Page 113 of Falcon

“Hello?”

“Nora, hi, it’s me, Faith.” I chew on my thumbnail.

“I know, silly. Your name popped up on my screen when you called.” She giggles.

“Well, duh. Sorry. I guess I didn’t even think about that.”

“You okay? My brother being nice to you?” she asks.

“He is. He’s being absolutely amazing to me, but he’s actually the reason I’m calling.”

“Did something happen? Is he okay?”

“Yes, I mean, I think so.” I tell her. “He had a pretty severe migraine this morning. He took a shower and it came on suddenly. It was so bad he was doubled over in pain and couldn’t even stand to have the lights on.”

“He’s such a stubborn ass.” She sighs into the phone. “Where is he now?”

“He went to training. He has the Jesse Dominique fight tomorrow night. I tried to talk him into staying in the room longer, but he insisted he was fine.”

“Of course he did. Look, Faith, he is never going to admit that it’s bad, no matter how painful it really is.”

“What’s going on with him? Has he always been getting these?”

“No, but it has been happening for awhile. Some bodies can take trauma better than others. Because he started fighting so young, his body just isn’t taking the repeated blows any longer. He’s had multiple concussions, and without seeing his chart in my hand, I’d have to say the migraines are directly linked to the concussions. He isn’t giving his body time to heal and rest. Honestly we are all afraid that…” She pauses.

“Afraid of what?” I ask.

“Afraid that one more concussion and he could really damage his brain, or worse.”

“Jesus.” I look down at my feet with my head in my hands, really processing what she’s telling me. “And he won’t listen to anyone? Not even his doctors?”

“I don’t want to speak for him, but I think this has something to do with the fact he fights Braxton White next week. That guy is a real asshole, and my brother wants nothing more than to put him in his place.”

“He told me about him. He sounds like a monster.”

“That’s an understatement. Braxton is the kind of man who thinks he owns the ground you are walking on and that everyone should bend to his will.”

A chill runs up my spine. “Yeah, I’ve encountered men like that before.”

“Marco has this unfinished business with Braxton. He keeps telling me he wants to finish these last fights then we can talk about everything else. I think he is ready to quit, but he is scared and stubborn.”

“He worried me this morning, Nora. I don’t like this at all.”

“Welcome to the wonderful world of caring about Marco. You’ll worry a lot. Make sure you have wine handy.” She giggles, and I can tell she’s trying to make light of everything because that’s who Nora is. This is how she copes. Laughter.

I laugh quietly, but my eyes begin to fill with tears. This scares me. It really, really does. I don’t want to lose him. I just got him.

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