“Let me help you,” I say. As a friend at the very least, I want to do something. I close my eyes and push the next few words out. “My brother is a family law attorney. He'll be able to give you some advice on what to do next.”
“Your brother?” she says, sounding surprised. I know she’s thinking about Tommy.
“I had two. You know about Tommy. My other brother is Will,” I say, rubbing my forehead. Why do I find it so hard to talk about my family? “He lives in California with his wife and two kids. He's a good guy.”
“Wow, really? Thanks for this, Max. I’m sitting here surrounded by fucking paperwork and I have no idea what I’m doing,” she mutters.
“He’ll know someone here you can speak to,” I assure her. I pause for a moment, not sure how she’s going to react to my next question. “Do you mind if I come over after I speak to Will? It’ll be easier than relaying what he tells me over the phone.”
“Sure, go for it,” she sighs. “Ellie’s looking after Till so I can sort this mess out.”
“Great,” I say. “Then I’ll see you soon.”
After ending the call, I search my contacts, looking for Will’s number. It’s been months since we’ve spoken, and awkward doesn’t begin to cover how I feel reaching out to him for help. He answers, sounding surprised to hear from me.
“Max. How’s things?” he asks, sounding happy to see me.
“Good. I’m good. Sorry it’s been a while since I’ve called,” I say, embarrassed.
“Yeah, me too.” He chuckles. “Life gets in the way and before you know it, months have passed, right?”
“Exactly,” I say, relieved he understands.
Will is my older brother by three years. I’ve always felt compared to him by my parents, and in turn that has affected our relationship immensely, especially since Tommy died. Even my becoming a teacher wasn’t good enough for my barrister father. Will’s always stayed out of the drama, but being so far away, our relationship has suffered.
Things got worse when I came here to go to college.
“How’ve you been? I’m guessing this isn’t a social call?” he adds. He knows me too well.
Usually it feels strange calling him, so I don’t. Instead, I put it off until we run into each other at my parents’ place and pretend everything is fine. Sometimes I wish I’d made more of an effort, but it feels too late to fix things now. We get along, but I see how close Kiara is with Ellie and it makes me sad that I don’t have that.
“You’re right,” I admit. “I have a friend who is in some trouble. She has a fiancé who has been in a coma for three years and is not expected to recover. His parents have just served her with papers on their son’s behalf, suing for shared custody of her five-year-old daughter.” I pause and shake my head, the reality of it hitting me. “Is that even legal? Surely that wouldn’t even get into court, right?”
“You’d be surprised. People can sue for anything these days. It doesn’t mean they’ll be successful, but it’ll probably earn a hearing at the least.” He pauses for a moment, and I’m pretty sure I know what’s coming. “So, who is this girl? She must be pretty special for you to call me.”
“You make me sound like some kind of monster.” I chuckle. My stomach twists, because there’s a whole lot of truth to what he’s saying.
“Well, I don’t want to guilt you into contacting your older brother more, but it would be nice to hear from you once in a while,” he says.
“The phone works both ways, you know,” I shoot back. I sigh and rub my neck. “I know we should make more of an effort. It’s not that I avoid calling you, it’s just . . .”
“Seriously, Max, you don’t need to explain. We’re both guilty, you know? But we both need to try harder. Mom and Dad won’t be around forever, and I want the girls to know their uncle. I want to hear what’s happening in your life from you, and not the highlights you choose to tell Mom and Dad.”
“I tell Mom and Dad what they want to hear,” I say, my voice dry. I clear my throat. “Maybe I’ll come down and see you guys over the holidays.”
“We’d love that,” he says, his voice earnest. “You’re always welcome here. And you can bring your girlfriend too, if you like.”
“She’s just a friend,” I say, not wanting to go into all the details.
“A special friend?” he asks, a hint of amusement in his voice.
“Just a friend,” I repeat, shaking my head.
“Yeah, yeah. Well, pass on my details to her and get her to give me a call. Maybe I can get more information on your relationship status out of her, huh?” For a brief second, a wave of panic rushes through me, until I realize he’s joking.
“Don't you dare,” I growl as he laughs. “Thanks for this, Will.”
Hanging up the phone, I run my hand through my short wavy hair and over my rough jawline, reminding me that I need to shave. Scribbling Will’s details on a piece of paper, I shove it into my pocket. Before I leave, I find the new employer forms I need her to fill out and put them in my briefcase. Grabbing my keys and my phone I walk out, locking the office door behind me.