Chapter 3

The next morning, Luke took a sick day on the couch with a pillow and blanket while his siblings were at school. *Ah-Achoo!* he sneezed in a tissue, blew in it and threw it out in a trash bin next to him. Rita with a digital thermometer in hand, came into the Living room and sat down beside him. "Open," she instructed. Luke opened his mouth as his mother stuck the device in and closed it. Rita takes it out and reads, "100.5, definitely a fever, but not an emergency which is good."

"Cool, but shouldn't you get to work, Mom? *Achoo!*" Luke asked with another sneeze.

"I called Dr. Feinstein and he said I can take the day off to take care of you while another dentist fills in for me."

Luke lets out an exasperated sigh, not wanting to let his mother miss work, "Mom…"

"Don't worry about me, sweetie," Rita reassured, "Someone has to stay behind and take care of you. And besides, this is only until you get better."

Luke showed a small smile of gratitude, but then it turned into a concerning frown. Rita knew what was the trouble, "You worried about Linka?"

"She's my little sis," Luke confirmed, "I should know what's bugging her, especially if she's upset." After the vent, he sniffled a bit.

Rita took her hand and rubbed her son's head gently to comfort him. "I know you're worried, we all are. But the good news is that since Linka knows we're on her case, she'll consider opening up sooner or later."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Now get plenty of rest."

A while later, Luke watched T.V and ate some of the soup from the night before. His phone rang, so he paused the program and pulled out his phone to turn it on to video chat. "Guess who," Luke's friend, Sam greeted, along with Sally and Mason.

"Yo dudes. *Achoo!*" Luke greeted back with a sneeze.

"Gesundheit," said Sam, "Anyway, we're all on lunch break, so we thought it was a good time to check in on you."

Luke smiled at the thought, "That's a mighty generous gesture of you, dudes."

"So, been doing anything since you're under the weather?"

"Nah. Just laying around, watching some T.V and eating my dad's leftover soup from last night. Any weekend plans?"

"Not much on my end," Sally answered.

"Me neither," Mason added.

Sam went last, "As for me, I'm volunteering at the Animal Shelter with Simone as my assistant." Luke's face suddenly went sad, hearing Sam talk about his little sister. "Sorry, did I say something weird?" Sam asked with slight worry.

Luke sighed, "Sorry, dude. Since yesterday, Linka's been acting off and I don't know why."

"Have you and your fam talked to her?"

"We tried, but she won't budge."

"I say give it some time. Linka will talk eventually," Sam tried to reassure his ill friend.

"That's what my mom said, but…hold on a sec-*Achoo!*," Luke sneezed, "Sorry, cold's wearing me down. But back to the point, I hate to think something bad happened to my little sister," Luke finished his explanation with worry.

Sam saw the worry in Luke's eyes and gave him a sympathetic smile, "As a big bro myself, I get it. Simone's in my mind 24/7. Things will work out. I know it."

Luke smiled, "Thanks Sam."

"I hate to cut this sweet moment short, but the bell's about to ring. Mind if we sign off?"

"Not in the slightest, I think we caught up enough, plus my bod's been telling me to take it easy," Luke waved goodbye to the group, "Later dudes."

"Later," said Sam's group and both parties signed off. Luke grabbed the remote and continued to watch his program.

A few hours later, Luke was seen taking a nap. He groggily groaned and woke up, slowly regaining his vision. Then the door opened revealing his brothers.

Loki noticed Luke and had a slight guilt look on his face, "Oh, sorry Luke. We didn't disturb you, did we?"

"Hey dudes," Luke greeted, "And, it's cool, I was already done with my z's."

"Feeling better?"

"About the same," Luke then noticed- "Where's Linka?"

"She and Claire went to the Mall in Downtown," Leif answered, "Claire's moms will drop Linka off here, later."

"Did she look any better than yesterday?" Luke asked.

Loki answered, "I asked her, and she said she was fine. But in any case, the Mall is literally Linka's happy place, so it might be safe to assume she's doing better."

"Okay, just making sure," Luke took his sister's recent behavior in consideration.

"You can ask her when she gets back," Lane pointed out.

"I know. I haven't seen her since last night, that's why I asked."

"Linka's tough, she can take care of herself," Lynn commented.

"She'll be fine, Luke," Loki reassured his ill brother, and turned to his group, "Come on guys, let's leave so he can rest." And so, the rest of the brothers go upstairs.

"Feel better, Luke," Loni wished him good health.

"Much appreciated my wayward dudes," Luke thanked them.

An hour later, Linka came home with shopping bags and closed the door, holding her left hand by the knuckles. She faces the door and sighs.

"Hey sis." Linka hears a voice, so she turns around to see Luke resting on the couch.

"Oh, hi Luke," she greeted, "Sorry, didn't see you there."

"No worries. Anyway…" Luke patted a seat as if he was signaling her. "Can you come here for a bit? I want to talk to you."

Linka was taken aback by the request, but complied and walked to her brother and sat down. "So are you feeling better?"

"About the same," Luke replied, "But how are you since yesterday?"

"I'm fine," she responded, trying to sound sincere.

But, Luke was a little skeptical, "You sure? When you came home, you looked bugged."

"I'm fine, Luke, really. Just another crazy day at School."

Luke then noticed- "What's up with your hand?"

Linka quickly answered, "It's just asleep."

"Oh. I already asked, but you sure you're doing better than yesterday?"

"Yes, I am," Linka answered, trying to remain calm.

"I know I'm pressing you with all the questions, but everyone's been worried about you, dudette," Luke told her.

"I know," Linka then showed a small smile, "But I know you're just looking out for me, which I appreciate."

Luke smiled himself, "We always will, Link," he took a breath, "I think took up enough of your time here, sis; you're free to go."

"Okay. Get some rest." Linka starts to leave.

"Actually, hold on," Luke stopped her.

Linka turned around and looked back at him, "Yes, Luke?"

"If you want to talk…you know where I am, right?"

Linka nodded, "Yeah I do."

"Just making sure."

"Later, Luke."

"Later, sis."

The siblings waved goodbye as Linka went upstairs. She goes into her room and closes the door, still holding her left hand. Linka winced in pain, so she tried some deep breathing. She opened her right hand, revealing bruised knuckles on the left. Phew! That was close, she thought to herself, Good thing Luke didn't ask if I was in pain. Linka pulled some make-up samples from her shopping bag. Also a good thing I went to the Mall. She opened a sample packet and gently applied the powder to the bruises to camouflage the damage.