Simon Says Die

the details. All of them.”
    Pierce leaned back against the railing and crossed his arms. “Madison, would you mind going inside to check on Austin?”
    â€œNow who’s treating him like a kid?” Alex said.
    Madison rushed to the door, more than happy to avoid this particular discussion, and to put some distance between herself and Alex. “I don’t mind,” she said, heading inside.
    The sound of cursing led her toward the front of the house into the kitchen. Austin’s wheelchair was rolled up to a table and a pile of pill bottles was spread out before him. A bottle of water sat to his right.
    He glanced up when she entered the room. His face turned a light shade of red. “Did Alex send you in here to help me? I swear he thinks I can’t open these damn things by myself.”
    She pulled out a chair next to him and took the bottle out of his hand. “Judging by the cursing when I came in here, he’s right. But, actually, it was Pierce who sent me in here. He wanted to speak privately to Alex without me overhearing.” She twisted the cap off and set it on the table. “How many?”
    His mouth twitched and his frown melted into a grin. “You’ve got some sass in you. I like that.” He nodded toward the bottle. “I’m supposed to cut that one in half.”
    She glanced around, then got up and went to the kitchen counter. She pointed at a knife and cutting board. “Is this what you use?”
    â€œYeah.”
    She washed her hands at the sink, then carried the knife and cutting board to the table. After sitting down, she shook out one of the pills.
    â€œI wouldn’t have thought to wash my hands first.”
    â€œThat’s because you’re a guy.”
    He shrugged. “I suppose.”
    â€œWhy do you call him Alex?” she asked.
    â€œBecause that’s his name.”
    â€œNow who’s being sassy? He’s your father, right? So why do you call him by his first name?”
    He shrugged. “I grew up hearing everyone else call him Alex. The ‘Daddy’ label never took.”
    They sat quietly for a few minutes, shaking out pills, putting them on a napkin. Madison cut three of them in half, per Austin’s instructions. When they were done, she capped all the bottles. “Where do you keep these?”
    â€œOn the counter.” He waved toward where the cutting board and knife had been. “But I can put them up myself.”
    â€œI’m sure you can. But I’ve got nothing better to do at the moment.” She carried them to the counter, rinsed and dried the board and knife, then rejoined Austin at the table.
    He started taking the pills, two at a time, chasing them with a swallow of water.
    â€œThat’s an awful lot of pills. Do you take them every day?”
    â€œOn this most recent study, yeah. Some of the studies are worse than others.” He shrugged. “None of them seem to do any good for very long. I keep getting worse.”
    â€œWorse? In what way?”
    He waved his hand toward the wheelchair. “This is new. Before this last study, I could walk . . . sometimes. The paralysis is a side effect of the medication. Temporary, supposedly. I’m starting to wonder if the potential benefits are worth it. But the doctors swear the medication will result in long-term gains like it has for other diseases. If all goes well, in a few months, I should be out of the chair again.”
    She glanced at his legs. “The pills paralyze you?”
    â€œYep. Can’t feel a thing. Alex is terrified I’ll burn myself or something and not know it. That’s another reason he sent me in here, I’m sure. To keep me away from the grill.” He grinned. “Heck, maybe I should burn myself just to see him freak out.”
    â€œVery mature.”
    His grin widened.
    â€œSounds like the cure is worse than the disease.”
    He sobered. “Sometimes it is.”
    â€œWhat’s the prognosis?” When he raised his brows, she rushed to apologize. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so nosey.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t mind. You just surprised me. Most people avoid looking at my wheelchair, or asking questions. They pretend there’s nothing wrong.” He took a sip of water. “The prognosis is that the doctors don’t know. There haven’t been enough people in the world with my disease for them to