Page 112 of Falcon

“Are you sure? It sounded like more than a slip.”

“I’m okay, baby,” I tell her quietly. Talking louder does nothing but make my head throb. “Goddamn.”

“I’m coming in,” she announces, before she pushes the door open. “Jesus, baby, are you okay?” She places a hand on my back. “What’s happening?”

“I’m good. I’m okay. Just a headache.” I try my best to downplay it, but she can see right through me.

“Marco...”

“I’m fine,” I say, a little too firmly.

She steps away from me. “You’re not fine, and I don’t appreciate you lying to me. There’s no point. Just let me help you.”

I turn my head and pop one eye open to look at her. She’s standing against the wall on the opposite side of the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

“You’re right. Shit. I’m sorry.”

She drops her arms and steps back over to me. “How bad is it this time?”

“It was okay until I step out of the shower and then it was like an anvil fell on my head.”

“It just came out of nowhere?” She pulls the towel from the rack and begins to dry off my body then wraps it around my waist. “Come sit down.”

She takes my hand and leads me out of the bathroom, and I sit on the edge of my bed. She leaves me long enough to pull the blackout shades over the windows to eliminate the light before she comes back with a bottle of water, and a bottle of pain reliever in her hand.

“It came absolutely out of nowhere. It does that sometimes. There usually isn’t a rhyme or reason to it, and that’s what makes it so bad. It’s unpredictable.”

“Drink some of this.” She hands me the water and shakes out two tablets from the pill bottle. “And take these.”

I swallow them with a large gulp of water. “Thank you.”

“Marco, how often do you get these?” She kneels at my feet and rests her hands on my legs.

I place my water on the bed beside me. “It varies, but they happen consistently a few days after a fight.”

“Doesn’t that scare you? I know it scares me.”

“It does sometimes. How could it not? But, the over the counter pain relievers work enough, and I’m able to manage it on my own.”

“But your doctor says this could get worse with each fight, right? If you get hit in the head or fall too hard?”

“They just think I should stop overall, but I’m not doing that. Not yet.”

“I know that no matter what I, or anyone says, you won’t budge on that, and I understand why...more than you know.” She kisses my leg. “Lie back and try to rest until your medication kicks in. I’ll text Joe and tell him you’re running late.”

I just nod. “Thank you.”

I move back until I can lie on the bed and I pull a pillow over my head, squeezing my eyes closed, praying to whichever higher being that exists this pain starts to ease sooner rather than later.

Faith

I sat with him on the bed, rubbing his head, until he assured me the medicine had kicked in and he was okay to go to training.

I tried to talk him into staying with me at the hotel, but he insisted he was fine, but I could see the subtle squint of his eyes and the way he avoided the light.

He was still in pain when he kissed me goodbye, and now, a few hours since he left, I have no doubt he’s still in pain.

I flip my phone around and around on the bed, contemplating the phone call I’m about to make. It’s not my business to say anything. It’s not my place to call her for this conversation, but as someone who cares deeply about her brother, I pick up the phone and call.

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