Brother’s Best Friend

by Black, Natasha L.

  “Pancakes!” Millie exclaimed.

  I chuckled as she rushed into the kitchen and wrapped herself around my legs. I sipped my coffee as I gazed out the window, watching Hope poke around the backyard. I patted Millie’s back, then rubbed it softly as I slowly got my wits about me. For some reason, I’d slept until almost eight thirty this morning.

  I was still in the process of waking up. “Pancakes. Yes. You ready for breakfast?” I asked.

  “Uh-huh. I’m all dressed and everything.”

  I peeked down and smiled at her outfit: a rainbow dress with sparkly stars, two different shoes—again—and half her hair up in a pigtail-like shape.

  “You’re going to need a coat. It’s a bit chilly outside,” I said.

  “So, this is an okay outfit?” she asked.

  “It’s more than okay. If you like it, then it’s perfect.”

  She beamed with pride, and it warmed my heart. I watched her rush off, most likely to find the most bombastic jacket she owned. I shook my head and turned my eyes back out into the yard, watching Hope jump around to catch a butterfly. She nipped at it and yelped, rolling around in the grass after it touched down onto her ear. I wasn’t sure I’d warm to having the puppy around, but, somehow, Hope had wiggled her way into my heart as well.

  And Ace doesn’t suck too much anymore, either.

  I walked over and opened the back door, whistling for Hope to come inside. It was much too cold to let a little puppy like her stay outside while we were gone. So, I waited for her to come rushing in. I set my empty coffee mug in the sink and walked upstairs to get ready. I heard Millie talking to herself in her room, debating on three jackets she had laid out on the floor. I peeked in and smiled. The sight warmed my heart. She’d really started settling into my place nicely, and I found myself anxious for her next appointment with Dr. Yousef.

  Maybe she’ll be okay after all.

  “Uncle Cole?”

  Millie’s voice ripped me from my trance. “Yes, sweet girl?”

  “Do you like the yellow or the green?”

  I chuckled. “Green, definitely.”

  “Okay. You think Layla likes green?”

  “I’m sure she would. Why?”

  “Can we invite her so she can see my green jacket?”

  I wondered how much she knew about us. She’d grown attached to Layla, sure. But she’d been asking for her an awful lot recently. I certainly didn’t want to introduce Layla into her world as a romantic partner of mine until we were ready. Until she was ready. Especially after the things she’d witnessed with my sister.

  “If you want, sure. I’ll call her,” I said.

  Her face lit up. “Yay! I’ll bring her my yellow one in case she forgets hers.”

  I smiled. “I’m sure she’ll love that.”

  I went and got ready for our Sunday breakfast outing, then hustled Millie into the truck. After getting her and myself buckled in, I called Layla.

  But when her groggy voice filled my ear through the phone’s speaker, I furrowed my brow.

  “Layla?” I asked.

  She cleared her throat. “Cole. Hey. Morning.”

  “You’re still asleep.”

  She sighed. “What time is it?”

  “A little after nine.”

  “A little after what?”

  I grinned. “It’s 9:07 in the morning, Layla. You’ve officially—”

  “Overslept.”

  “Slept in,” I corrected.

  “Shit,” she hissed.

  “Sounds like you could use some coffee. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, yeah. I just—is it really after nine?”

  “Millie and I are headed to get pancakes. It’s a tradition we’re starting for every Sunday. Wanna join?”

  She paused. “Uh, I need—I, uh—pancakes?”

  I chuckled. “Yes.”

  “And coffee?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Do I have to dress up?”

  “You can come in your pajamas for all I care.”

  “I have a yellow coat!” Millie exclaimed.

  I smiled. “And Millie has a coat for you in case you get cold.”

  “Well, in that case, I’ll be there. Shoot me where you guys are headed and I’ll… well, stumble my way there,” she said.

  “We’re headed to Paddy’s Diner.”

  “Okay. Give me, like, ten minutes and I’ll be out the door.”

  “I’ve got a coat for you, Layla!” Millie hollered again.

  I laughed. “Don’t worry about a coat, apparently.”

  Layla giggled tiredly. “I’ve taken note.”

  We cruised down the road as Millie continued to have a conversation with herself in the back seat. But a question kept rolling around in my mind, one that I felt needed Millie’s input before things progressed any further.

  “Hey, Millie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You like Layla, right?”

  She giggled. “Yes.”

  “Do you really like her?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “So, is it okay if I really like her?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. That’s okay.”

  I paused. “So, if I were to tell you that Layla and I were getting really close. You’d be okay with that?”

  She smiled at me in the rearview mirror. “I love Layla. It’s okay. Just don’t be mean.”

  I considered that statement. “I promise, I won’t be mean.”

  “Do you love Layla?”

  “I really like her.”

  “But, do you love her?”

  “I don’t know, honey.”

  “I love her,” she said.

  I smiled. “I’m glad you do.”

  “I also love pancakes. Does Layla love pancakes?”

  “Put them with some coffee and she very much so loves pancakes.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Coffee is yucky. Milk, please.”

  We hit traffic I couldn’t have possibly predicted for a Sunday morning. And while I was pretty tensed up by the time we pulled into the parking lot, I relaxed the second my eyes fell on Layla. She waved us down in the back, having already secured a booth for us. I carried Millie on my shoulders as we made our way for her. But Millie quickly scrambled down and raced to Layla.

  “I brought you a coat! Are you cold?” she asked.

  Layla smiled. “You are so thoughtful. Thank you so much.”

  “You can have it. I don’t like yellow.”

  “Well, I’ll keep it at my place just in case you come over and need it. Okay?”

  “Okay,” she said.

  “Morning. You look amazing,” I said.

  She snickered. “Yeah, sweatpants and a cardigan. I’m sure I’m the belle of the ball.”

  “You’re the belle of my ball.”

  “I like Belle. She’s my favorite princess,” Millie said.

  “Well, what a coincidence. Because she’s mine, too,” Layla said.

  I slid into the booth next to Layla, pressing a soft kiss to the side of her head. Millie sat across from us, smiling from ear to ear. I figured that was good. She didn’t react poorly to the kiss. So, I didn’t feel weird about taking Layla’s hand. Or sitting close to her. Or wrapping my arm around her.

  In fact, I loved the dynamic. The three of us, getting breakfast together.

  We need to do this more often.

  “Welcome to Paddy’s, I’ll be your server. What can I get you to drink?”

  “Milk, please,” Millie said.

  “Coffee,” Layla said breathlessly.

  “Make that two,” I said.

  “Please,” Millie said.

  “What?” I asked.

  Layla giggled. “You didn’t say please.”

  “Oh, oh. Right. Yes. Two coffees, please,” I said.

  “Good job,” Millie said brightly.

  The waitress brought our drinks, and we quickly placed our order for pancakes as well as some eggs and sausage. We spent the next hour in tha
t back-corner booth having the time of our lives. Layla drew on the little sheet they brought for Millie, tracing letters and shapes. I told jokes the two girls fell apart laughing at, and Millie opened up a little more to the two of us. It felt like a family; like we were a cohesive unit. And I never wanted the feeling to end.

  “Here’s the check. No rush, you giggle boxes. But I want to go ahead and get it to you.”

  “Here you go,” I said.

  Layla placed her hand against my wrist, stopping me from handing my card to the woman. I looked over at her and saw her quirking an eyebrow, pinning me with a questionable glance.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You’ve been paying for a lot recently,” she said.

  I shrugged. “I invited, I pay. That’s how that works.”

  “Let me pick this one up.”

  “How about you make the next invite and pay then?”

  “Why do I have a feeling you’re going to beat me to that punch, too?”

  I grinned. “You snooze, you lose.”

  I slid my wrist away from her touch and handed the card to our waitress. I settled back into my seat and peered over at Layla, watching as her eyes fell onto Millie with softly downturned lips and a blank expression.

  Did that upset her?

  The waitress came back with my card, and Layla gave me a look that I couldn’t quite place. It was just… odd. Out of character, considering we’d been laughing for the past hour or so. I wanted to ask her about it, but I also didn’t want to ruin the atmosphere for Millie. She’d had such a good time, and I didn’t want to put a damper on it.

  But was Layla uncomfortable with my financial status?

  On the one hand, it seemed like such a petty thing for Layla to worry about. And on the other hand, maybe it wasn’t. I logged it away as something to talk about later, when the time was more appropriate for that kind of conversation.

  “Ready to head out?” Layla asked.

  I nodded. “Ready when you are.”

  “Aww, do we have to go?” Millie asked.

  “I’ve got some work to do. So, yes. Unfortunately,” Layla said.

  “Okay,” Millie murmured.

  Layla walked us back to my truck, where I managed to snag a hug and a kiss. Though, the kiss wasn’t as nice as I would have liked it to be. Maybe she had toned the heat down because we were with Millie, or she toned it down because of her comment earlier.

  Fuck, we really need to talk.

  “Talk soon?” I asked.

  “Of course,” Layla said.

  “Can Ace come over soon?” Millie asked.

  Layla smiled. “I’ll get him back over as soon as I can. I promise, pretty girl.”

  I rubbed Millie’s back as we watched Layla walk back to her car. Then, I helped Millie climb up into her car seat. I watched Layla drive off, and it felt like a weight settled into my gut. The farther away she drove, the more I wanted to pull her back, to call her and tell her to come home with us so we could talk while Millie played outside with Hope.

  But today was Uncle/Niece day. Pancakes, followed by cartoons we watched together, followed by a nap time together. Well, if she’d let me. I wanted that to be our Sunday routine; an easygoing day for the both of us where we spent time as a family unit together.

  Maybe tonight, though, after Millie fell asleep.

  Maybe then, Layla and I could talk.

  24

  Layla

  I drove away from the diner as I peeked back in my rearview mirror. I saw Cole watching me even as he loaded Millie into his truck. I sighed as I gripped the steering wheel. My mind spun with so many things. Why did this bug me? Why did this whole him paying for things suddenly get under my skin?

  You’re being stupid.

  I felt like I was being stupid. But it didn’t make me mind swirl any less. Why wouldn’t he let me pay for something? Anything? Did he think I wasn’t capable of it? That I didn’t have it in my budget somehow? Was this his way of trying to woo me? Did he think he needed to flaunt his money in order to get me to like him?

  “We have to talk soon,” I murmured.

  I came up to a stoplight and waited patiently for it to turn green. As I sat there, my mind continued to swirl. I tried to figure out why it bothered me. Why it irked me as much as it did.

  A car honked behind me.

  “Shut up! I’m going already,” I exclaimed.

  I kicked it up a notch, speeding into the intersection as more cars around me honked. It made me angry. Such impatient people out on a Sunday morning. No wonder I stayed in on Sundays. I started into the middle of the intersection and noticed no one was going. Noticed no one had pulled into the road behind me.

  Then, I saw it.

  Wait a second, I know that—

  The crunch of the metal was the last thing I heard.

  There was no tumbling. No scraping. No sounds. Just darkness. One second, I saw a dark blue car speeding through the intersection, and the next second, a crunch. The nothingness weighed heavy on me, so much so that I fooled myself into thinking I was sleeping.

  Until I heard a beeping sound off in the distance.

  “Layla? Layla, can you hear me?”

  “Layla? She’s awake.”

  “Layla! Let me see her.”

  I grunted in pain. It was hard to get my eyes open. I licked my lips, trying to get the bitter taste off them. It made me cough. The coughing didn’t stop, either, and my throat felt like sandpaper.

  “Let me help you. Stop fighting me. Just relax, Layla.”

  My brother’s voice sounded in my ears, and I felt something dancing across my lips. Pain unlike anything I’d ever felt shot through my body. My hands trembled. I wrapped my lips around something that tasted like plastic and was given the command to drink. I drew in the lukewarm liquid. The water tasted like candy on the tip of my tongue. I drenched my mouth with it and chugged as much of it as I could.

  And after hearing three beeps, the pain in my body ceased to exist.

  “All right. Everyone give me some room. Miss Harper, can you hear me?”

  I heard the foreign voice, and I pulled away from it. The sound was harsh. It grated against my ears, and I didn’t want to have anything to do with it. But a light shone in my eyes, and it made me wince, causing a headache to spread across my scalp.

  “What?” I croaked.

  “Can you hear me?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can you open your eyes for me?”

  “They are open,” I said.

  “Look around the room. I need you to be able to do that for me.”

  After the light diminished, I felt multiple sets of fingers fall away from my body. When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring at a popcorn ceiling and the smell of disinfectant filled my nose. The beeping sounds grew louder in my ear. I raised my hand, seeing the IV running through the top of my hand.

  “I’m in the hospital?” I asked.

  “Layla. I’m right here,” Cole said.

  I felt him take my hand as tears crested my eyes.

  “I’m in the hospital?” I whispered again.

  “Do you remember anything?”

  I turned my head toward the foreign voice and saw a nurse standing there. An older nurse, one with a scowl on her face and worry in her eyes. Her salt-and-peppered red hair was gorgeous. I found myself envious of her locks.

  “Uh, I don’t—I don’t know—”

  “Take your time,” she said.

  I racked my brain for the last thing I remembered. There were flashes of Millie. An image of my hand on Cole’s wrist. Something about a card. Or money?

  The crunch.

  “Metal. I remember the sound of metal,” I murmured.

  The nurse stood at the edge of my bed. “You’ve been in a car accident, Miss Harper. You’re pretty banged up, but you don’t have a concussion, so you aren’t in ICU.”

  “What—why does my body hurt so much?”

  I heard my mother whimper as Dad start
ed shushing her softly.

  “The accident was pretty severe,” the nurse said.

  “Why does my body hurt?” I asked curtly, frustration beginning to grow.

  “Take a breath, Layla. We’re all here,” Cole said.

  I drew in a deep breath as the nurse nodded.

  “Your left leg and left arm are broken. You’ve got casts up to your elbow as well as over your knee. You have severe road rash along your left side, which is why it’s hard to open your left eye. We have it patched up for now. Don’t try to force it,” the nurse said.

  I paused. “What else?”

  “Your car tumbled. And when it landed, it shattered the glass on your side. You had surgery this morning to remove the shrapnel from your rib cage. You’ve had two plates and multiple screws put in because your ribs were essentially shattered.”

  Tears flooded my eyes. “Anything else?”

  “No. We are going to do all that we can to manage your pain.”

  “Sweetheart, please. Do you remember anything at all about the accident?” Mom asked.

  “Let her rest, honey. She’s under enough duress,” Dad said.

  “He’s right. We need to leave her be,” Lance said.

  Then, a flash of blue hit my vision. Dark blue. The car.

  I know that car. I think.

  “A dark blue Lexus,” I said.

  Cole paused. “What, Layla?”

  “The car that hit me was a dark blue Lexus. I don’t know why that sticks out. Why do I feel like I know that car?” I asked.

  “Have you seen it around town before?” Dad asked.

  “We don’t know anyone who drives anything like that,” Mom said.

  “I do,” Lance said angrily.

  And I felt Cole’s hand fall away from mine.

  “Are you sure, Layla? Blue Lexus?” he asked.

  I reached for him. “Please come back. Don’t leave. I’m sorry.”

  He took my hand again. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I just have to place a quick call. I promise, just give me five minutes. I’ll be right back.”

  I heard him walk away, and I watched the nurse follow. Tears dripped down my face as my brother sat on the other side of my bed. Mom and Dad rattled off all sorts of comforting words, their voices almost muddled into one.

  “We’ve already picked up Ace.”

  “You can come stay with us until you recuperate.”