My grandmother was in the chair beside Dominic’s bed. Miley was by the window, holding a container of food. Homemade. She’d brought food from the house, which meant she’d cooked something specifically for this visit, which meant she’d thought about my brother and decided he deserved her cooking. That detail bothered me in a way I wasn’t proud of.
Dominic was in his wheelchair. He looked thinner than the last time I’d seen him, which was the day I told him to get better. He was smiling at Miley.
I stood there and watched.
Miley saw me first. The warmth she’d been showing my grandmother and Dominic disappeared from her face like someone had flipped a switch, replaced by something closed off.
She didn’t speak.
Dominic looked up. “So this is the wife Grandma’s been telling me about.” He looked at Miley and then back at me. “She’s beautiful, Christopher.”
CHAPTER 13
Miley
I could feel the tension before I saw him.
Eleanor was mid-sentence, telling Dominic about a new recipe she’d learned from me, when the temperature in the hospital room dropped by about ten degrees. I was standing by the window holding the container ofarroz con polloI’d brought from the house. Dominic was in his wheelchair smiling at something Eleanor had said. Everything was warm, easy, and normal.
Then Christopher appeared in the doorway.
He didn’t walk in. He stood there, filling the frame like he’d been carved from stone and placed in the entrance specifically to block the light. His eyes swept the room in one pass. Eleanor. Dominic. Me. The food I'd cooked for his brother. Then they came back to me and stayed.
Eleanor saw him and her face brightened.
“Christopher, come in. Sit down.” She gestured to the empty chair beside her. “Your brother was just telling us about his physical therapy. He’s making wonderful progress. Dominic, tell Christopher about the new exercises.”
Dominic opened his mouth.
“We’re leaving,” Christopher said.
His eyes were locked on me.
I stared at him. “Excuse me?”
“I said we’re leaving. Now.”
“I heard what you said. And I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He crossed the room in three strides. His hand closed around mine.
“Christopher.” Eleanor’s voice went high.
He didn’t look at her. His eyes were locked on mine and the look behind them was beyond anger—something primal and territorial. Like I’d crossed a line he hadn’t told me existed and the punishment was already decided.
He turned his head toward Dominic. His voice dropped low, each word placed with precision. “Enjoying yourself, brother?”
Dominic’s easy smile faded. “Christopher, she was just?—”
“I didn’t ask what she was doing. I can see what she’s doing. You’re soaking it up the way you soak up everything that belongs to me.”
“Christopher!” Eleanor stood from her chair. “That is enough. She came because I invited her. This has nothing to do with?—”
“Stay out of this, Grandmother.”
The room went silent. I’d never heard Christopher speak to Eleanor like that. Neither had Eleanor, based on the way her face changed.
I tried to pull away.
