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She squeezes my hand. “Thanks,” she whispers as we pull up at the facility.
We get out of my truck and I meet her at the front. I wrap my arm around her shoulder and hold her to me. “You ready?”
“Yeah,” she responds. I take a step forward but she pulls me back. “Wait,” she says. I turn back with a questioning look and wait for her to continue. “Brendan’s very protective, so he’s most likely going to be a dickhead, especially if he’s done any damage in the fall.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle it,” I tell her.
She nods as we make our way inside. “I didn’t want you to meet him like this.”
“Really?” I question. “I was under the impression you hadn’t thought about me meeting him at all.”
At that, she finally cracks a smile. It’s small but it’s enough to give her that little bit of extra strength that I know she needs.
She rolls her eyes as she leads me down the hallway. “Brendan was actually a great hockey player before the accident. He stopped watching it after that but in the past two years, he’s picked it up again. I think it’s has helped him with his motivation and I fear his end game is getting back on the ice but don’t be fooled, he knows exactly who you are and no matter how much he may look up to you as a player, he doesn’t approve as a boyfriend, in fact, he doesn’t approve of anyone as a boyfriend,” she warns.
“He wouldn’t be your brother if he did, so, I’m just going to have to prove to him that I’m not going to break your heart,” I tell her.
“Challenge accepted,” she agrees before taking a deep breath and stopping at a door.
She knocks gently before pushing her head into the room. “Brendan?” she says softly.
“Come in,” I hear her brother say from within the room. She pushes the door open and we both walk in. His eyes instantly land on me before he even takes a second to greet his sister. “What the fuck, Elle?” he scolds. “You said nothing was going on between you two.” From the tone of his voice, it’s pretty damn clear the kid is angry but I don’t know if that’s my doing or if he has the shits about his day and the predicament he’s gotten himself into.
Elle lets out a sigh as she goes and sits on the edge of his bed. She places a soothing hand on his leg but from her explanation of his injuries, he probably can’t feel it, so I’m sure it’s more of a soothing gesture for herself. “Logan, this is my brother, Brendan,” she introduces.
“How’s it going, man?” I say with a nod rather than offering him my hand, just in case he decides to break it. I mean, I was raised with much better manners than that but if I return to the Thunder’s arena with a broken bone, I’d never hear the end of it from management, especially so close after my groin injury.
Brendan presses his lips together and narrows his eyes, reminding me of his big sister. He doesn't answer but the look tells me that we're going to have words the moment Elle is gone.
Elle doesn’t put up with his shit as she gets stuck straight into him. “What the hell happened?” she questions, unable to wait any longer for the answers she desperately needs.
Apparently, Brendan’s bad attitude isn’t just reserved for me as he turns it on for Elle. “Nothing,” he snaps. “They shouldn’t have called you.”
“Hey,” I snap back. “I know she’s your sister but she’s here because she loves you. Don’t speak to her like that.”
He watches me through narrowed eyes and it’s clear the kid has a lot on his mind right now. Maybe he hates me because I’m dating his sister or maybe it’s because I’m currently living the life he would have loved for himself, I don’t know but either way, he hates me but that does not permit him to talk to my woman like that.
He lets out a breath and reaches for Elle’s hand. “Sorry,” he murmurs before looking down at his lap. The anger in his eyes turns to sadness and I listen as he explains it all to Elle. “I got movement in both feet,” he says.
“Shit,” Elle says, cutting him off. “That’s amazing.”
“Just… listen,” he says, stopping her before she gets too excited. “I… I could see my feet moving but I couldn’t feel it so when the nurse left… I tried to stand.”
“What?” Elle shrieks as he throws herself to her feet and looks at her brother in outrage. “Do you have any idea how fucking stupid that is? You could have ruined everything,” she yells. “Is that what you want?”
