Page 70 of For the Boys
Amelia looked to Brent for confirmation. He nodded.
“Anyway,” he said. “Back to Berkley. She’s worried about me?”
Lexie rolled her eyes, but Amelia answered. “Of course she is. She had to watch you take that hit on TV, and you were bleeding so bad and not waking up. Hell, even Lexie was worried about you.”
Brent looked at Lexie, who crossed her arms over her chest and looked up at the ceiling. “Aww, Lexie,” Brent said. “You care! That’s so sweet.”
“I care about you only because you matter to Berk.”
Brent smiled at her and winked. “Sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night.”
Lexie rolled her eyes again but gave him a small smile. “It’s good to see you awake and in one piece, Brent.”
The sound of a vibrating phone cut through the silence that followed that statement, and Amelia pulled her phone out of her pocket.
“Oh!” she said. “Berk is calling.” She answered and put it on speakerphone. “Hey, Berk!”
“Ames, what the fuck. I’ve texted you and Lexie like seventeen times. How’s Brent? Is he awake? What’s going on?”
“Ask him yourself!” Amelia said brightly, handing the phone over to Brent.
“Hey, you,” he said.
“Brent, oh my God, it’s so good to hear your voice,” she said in a rush. “I was so worried about you. What’s going on? How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling like a Mack truck ran my head over, and I’m going to have a nice little scar on my chin, but otherwise I feel okay. Your friends have been taking good care of me.”
Berkley snorted. “I’m sure they have. Lexie has probably been giving you endless amounts of shit. Amelia is just along for the ride.”
“Hey!” Amelia said. “I’ve been giving him shit too.”
“Ames, we love you, but we all know you’re way too nice for that,” Berkley said.
Amelia pouted.
“So anyway, how’s home?” Brent said.
“Home is great, of course,” she said. “But I wish I was there to take care of you. Don’t hesitate to ask Lexie and Ames for anything, okay?”
Lexie glared at the phone. “As if I would help him do anything, Berk. He’s a grown ass man. Plus he’s like stupid rich. He can hire someone to give him a sponge bath.”
“I would give you a sponge bath,” she whispered to him, even though Lexie and Amelia could hear her loud and clear.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Lexie said, snatching Amelia’s phone away from Brent. “Time to say bye! Loverboy can call you once they discharge him, Berk. We’ll see you soon!” She made a kissy sound into the phone and hung up.
“Rude,” Brent said. “I wanted to talk to her!”
“So use your own phone,” Lexie said. “We’re leaving now that we’ve given Berk proof of life.”
Amelia heaved a sigh. “You are terrible, Lex.” She turned to Brent. “It’s good to see you awake and in good spirits.”
“Thanks for checking on me,” he said.
Lexie gave him a mock salute and turned to strut out the door. Amelia squeezed his arm and followed suit.
Hours later, after his entire team had been in and out of his room, Brent pulled out his phone and called Berkley on FaceTime.
“God, it’s good to see your face,” she said, practically sagging with relief when she answered.
