Page 93 of Chaos At Second Sight

Logan glanced at me with a ridiculous grin. “When she lets me.”

My face heated up faster than pudding in a microwave on full power.

“When are you going to have pups?”

Logan’s grin widened. “Again…when she lets me.” And oh boy, did I feel that stare.

I had to change the topic. “Do you know Logan plays wereball too?”

Ian’s face lit up. “You do?”

Logan confirmed with a proud smile. “Do you like it?”

“Yes! My brother’s the best player ever!” Ian squealed, causing the nasogastric tube patch on his cheek to wrinkle. Playing wereball was Ian’s dream, but it was probably going to remain just that—a dream.

Logan barked out a laugh. “You haven’t seen me play yet.” He ruffled Ian’s hair.

“Which position?”

“Quarterback.” Did Logan just…puff out his chest?

“I thought you’d be in defense. You’re a mountain!”

“Well, I do enjoy crushing players.”

My little brother giggled, despite the sporadic cough. “My wereball’s over there!” Ian pointed to his toy shelf.

Logan retrieved the soft plush ball, spinning it on his finger.

“Want to play catch?” Ian asked, brightening up. “Lachy never does because he thinks I’m too weak. He cries a lot too.”

My heart fell. “He doesn’t!”

“He thinks I don’t notice.”

Logan glanced at me, waiting for approval.

I swallowed hard. Ian’s body was so frail, too frail for anything. “Ian…I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Please, Yva,” Ian whispered, the next words a hammer to my heart. “I’ll die soon anyway.”

Tears pricked my eyes. The way he said it…accepting his fate long before any of us ever could…

“Don’t say that.” I took his hand, careful of the IV taped to it. “You won’t die.” Even to me, the words were hollow. The truth was, his body was tired, the disease relentless, feeding on him. As a doctor, I knew exactly what his scans showed, what the blood tests meant. As a sister, I refused to believe it.

“Sorry.” His pale lips dropped into a frown. “It’s okay, we don’t have to play.”

I couldn’t say no to him, to those big eyes.

“I don’t know if the ball’s too heavy. Maybe we can play a board game⁠—”

Thunk.

The plush ball smacked me square in the face.

I blinked, my eyes darting to Logan.

“See?” he said. “Light as a feather.”