Months went by and Morty had kept his heart condition a secret from his parents and sister. For a while, Morty was fine with it. He'd go down to the clinic either with Rick or on his own every 2 weeks for a monitoring to see if everything is fine, and his pills would be refilled using Rick's money he lent as Morty continued lying about Rick being his legal guardian. All without his family knowing what has been going on.

But even with regular monitoring and medication, his heart condition progressively became worse over time. Not enough to hinder Morty's adventures or become significant in his life, but enough to give him a scare. Eventually, it gave him anxiety that took over his waking life, leading him to need to cover up his condition and heart problem. He had the feeling he needed to talk to someone about it outside of Rick's agreement.

He was not ready to reveal what happened to him to his parents, so he went with the last candidate standing, Summer.

The thought of it unnerved him, leading him to go through an endless cycle between about to tell and wuss out. Eventually he forgot all about his plan as he learned to manage his stress a little more and continued on with his daily life.

But even then he was not at peace. He noticed Summer changing her actions around him. She appeared friendlier when he was around, but at the corner of his eye, when he was not looking, she seemed suspicious. She eyed him with eyes of interest and approached him more often than she did before. She practically avoided him before, but now it was as if she followed him around the house. Morty would go in the kitchen and more often than not, Summer was there, doing nothing but staring at her phone.

Morty was beginning to suspect that perhaps Rick told her about his condition behind his back. He thought about confronting the old man in the garage, but he feared Summer would hear them in her own sleuthing.

It was one day, when their parents weren't home, that Morty walked into the kitchen, aiming to get some cookies and sure enough Summer was there leaning over the counter on her phone. When he entered, she looked up. "Oh hey Morty!" she greeted with a smile.

"H-hey Summer," Morty replied. "What are you doing in the kitchen leaning over the counter like that? Isn't the couch a bit more comfortable?"

"I had to charge my phone so I just stayed here."

Morty turned to the snack cabinet where he chocolate cookies are stored. Just as he was about to reach out, he heard Summer put down her phone and sigh.

"Hey Morty, can I talk to you for a sec?" she asked.

Immediately, Morty's insides froze up at the shock of Summer's question. Normally, important conversations start with that five-word question. "Can I talk to you?" What a joke!

"Oh s-s-sure Summer. Whatever you want, shoot!" he stuttered nervously.

"Well, I was just wondering. Is there something troubling you lately?" she wondered.

So Rick never told her. Morty sighed in relief to himself that Rick stuck to his promise.

"N-no, wh-wh-why do you ask?" Morty couldn't help but stutter.

"Well, you've been seeming a little...off recently. You seem spooked, and sometimes I see you grabbing your chest as if you're having a heart attack or something. Is it your anxiety?"

Morty's heart began to beat rapidly now, and he reached up to grasp it. Summer stared at him in shock. "See? Like that!"

Morty looked away in shame and could not bring himself to look up at his sister.

"No, ev-everything is fine." he grumbled.

"No, everything's not fine. I can see it in your face, you're so worried!" Summer argued. She walked closer to her brother and put a hand on his shoulder. "Talk to me, please. What's wrong?"

"Summer, if I tell you what's been going on, do you promise you won't tell mom or dad?" Morty was surprised on how calm he sounded when he asked this. Summer nodded.

He reached his hand over his chest and sighed. "I...have a heart condition."

Summer's gaze turned from curious to shock in an instant. "What?" She inquired.

"Lately I've been feeling like my heart skips ya know and-and my chest hurts. I told Rick a few months ago, and he took me to the clinic for a screening."

"Morty, what? Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I-I-I didn't want to cause panic! To you or our parents…" Guilt gripped Morty's conscious, but he continued on.

"It feels like it's been getting better. I've been getting medication behind our parents' back. Rick has been helping me!"

"Rick? Our grandpa?"

"Look I know it's hard to believe okay? I'm surprised too, but he hasn't said anything. And y-you're not going to either, right?"

For a moment, Summer paused as she stared at her brother. It wasn't until Morty demanded another "Right?" that she finally answered.

"Okay Morty, I won't tell them. For now. But if it gets worse you tell me. Otherwise I will tell them. It's for your own good!"

"I can understand that," Morty murmured. "Thanks Summer, I owe you."

"You always do, little brother."

A/N: Thanks for reading! And remember. Reviews keep Summer from telling their parents.