As I sat up at the edge of the bed, pain shot through one temple and out the other, and my eyes felt like they were held in place by ill-fitting cotton balls. I closed my eyes and rubbed the lids with my fingertips. The sound of clattering and footsteps toward the front of my apartment startled me.
A shout and a few muttered profanities followed a crash from the direction of my kitchen, and I breathed a sigh of relief remembering that it was my brother. I went to the bathroom and climbed into a hot shower. The stinging water woke me up the rest of the way, and I felt back to normal by the time I got out, got dressed, and headed into the front of the apartment to find out what was going on. There was already a pot of coffee brewed, and I happily poured myself some. No matter how awake I felt, I would never turn down a cup of coffee in the morning.
Brandon was at the stove, rattling several pots and pans around. I watched him for a few seconds before speaking.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Making breakfast,” he told me. “Omelets, home fries, cheese grits, and sausage.”
There was definitely something bothering him. My brother loved to cook, but it was his coping mechanism. The more stressed and anxious he got, the more extreme his meals became. Considering there were only two of us and he was piling enough food on platters to serve a family of eight, this had to be serious.
“It’s a really nice morning,” I pointed out. “Want to eat on the patio?”
“Sure.”
We each picked up platters and plates and carried them outside. I returned to the kitchen for coffee and juice, and he brought out glasses and silverware. When we were fully set up, I dished food out onto our plates as he poured juice. I waited for him to start the conversation, but he stayed quiet.
“Thanks for cooking,” I said, trying to jump-start him into saying anything.
“No problem,” he said. “So, you had that first race last night, right?”
I took a bite of the grits and nodded.
“Yeah, it was really good. The two riders came in first and third.”
“That’s pretty impressive,” he said.
“Yeah, it was. It was really fun.”
It was a completely inane conversation, but I wanted to keep him talking so eventually he would get to the point where he would tell me why he was at my apartment. We went back and forth for a little while talking about the race when he finally broke.
“Evelyn cheated on me,” he said. “Apparently it’s been going on for a few months. We’re getting a divorce.”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I can’t believe she did that.”
“Neither can I,” he agreed. “I couldn’t even stand to look at her anymore. I just walked out after she told me with no plan and one duffle bag of old stuff. Sorry to crash your place, but it was the only place I could think of where I could just hang out and wouldn’t be alone.”
“Don’t apologize. I’m glad you came here. This is where you should have come. And you can stay here for as long as you want. I have that spare room already set up so you don’t have to crash on the couch. If you want, I can go back to your old place and get you some more stuff,” I offered.
He shook his head. “I don’t want to put you out. You already have enough going on with your new job and everything. You shouldn’t have to be worried about me.”
“You’re the first thing I’m going to worry about,” I told him. “My job is just a job. You are my big brother and you’ve always been there for me. No matter what kind of ridiculous crap I was going through, you were the one who made sure I got through it. Now it’s my turn to take care of you.”
He poked at his food with the tines of his fork and nodded, staring down at his lap so he didn’t have to look at me. I could tell he was fighting hard not to cry, and I got up to give him a hug. Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I rested my head on his. He gripped my arm and let out a long sigh.
“This fucking sucks,” he said.
I laughed. “I think that about sums it up.” Going back to my seat, I sat down and dove back into my breakfast. “All right. Here’s the plan. I have to go into work for half a day, but when I get home, we’ll figure things out. We’ll get your stuff from the other house, figure out anything else you might need, order pizza, and watch terrible Japanese competition shows all night. Sound good?”