Chapter Seven: Until Eternity

"Do not move, Naddy. Let me see it."

Fillip crouched in front of me on the garden path, and I held my leg out stiffly, my lip trembling.

The scrape ran from my knee halfway down my shin, red and angry, with tiny pieces of gravel stuck in it.

"It hurts," I whimpered.

"I know. I know it does. Stay still. I am almost done.” He pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at the edge of the scrape so carefully that it hardly touched me.

I sniffled hard, and a tear rolled off my chin and landed on my knee. "I am sorry."

His hands paused as he looked up. "For what?"

"You told me not to climb it." My voice broke, and I wiped my nose with the back of my hand. "You said the branch was too thin, and I did not listen. I wanted to see the birds' nest, and now I am hurt, and you are cleaning my leg instead of playing. It is my fault."

"Naddy, look at me."

I did not want to. I kept staring at the gravel until his fingers tipped my chin up, and then I had no choice. His eyes were shining, and his brows were pulled together in a way I had never seen before.

"It is not your fault," he said. "Do you hear me? None of this is your fault."

"But I..."

"No. I am the one who did not protect you. I was standing right there, and I was not close enough. I should have caught you. That is what a brother is supposed to do."

"You were right behind me," I said, hiccuping.

"Not close enough." He shook his head slowly. "But I will be next time. From now on, nothing will ever hurt you while I am around. Not a tree, not a fall, not anything. I promise."

Something inside me eased, and the tears slowed. I looked at his serious face, at the dirt on his sleeve, and the sting in my leg did not seem so terrible anymore.

"Do you mean it?" I asked.

"I mean it." He smiled. "I will always be your brother. No matter what happens, no matter how big we get, I will be your brother forever."

That made me smile. I held out my hand with my little pink finger sticking straight up.

"Until eternity?” I said, smiling.

He let out a short laugh, and hooked his little finger around mine and locked them together tightly, nodding at me.

"Until eternity," he affirmed.

A giggle bubbled out of me and I leaned forward, pecked him on the cheek, and then I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed as hard as I could. He smelled like sunshine and it made me feel at peace.

"I love my brother," I said into his shoulder.

His arms wrapped around me. "I love too, Naddy.”

My chest blossomed, and I thought I could stay in that hug for the rest of my life. But a sharp sting shot across my wrist snapped me out of it.

I winced and tried to pull away from the hug to check what had happened. My arm felt strange and heavy, and Fillip's face seemed to be getting farther away. I tried to say his name, but my mouth would not work.

Then my eyes opened.

The smell hit me first. Antiseptic and medicine, all sharp at once. The ceiling above me was white, with a bright light glaring down from it.

I turned my head to the side and found a nurse standing there. The moment she saw my eyes open, a warm smile curled across her lips.

"Hi. How do you feel?" she asked kindly.

I could not find an answer. I tried to sit up, and she slid an arm behind my back to help me. My throat was dry and scratchy, and she must have seen it on my face, because she poured a glass of water and held it out to me. I drank it all in a few gulps. Then I forced a small smile and handed the cup back.

I was about to ask whether it was my brother who had brought me here when the memories came flooding into my head.

My stomach clenched.

The hallway, the slap, Katya's screaming, my mother's cold voice, and Fillip, holding Katya and refusing to look at me. All of it came rushing back at once, and every bit of the heartbreak came with it.

"How do you feel?" the nurse asked again.

I swallowed, and my eyes fell to the drip taped to the back of my hand. The dream had felt like it happened yesterday, not fifteen years ago. Tears gathered in my eyes, and I sniffled and looked up at her.

"I am fine."

She studied me a moment longer than necessary. "Should I get the doctor?"

I shook my head. "No. Do you know how I got here?"

"You were reported to have fainted two days ago. Your husband was the one who brought you here. I asked your bodyguard, who was watching you sleep, to step out so I could check on you."

I did not hear anything after the word husband. I was confused.

"I remember passing out, but I am not married," I said slowly. "Can I..."

Right on cue, the door opened and he strode in.

I looked up and met his eyes, and his presence filled the room at once. His eyes searched mine and traveled over my body, then moved to the nurse.

"I will ask the doctor to come and check on you," the nurse said with a smile. Then she turned to look at him.

I watched her smile at him, brighter than the one she had given me, before she walked past him and out of the room. Now it was just the two of us.

The moment the door shut, I tried to lie back against the bed.

"We are getting married," he said.