Fighting to go on

Chapter 31

           When we got back to the hospital, there were a lot of people in Charlie’s room. All of our friends had come to see him now that he was awake. Since Nancy was a doctor there, the visitor limit didn’t apply to us. Ryan and I crowded into the room as well and a chorus of greetings were called out.

            Sarah came over to stand next to me and her gaze zeroed in on my left hand. She let out a squeal that was loud enough to cause everyone else to fall silent. “He proposed?” she asked excitedly as she grabbed my hand to examine the ring.

            I blushed when everyone in the room turned to stare at me. Anna hurried over to look at the ring as well and all the guys called out congratulations. I looked at Charlie and he had an unreadable expression on his face.

            Ryan must have noticed, because he got everyone’s attention. “Hey, let’s give Charlie and Sammy some privacy.” Once everyone had shuffled out, Ryan turned to me. “We’ll be downstairs waiting for you, okay?”

            I kissed him softly. “Thanks Ryan. I’ll be down shortly.”

            After he left, I moved to the bed and sat on the chair beside it. Charlie turned to face me, his face still blank. “So he proposed?”

            “Yeah, this afternoon. Are you okay with that?”

            He sighed. “Yeah, it’s just weird to think that you’ll be getting married.”

            “Well, it won’t be for a few years. We want to get through college and everything first.”

            “Are you guys going to be moving out right away?”

            “What do you mean ‘you guys’? You’re coming with us.”

            “Sam, you aren’t going to want me hanging around now that you’re engaged.”

            I stood up so that I could glare down at him. “Charlie, you’re my brother. In less then two weeks we’ll be going to court and I’ll become your guardian. You WILL be moving with us. Ryan and I have already agreed to find a place that has an attached apartment or something for you.”

            “I don’t deserve to have you as my guardian,” he said quietly.

            I stared at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

            “I couldn’t protect you Sam! I was useless against those guys. If it hadn’t been for Ryan, they might have killed us both.”

            I rubbed my forehead. “Let me get this straight. Seven guys attacked us and you think you should’ve been able to stop them? Charlie, they weren’t exactly little guys, and they were hardened criminals. How did you expect to stop them?”

            “I don’t know! But I should have bee able to protect you.”

            I sat back down in the chair with a sigh. “Oh Charlie, it’s not your job to protect me. You’re my little brother, I should be protecting you.”

            He snorted. “No offense Sammy, but you wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

            I narrowed my eyes. “I’ll have you know that I could kick your ass if I wanted too.” When he just looked at me, I smiled sheepishly. “Okay, maybe not literally. But the point is, you don’t need to keep protecting me. We’re away from Jason now and he’ll be in jail soon enough with all the evidence against him. Almost everyone in this town is afraid of Ryan, so they won’t mess with me. We’re safe now.”