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to do with what you were asking me about earlier, doesn’t it?”
    “Yes,” Leesha confirmed. “It does. Honestly, now is probably not the right time to get into the details. But after seeing your reaction to Clint’s – migraine, if you will – we need to spend some more time with you to explain.”
    “It’s not a migraine, is it?”
    No it’s not a migraine! Welcome to reality, babe. His body continued to tremble with the fire, Lexi leaning over him, her forehead pressed to his, whispering in his ear.
    “No, Jade, it’s not a migraine.” Sam shook his head, not knowing what more to tell her at the moment. “You really don’t know what’s going on?”
    She shook her head.
    “We will fill you in on the details, but I don’t think tonight’s the best time, with your guests here and all.”
    “You’re connected to this too?”
    “Yes.”
    “You have the same birthday? Does Clint?”
    “Yes. Lexi’s my twin sister,” he confirmed, nodding to the couch. “We were all in the hospital at the same time.”
    “Oh.”
    A still took over the room as the three by the door watched the two on the couch, fighting the fire.
    “His pain goes beyond his head, doesn’t it?” Jade was more intuitive than they gave her credit for.
    “Yes,” Sam confirmed. “His burn reaches every part of his body.”
    “Oh.” Jade’s face twisted in agony, remembering how much she suffered with her headaches. Watching Clint struggle, she recalled her own like it was yesterday.
    The silence continued for an eternity, the only sound to be heard was Clint’s guttural moans and the party beyond the closed door. The beat of the base pumping rhythm through the floor, the happy chatter of the teens filtered in under the crack at the bottom of the door. The faces in this room, however, were stoic.
    After what seemed like days, Clint finally sat up, but didn’t completely release his contact from Lexi. He continued to lean on her, this time leaning over to wrap his arm around her in gratitude. He squeezed her close and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you, Lexi.”
    She closed her eyes and leaned into him. The whole room could hear Sam groan in argument. Neither Clint nor Lexi cared.
    “I guess I probably should get back to my guests…” Jade said reluctantly. She was torn between being the hostess to the crowd on the other side of the wall, and the burning questions she had for those she shared the room with.
    “Jade, we’re meeting at our house tomorrow at lunch,” Lexi offered. “We’re going to talk to Clint’s dad – to explain everything. Would you like to join us?”
    Yeah, I guess it makes more sense, kill two birds with one stone. She’s sharp, that Lexi.
    “Sure, I guess. If your parents don’t mind, that is,” Jade shrugged.
    “They won’t,” Sam assured. “Actually, they’re looking forward to meeting you.”
    “Here’s the address, and our phone number, if you need to call for directions.” Lexi handed her a slip of paper she scribbled on. “We’ll look forward to having you.”
    “Yeah,” Leesha agreed. “We’ve still got some questions for you.”
    “I’ve told you all I know,” Jade insisted.
    “Don’t worry,” Sam said. “We’ll get it all figured out.”
    She turned to Clint, still worried about what she witnessed. “Are you okay now?”
    He looked up at her, still leaning against Lexi. “Yes. I’m much better now.”
    “Is there anything I can do?”
    “No, but thank you.” I’m in good hands here. Never better. Clint smiled and looked down to meet Lexi’s eyes, smiling back at him.

Chapter Ten
     
    The Bronco pulled up at the Dixon house promptly at 11:00 a.m. For a couple of guys who were normally short on conversational skills, the father and son combo hadn’t stopped arguing since they got in the car.
    “I still don’t understand why you won’t tell me what’s going on,” Clint’s dad said as he climbed out of the driver’s seat, stretching his long legs.