraid you’re gonna be stuck with me until we’re both old and sitting on rocking chairs on the front porch somewhere.”

His eyes finally show some mirth. “I didn’t want you to see me break,” he admits. “But you saw me anyway.”

I kiss his hand. “I’m glad you got it out. Perhaps now we can move forward and get you walking again.”

He tips his head to the ceiling. “What’s the team saying? Roger was being evasive when he was in before you got here.” His eyes swing to mine and I feel put on the spot, which I am anyway.

“Coach Reid will be here later this afternoon, and he’s going to check on what they’re doing for you. He can only stay the day though.” I offer him a wry smile. “You know he treats you like a son. He was pretty cut up when Roger called and told him.”

Blake closes his eyes. “It will be good to see him.”

I squeeze Blake’s hand and rest my head on the bed. “You need your family and friends around you to keep reminding you that you’re not alone.”

Feeling his gaze on me, I turn and hold his gaze. “I hate that I’m not able to look after you,” he admits, anguish lacing his voice. “New York isn’t a city for you to be wandering around.”

“Do you remember what we’d been talking about in the restaurant?”

His fists clench. “I remember. I also remember whom it is that you were talking about.”

“He’s a good man, Blake. A really good man. You only have the experience of playing on opposing teams, but if you give him a chance, for me, you’ll see that he really cares about me. I’m safe with him.”

He sighs and seems to be struggling to keep his eyes open. “I’m not going to argue with you. I don’t have the strength right now, which pisses me off. But as I’m stuck in here and he isn’t, I’m going to trust him to keep you safe. We’ll take it from there when I’m out of here.”

I smile and hide my surprise that he’s being easier to handle than usual, and from what Roger told me, he isn’t blaming anyone but himself for what happened. It’s a relief that he doesn’t blame Kasey, even though it was totally Blake’s fault.

My attention moves to the door as it slowly opens to reveal a woman. She looks to be in her forties maybe, with short dark hair. Her clothes are neat on her slender body, but her face looks as pale as the white blouse that she wears. “I just wanted to see him.” She swallows and looks nervously at the bed.

I follow her stare and realize that she has Blake’s full attention. “Do we know you?” I ask, not wanting to be rude but curious.

“I’m”—she clears her throat—“the driver of…I wanted to say that I’m so sorry, but it seems inadequate considering your injuries.”

Glancing at Blake, I catch his eye and I really hope that my brother doesn’t act like an idiot. I know he’s pissed and frustrated to be in this situation, but hopefully he still has a conscience.

He sighs and squeezes my hand. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’m the one who should apologize to you…I’m sorry. I was angry and didn’t think when I stepped in front of you. It was my fault, so please don’t feel guilty or anything.”

“I wasn’t expecting that,” she admits. “I’ll um, go. I can see that you’re tired. I just wanted to see you even though my husband told me not to.”

Blake stays silent so I jump in. “Thank you. We appreciate it but like my brother says, he was at fault, not you.” I smile. “He’ll bounce back. He always does.” I watch Blake and hear the door close behind me.

I walk over to him and kiss his cheek. “You can be sweet when you want to be.” I laugh when his eyes pop wide before he winces. “Sorry, I forgot you have a sore head.”

“And the huge bandage wrapped around my head doesn’t make it obvious?”

I roll my eyes and drop to the chair. “Wiseass. You need to sleep.”

He looks unsure. “You’ll be here when I wake up?”

Unable to resist, I lean over him again and wrap my arms around his shoulders. “I’ll be here. I promise.”

He falls asleep within minutes.

All of a sudden I feel exhausted. I know it’s the worry and stress of Blake being injured, and it took a lot out of me at seeing how heartbroken he is over what’s happened. I’m glad I was here for him, but it hurt seeing my big, strong brother, so downtrodden.

He’ll get back on his feet if it’s the last thing I do, and I know that Kasey will be there for me to fall back on.

Smiling, I move over to the more comfortable chair and settle down thinking about Kasey. He makes me happy and I know that he’s happy to have me in his apartment. I caught him staring at my clothes in his closet with a silly grin on his face this morning. I like having them in there also, and before we left this morning, I slipped a hanger with a shirt on it between those of Kasey’s. I don’t have that much with me, but it’s still nice.

I let my gaze linger on my brother and wonder what he’s going to want to do when he’s eventually released from here. My heart is going to want to stay in New York, but my home is in Cleveland, and I have a feeling that Blake is going to want to be there. It’s where his friends are. Where his life is.

At least the paralysis is only temporary, or so the doctors had informed us. He’s very optimistic that once the swelling at the base of his spine disappears that the feeling should return to his legs. They have told us that there’s a possibility of surgery being in Blake’s future, but for now they want to wait and see if the swelling goes down before any further decisions are made. I hate that we don’t know what his future now holds, even though I’m hoping this really is just a blimp on the way back to normal.

Feeling my cell buzz in my back pocket, I wiggle around and retrieving it, I smile at the message from Kasey.

I’m outside the door. Is it safe to come inside? Don’t want to cause trouble for you.

I softly smile at his message and appreciate that he’s thinking about me. Checking on my brother, I pad to the door and open it. I smile when I see Kasey leaning against the opposite wall, staring at his cell. He glances up and when he sees me, his face lights up.

I put my finger to my lips so that he knows Blake is sleeping. He cradles my face in his large palms and presses a kiss to my lips. “I missed you.” He rests his forehead against mine.

“Missed you too. Come in here.” I take his hand and bring him into the room.