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I snap back out of it and put the car in reverse, backing out of the driveway. “Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was trying to take care of all this school stuff.”
“You can always come home and sleep while I’m at school,” Dorian offers, his voice reassuring. He shouldn’t have to worry about any of the things he does, and yet, he takes it in stride.
“I could, but honestly, I need to go job hunting. I can float us for a while, but it’s cutting into our savings for your procedure. I’d rather avoid that as much as I can.”
“Okay, but where are you going to work?” His face squints, and his age shows. He looks more like a child than ever, and the concern in his eyes hits me like a freight train.
“I’ll find somewhere that I can work while you’re at school if possible. It might not line up as well as the TA position did, but that was just blind luck. It was too good to be true anyway.”
Dorian nods slowly, his eyes casting out across the town as I make my way to his school. “I guess a lot of things are too good to be true.”
I swallow hard. “Not always. Don’t give up hope that good things will happen to us. This is all just a bump in the road.”
“We’ve had alotof bumps in the road.” His eyes flicker to mine. “I’m getting really tired of it.”
My heart aches for him. “I know. I agree with you, but I’m going to work all of this out. It’s all going to be fine. We’ll getyour procedure done, and then you’ll feel better, too. I’ll find the right job and finish my degree. It’s going to be fine.”
“You sound so hopeful.” Dorian sighs. “But I don’t know how you do it. I don’t know how you always act like everything is okay when it’s not.”
I smile, not sure of what to tell him. I might seem like everything is okay, but internally, I’m shattered into a million pieces, and that’s how I’ve lived my life since we lost our parents.
I don’t have time to be the one who falls apart. I have to pick myself back up and keep going for Dorian. That’s just how it is. When my parents passed, I had to grieve on my own, and then turn around and be strong for my brother.
I pull into a parking spot near the front as I glance at the clock. “We’re late. I’ll have to walk you in.”
He shrugs and gathers his backpack. “Oh well.”
“I’m glad you don’t mind being tardy.” I chuckle as I climb out of the car. “You need some help?”
“No, I can do it.” Dorian eyes me.
I smile at his tenacity and let him struggle without offering help.
As much as I want to jump in and steady him, I know he wants to be independent. He doesn’t want to have to struggle, but the struggle does make him stronger.
His muscles are growing, and that’s something I’ve noticed as he’s gotten older.
And someday, you won’t hurt anymore.
My eyes drop to my feet as we head toward the front of the school. The car line has long dissipated, and I sigh, hating the fact that I’ve gotten him to school nearly ten minutes late.
It’s my fault, mostly because I didn’t get to bed at a decent time. It took Fran and I way too long to figure out the portal and how to transfer out of Dr. Banks’s class.
But it’s done now.
I swallow the heartbreak and open the front door for Dorian. It’s usually locked, but my guess is they saw me coming with my brother.
We step into the entryway, and I lead the way to the main office.
“Hey, Tilda. I’m so sorry he’s late,” I say to the secretary. “I was up too late last night. It was my fault.”
She smiles, pushing the sign-in sheet to me. “It happens, just go ahead and sign him in. You’re only about ten minutes late, so he hasn’t missed much.” She turns to Dorian, her blonde spirals bouncing against her shoulder. “You can go ahead and go on to class, Dorian. You’re good to go.”
He nods and turns to go. However, he pauses at the door.
“What’s wrong?” I look up at him, my brow furrowed.
Dorian doesn’t answer me. Instead, he rushes to me and wraps his arms around me.
