Kim looked at me, her brow furrowed. “Porter, oh my God. Please don’t do this. Don’t blame yourself. Trust me, I’ve done it too. We’ve done all that we can. Like the counselor said, alcoholism is a disease. This isn’t on any of us. You’re not his father. Todd is a grown man.”
You’re not his father. The words hit me hard, like a kick to the chest. I knew I wasn’t Senior, but I was his older brother. His only brother. The man of the family. I ignored every sign that it was getting bad. I should have known.
“How did this happen, Kim? I mean, why?” Fuck. What was I saying? It was a dumb question, one that I wasn’t sure I knew the answer to, nor did Kim.
Kim rubbed her temples. “It’s the job. He’d been working on an important case. You heard of Templeton Tobacco? They had been polluting the homes of minorities of the Georgia Sea Islands—many folks got cancer from the runoff in the water and land. Todd was fighting on behalf of the plaintiffs. Well, his partner’s godson, Kyle, that asshole got wind of it because his daddy and others in the firm had some financial interest in Templeton. He purposely tanked his case. That’s when the drinking got worse. Four years of work down the drain. The people won’t get a dime. They’ve been trying to find a reason to fire him. Now with this accident, Todd’s job status is…uncertain.”
My face heated with anger for my brother. “Todd told me about the guy at work, but I had no idea it was over a case this major.” I wanted to punch a wall, find this Kyle dude and dust him up. Ari squeezed my hand.
“Well, it is.” Kim continued, turning to address the rest of the family. “I want you all to go home and get some rest. Todd’s going to stay here overnight. Make sure nothing else is wrong. We will meet with the social worker to get him some help. Weigh our options. Not to mention, I need to call our attorney and the insurance company. It’s all such a mess. Mom, can you take the kids home with you and Daddy Des? They’re still at soccer practice.”
My mother nodded and then kissed Kim on her forehead. “Of course. We can keep the kids for as long as you need us to. We will work it out.” My mother looked at me and Ari, our hands still intertwined. I couldn’t let her go. I feared if I did, I’d pass out on the hospital floor.
“Ari, can you please look after my PJ? Make sure he gets home, okay? Get something to eat? I can tell by the way he’s shaking that he hasn’t eaten.”
Ari nodded her head. “Yes, Eloise. I can.”
Mom put her hand on Ari’s cheek. “Thank you, my sweet Ari.”
I looked at Ari. “Ari, it’s cool. I can drive. Trust me, I’m fine.”
Ari’s lips turned up into a smirk. “Didn’t Eloise ask me to make sure you were okay? Then I’m going to make sure you’re okay. Besides, I have a new car, remember? I’ll whip us up some dinner at home.”
I looked at Ari, repeating the word. “Home?” The word sounded both familiar and foreign from my lips. But when Ari said home, it felt warm. Safe.
Ari shrugged. “Sure. Unless you don’t want to.”
I looked over at my mom, attending to Kim, who smiled gently in my direction. I think it would give my mom some peace knowing I was in Ari’s hands.
“Yeah. Let’s go home.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ari
I leaned against the kitchen counter, watching Porter push arroz con pollo around on his plate.
“Not hungry?” I asked, gently, removing his plate and wrapping it with plastic wrap to place in the fridge. The situation with Todd had him worried; he was never one without an appetite. His glass of water was untouched, and his eyes were blank and empty.
“No,” he said, squeaking out the word in a gravelly voice.
Finally, after several minutes of silence, he continued. “It looked great, Ari. But… I can’t eat.”
“Do you want something stronger than water? I mean, I hate to ask but…” My voice trailed off. That was probably a dumb thing to ask. Given the circumstances.
Porter sat up straight, his hands folded in his lap. “Can I get some black coffee? That’s about as strong as I can handle right now.”
I nodded, quickly placing a single serve pod of coffee in the machine, which brewed within minutes. Porter stared down at the inky cup of espresso in front of him. I watched as his lips blew and he gingerly took the hot cup to his lips. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the warmth of the hot elixir soothe him.