LITMIR.BIZ

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      She wrapped her arms around her middle and watched as they loaded Khalil into the ambulance and drove off.

      “Is he going to be okay?”

      Lexia turned at the sound of Sam’s voice. “I think so. But the blast damaged his ears. He can’t hear.”

      Sam brought her hand to her mouth. “Oh no.”

      She recalled the split second of vulnerability she’d seen and her emotions swelled once more.

      “Come on, Lexi. I’m sure he’ll be okay.”

      Lexia took one last glance around and nodded. On the way, she spied Khalil’s phone. She had no problems recognizing it because of the distinctive custom case featuring his gym’s logo. She picked it up and brushed off the debris. Other than a few cracks on the face, the phone seemed to be intact. Inside, she froze upon seeing Cameron sweeping up glass from the shattered window. Tears welled in her eyes. This was the man she knew—clean shaven, low-cut hair and neatly groomed appearance. He had on a pair of black khakis and a gray polo shirt.

      Cameron paused with the broom. “You good, Lexi?”

      “Yeah. You clean up nicely.”

      He grinned. “I knew you were going to say that.” He shook his head and resumed the task, along with James, who had come out of the kitchen to help with the cleanup.

      Jayla held up her phone. “It says it was a natural gas explosion. Two workers were killed and several others injured.” She looked down at the screen and read for a moment, then added, “This one is considered mild and could have been much worse.”

      Lexia grabbed a towel and a trash bag and joined Samantha in clearing glass off the tables. She sighed. Mild or not, it would take a lot of work to repair the businesses damaged, including her own. Her heart went out to the families of the two workers and the rest of the people who had been injured. Automatically, her thoughts shifted to Khalil and how he was doing. It dawned on her that she hadn’t given Brandon her number and would most likely have to wait until he came to work tomorrow to find out any information. If he came in. She should have gone to the hospital.

      * * *

      Khalil slowly came awake, glanced around the room and saw his entire family. It took a moment before everything came rushing back and he realized he was lying in a hospital bed. He moved and pain shot through his midsection. He must have made a sound because his mother crossed the room in two strides and ran her hands critically over his face. His head throbbed, the loud ringing in his ears hadn’t stopped, his chest felt like someone was standing on it every time he breathed deeply—and he still couldn’t hear a sound. Khalil scanned their concerned faces. “I’m all right, Mom.” He frowned and gently pushed her hand away from the bandage on his temple. He saw all their mouths moving and an overwhelming sense of frustration surged inside him. Brandon raised his hand and got their attention and said something. Brandon obviously told them about Khalil’s hearing loss because all eyes turned Khalil’s way and his mother and two sisters, Siobhan and Morgan, started crying and rushed over to the bed. Even Faith had tears in her eyes. His father looked stricken.

      Khalil leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes. This is all I need right now. He couldn’t stand to see them cry and bit back the urge to tell them all to leave. He sent his brothers and brothers-in-law a pleading glance. They gathered their wives, and together with his parents exited, leaving only his younger brother, Malcolm.

      Malcolm pulled a chair close to the bed and sat. For the first few minutes, the pro football running back said nothing as if he knew Khalil needed a moment.

      “I never could stand to see them cry.”

      Malcolm took out his phone, typed something and handed it to Khalil.

      He read: “Neither can I. What do you need me to do? Oh, and you should probably lower your voice.” Because he couldn’t hear himself, Khalil had no idea how to modulate his voice. “Is this better?” he asked in what he hoped was a softer sound.

      He nodded.

      “Did the doctor say how long I’d be like this?”

      Malcolm took the phone, typed again and handed it back.

      “Brandon said the doctor told him your eardrums were ruptured from the blast and the hearing loss could last a few days, months or, depending on the damage, longer. He mentioned referring you to a specialist.”

      Khalil dropped the phone on his lap and cursed. What if his hearing didn’t come back? He couldn’t be deaf forever. The thought of never hearing his favorite song on the radio, the waves crashing against the shore while standing on his balcony or the laughter around the table at his family’s monthly dinners made the same panic he’d felt while lying on the sidewalk come back full force. He passed the phone back to his brother, who began typing again. Was there more? He knew about the broken ribs, slight concussion and sprained wrist, thanks to a nurse who had written the information down for him while in emergency. Khalil couldn’t imagine what else could be wrong and wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

      Malcolm stood and held the phone close enough for Khalil to read.

      The gym. He had totally forgotten about it. “Yeah, I do need you to go over. I’ve been having some problems with some of the members being double charged.” Like Khalil, Malcolm had a degree in kinesiology and the two had discussed the possibility of him joining Khalil in the business once he retired from football. He filled Malcolm in on the meeting with Alonzo and his latest phone call with Felicia. “Can you call Alonzo and have him download the images on the camera and check my computer?” Another thought occurred to him. He’d been in the middle of the call with his assistant manager and she probably had no idea what had happened. He didn’t even know what happened to his phone. “Ask Felicia to cancel all my clients and tell her not to come up here. I’m fine.” Not exactly the truth, but he didn’t want another person staring at him with a look of pity. His family had done enough of that. “I’ll contact her in a few days. Oh, and my phone is gone.”

      He nodded, typed something else and held up the phone. “Don’t worry about your phone right now. We’ll get you one when you get home.”

      Before Khalil could respond, a middle-aged man wearing scrubs and a white jacket, a doctor he assumed, entered carrying what looked like two cell phones.

      Malcolm touched Khalil on his uninjured shoulder, pointed toward the door and mouthed, “I’m leaving.”

      After his brother left, the doctor pressed a few buttons on the gadgets, then handed one to Khalil. Khalil had been correct about it being a cell phone. He glanced up to see the doctor talking and started to get frustrated until the man pointed at the phone in Khalil’s hand. He shifted his gaze and saw the words automatically being typed on the screen as the doctor talked.

      The man introduced himself as Dr. Moyer, the ear, nose and throat specialist and asked several questions before examining Khalil’s ears. “Both eardrums have been perforated. The tear in the right ear is slightly larger than the left.”

      After reading the information, Khalil asked, “So, how long will it take for my hearing to return?”

      Dr. Moyer shrugged. “Most times the eardrums heal themselves within a few weeks and your hearing will get back to normal. But sometimes it doesn’t.”

      “And if it doesn’t?”

      “Then they may need to be surgically repaired.”

      “And this will guarantee my hearing will return?”

      The doctor shook his head. “I can’t guarantee to what degree your hearing will return, or if it will at all. We just have to wait and see.”

      He didn’t even want to think about not being able to hear again or surgery. “How long before you determine whether I have to have surgery?”

      “If your hearing hasn’t returned in three months, we’ll reevaluate our next steps. In the meantime, you’ll

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