Pretending to be asleep while his neck was burning, his ankle was throbbing, and there was a weird sort of hopeful something fluttering around in an area that Scott might have been corny enough to describe as his heart, was harder than he might have thought. He made a good show of it, though, trying not to embarrass his host, jerking back to “awareness” with a mostly believable gasp.
“Did you say something?” Scott asked. He shifted, winced as pain lanced up his ankle, and tried to settle into a comfortable position on the sofa.
“No,” Brandon said. “I was talking with my sister. She’s on her way and she’ll check you over, all right?”
“That’s very kind of her,” Scott suggested.
“Kind isn’t something I’d describe my sister as being,” Brandon muttered, his throat coloring. “Is there someon
