“Was Charlie nice? Did she say anything to upset you? You can tell me. I don’t care if it’s my sister, I want to know if someone upsets you.”
“She was nice. Everything’s good. Stop worrying so much.”
Sully pushes his black rimmed glasses up his nose and addresses my hulk of a bodyguard, who’s jumped back into his role as if five years hadn’t passed. “I can’t examine her if you’re in the way.”
Ben shifts a few inches, and Sully mutters another warning before he leaves enough room.
Sully opens his bag. “Before I begin, is there any medical history I need to be aware of? Medications? Allergies?”
“Um, there’s only one thing that—”
“What thing?” Ben barks.
Sully points at the hall. “We need a moment.”
“I’m not leaving her.”
“Go to your room, Ben.” His voice is stern, and I look at my lap so Ben doesn’t see me biting back a smile.
“Fine.” He storms away, then slams his door like he’s a teenager having a tantrum.
“That boy…”
I nod. “He’s protective…and stubborn.”
“That he is.” Sully rests his hand on top of mine. “I understand this is a complicated situation, and while I may be doing this off the record, your privacy will be respected. Ben only needs to know what you’re comfortable sharing.”
“It’s really, truly nothing. I was just going to say the only medical issue I ever had was that I had my tonsils removed when I was younger.”
“Ah, I see. Either way, I can get this done a lot faster without him breathing down my neck.” He flashes a bright light in my eyes. “I’ve known Bennett since he was in diapers, and I’ve gotta say, I’ve never seen him like this before.”
“What, like a Neanderthal?” I joke.
“A Neanderthal in love.” He smiles. “Now follow my finger.”
Sully calls Ben back, and he gives us both the news that I was expecting—I don’t have a concussion. “Make sure you get something to eat and hydrate. If you need something for any pain, go ahead and take something. Ben, do you have ibuprofen?”
“Yeah.”
“All right, take care, Annie. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you.”
Ben sees him out, then follows the doctor’s orders and makes me some chicken and a sweet potato. He joins me at the table. “Definitely not as good as what we were supposed to be eating, but it’ll do.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to go to a fancy restaurant. I’m just glad that things aren’t worse and we’re together.”
“Yeah, me too. Do you need anything for pain?”
“No, but…” I shake my head. “Never mind.” This is a terrible time to bring it up.
He puts his hand over mine. “Baby, what?”
“I just…I wasn’t snooping, I swear, but the other day I saw all those pills in your cabinet.”
“What pills?”
“I didn’t snoop and read all the labels, but there were a lot of bottles of prescriptions. I guess I just wanted you to know that you could talk to me about stuff that you’re going though, too.”
