“Are you busy?”

“Moving in, but never too busy to speak to you. What’s up? How’re you feeling?”

“Good, I am a little out of breath today, but I’m okay.”

That set her on edge as she scooted to the front of the chair, her fingers going to her mouth as she chewed her nails. “Do I need to call the doctor? Come up there?”

“Brie, I’m fine,” he said it like she was an idiot, but she wasn’t. He scared her. She couldn’t lose him. She just couldn’t.

“Fine, what’s up? What are you doing?”

“Hanging out. Reading.”

“Reading is good,” she gushed. He had only really gotten into reading a little over a year ago, and he was doing so well. She was so proud since she was an avid reader. “What are you reading?”

“This pamphlet.”

“What pamphlet?”

“The one for NateWay.”

Brie rolled her eyes; she thought she had taken that. Maybe he’d gotten two. Little bugger. Rod had not stopped talking about this little community for adults with Down syndrome since she left him that morning. She hadn’t had time to look into it, and in all reality, she didn’t want to get his hopes up. It just wouldn’t work. He needed constant care, and she worried that this community wouldn’t offer that. Also, they might promise a scholarship, but that would probably only last a year, and then what? They’d be screwed.

Nope, she wasn’t going to get his hopes up.

“Oh, cool. So what do you want for dinner on Christmas?”

“Chicken,” he answered, and she wasn’t surprised. That was all he ate. “But really, Brie, it’s awesome. I want to do it. Nate said he would work with us and make it to where I can live there.”

“I haven’t had time to look into it, and I really don’t like that you are talking to someone I don’t even know.”

“I’m an adult, Brie. I can talk to whoever I want.”

She didn’t want to get into an argument with him. She was tired, and he was stuck on this NateWay shit. She just needed to let it go. He would forget about it, surely. But she’d be damn sure to call the nurses station tomorrow to make sure they didn’t allow this Nate fellow to come see her brother again.

“Fine, I’ll look into it.”

“You’ll really look into it? Do you want his number? He gave me his cell number for you. He wants to talk to you. He has questions.”

“Questions?”

“Yeah, he wanted to know why I was at Riverdale and not in a regular home for people like me,” he said, and Brie covered her face. She was already embarrassed that she couldn’t give her brother a better home, and now she had this guy coming around questioning him. Soon Rod would realize that she sucked. It was bad enough that she already knew that. “And I told him it was all you could afford, which is why he said I can live in his community for free.”

“I don’t know, Rod. It all seems a little suspect.”

“It’s true,” he yelled. She’d known this was going to happen. He got set on things, and when she couldn’t provide them, he got upset, which, in return, made her feel like dog shit.

“I’m not saying it’s not. It just seems a little out of left field.”

“But it’s not, he’s great. Nate plays games with me and talks to me about life, and he’s nice. Really funny, and he likes me, thinks that other people like me would like me too. I’m dying here, Brie. No one is my age, and I’m the annoying kid that runs around the home being loud. Please, I gotta get out of here.”

Her heart broke. “Oh, Rod, that’s not true. Joshua loves you.”

“That’s ’cause he can’t hear.”

She paused. It was true, but she hadn’t realized he knew that. “But he still hangs with you.”

“’Cause he’s in a wheelchair and can’t get away.”

“Okay, you’re right.”

“I am, and I want out. I want to be with people like me since I can’t be with you.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Rod. I wish you could stay with me.”

“Hey, someone’s gotta make the money.”

She smiled. “Yup.”

“And the cool thing about this community is there are jobs. I can learn a trade, Brie. That’s what Nate said.”

“Wow, that would be great for you.”

“And he says there are nurses on site. That I will be taken care of.”

She swallowed hard, looking at the ceiling. He already knew too much; he wasn’t going to forget about it at all. She had to research this. “I will look into it.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I promise I’ll look into it, and we’ll talk about it on Christmas, okay?”

He didn’t answer at first, and she knew that she had no choice but to investigate it. He wanted this, and she wanted it for him. But she was realistic, and it all seemed way too good to be true. “Awesome! Here is the number,” he said before reading the number off to her slowly. She wrote it down on a box and then sat down. “You’ll call?”

“After I do some research.”

“And then you’ll call?”

“Then I’ll call.”

“And we can go see it? The community?”

“Yes, after I do my research and call.”

“When?”

“Soon. After Christmas.”

“Awesome. I think we’ll love it,” he gushed, and she did love how excited he sounded. He hadn’t been excited about anything in a while, and his voice was so full of joy. She could almost see him, bouncing in place as he held his phone to his ear, a big grin on his sweet face. She wanted this to work. She did. Because he was right. He was dying along with all those old people, and it was killing her inside in turn. She wanted him to be happy. She had promised her mom he would be happy, and she felt like she was failing at every turn.

So she would investigate it.

For him.

For the promise she’d made to her mom.

With a long sigh, she smiled at his excitement. Though, she hoped it wasn’t short-lived. “I hope so.”

And she really did.

But even with all the things on her mind, Rod’s surgery and his desperate need to be himself, the stress of her job, and everything else, she still couldn’t shake how she felt when she’d looked into Vaughn’s eyes.