“What was that about?” Caleb asked.
“I don’t know, but we need to find her and help her. By the look on her face, it was something serious, and we can’t let her deal with it on her own.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go.”
15
Bree
I came back to my hotel room, feeling more defeated than ever. I’d been crying all the way back to the hotel. I couldn’t believe this happened. Just when I thought that things were finally improving, this terrible news came, and now I had no idea what to do.
My grandmother had fallen at rehab, and now she needed some additional help. She was okay, but they planned to move her to a different facility, and this made me panicked. Our insurance wouldn’t cover it, and we were still dealing with the mess from the fire.
On top of everything else, I was jobless, and now I seriously considered working as a waitress, because there was no other way to pay off our debts.
I was too lost in my gloomy thoughts when I heard the knocks on my door. I jumped from the bed and wiped off my tears. One quick look in the mirror told me my eyes were puffy and my face pale. I debated with myself whether I should just ignore the person on the other side of the door, but then I heard Trent’s say, “Bree, it’s us. Please, open the door.”
Oh God. I rushed and opened it, feeling even more emotional now that they were here.
“Guys!” I threw myself into their arms, needing their nearness and comfort more than ever. They wrapped their arms around me and pulled me closer.
“Hey, Bree. We’re here now.”
I broke into tears, burying my head into Caleb’s shoulder. I didn’t want them to witness me at my worst, but at the same time I didn’t want them to go. Their presence felt soothing, and it helped me get over the mess that was my life.
“I’m so sorry. I just... I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.”
“It’s okay, baby. Cry as much as you want. We’re here to help you.”
I let them inside and sat down on my bed.
“What happened?” Trent asked.
I stared at my hands on my lap as I tried to figure out what to tell them. “My grandmother fell, but thankfully she didn’t break anything. They have to keep monitoring her, though, so she needs to go to another facility.”
“Bree, we’re so sorry to hear that.” Trent caught my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It will be okay.”
“I’m not sure about that, Trent.” Another tear escaped and slid down my face. “We don’t have enough money. While I took some time away from you I was desperately looking for a job, even though I want to go to college, but now I’m forced to accept any job because that’s the only way to deal with this situation...”
“It’s not the only way,” Caleb told me, looking at me with serious eyes. “We can help you cover the costs.”
“What?”
“Yes. Think about it,” Trent added. “It’s not a big deal for us, but for you it would mean a lot.”
“No. You can’t be serious. You can’t offer to help me with money just like that.”
“Why not?”
“Why not?” I looked at them shell shocked.
“Yeah, why not? As I said, it’s not a big deal. Besides, we can’t just stand aside and do nothing to help you. You’re struggling, Bree, and we can’t be happy when you aren’t, you know?”
Oh God. I began crying again, experiencing some tightening feeling in my chest that was spreading through me fast. I couldn’t believe how good there were to me.
“Yes. We want to help you as much as we can. We care about you, and we don’t want you to go through this alone.”
“And not only that. You haven’t taken us up on our offer of coming to stay either. There you could be rent free while you go take classes and figure out stuff with your grandmother.”