Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 765(@200wpm)___ 612(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 765(@200wpm)___ 612(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Logan looked up, raising a single finger to his lips, motioning for him to be quiet. Levi nodded and looked over at the television. He’d missed the significance of the show at first glance. They were watching Iron Man. Their absolute favorite movie as children.
The sadness in the house didn’t seem quite as prevalent as it had before. He paid little to no attention to the TV, instead going to the edge of the sofa and staring at his youngest brother who still looked even younger while sleeping. He prayed his father would help guide him in making good decisions where his brothers were concerned. His dad had been such a good father to all three of them. He’d tried so hard to get them out of this life and he’d almost done it too. If that disease hadn’t come back, Levi was certain everything about their lives would be far different today.
With a lump forming in his throat, Levi forced his thoughts away from his father. Maybe not the best idea, because Thane was right there ready to take his place. Levi didn’t want to think about him either. That was fresh pain and humiliation, but also deep, desperate desire. He couldn’t let Thane in right now; Levi would crave things he couldn’t have. Levi had to stay focused on the here and now. So he went for the side chair and sat, hoping his presence in the house helped Logan not feel so alone all the time.
Levi palmed his phone and saw a text from Julian. With a swipe of his finger, he opened the message. “I filed the paperwork with HR and got an immediate reply. It’s being processed, but I feel sure we’ve got your house rent covered for the next six months. I hope that helps.”
Levi had no real idea how that miracle had happened, but that would save them almost two thousand dollars a month. If he socked that money away, it would grow their nest egg to help make their move a reality. That lifted such a burden off his shoulders, and he quickly typed back, thanking Julian for everything. The man had been an absolute lifesaver when his life had needed the most saving.
Fiddling with his phone, Levi saw a new notification from his school. He’d never used this particular application before, but the timing seemed destined. He had so much to find out about on-campus family housing. Would financial aid pay for something like that for all of them? Another thought sprang forward. Did Baltimore have a good school district for Luke?
Making a mental checklist of everything he needed to find out, Levi clicked the school’s mascot icon and began familiarizing himself with the application. If he remembered correctly… Okay, he didn’t remember, so he started to click whatever he could find until the mail symbol in the corner popped open and he saw a new direct message waiting. It took less than a second for the words to fill his screen.
“Do you need any help?”
Weird. But he’d just randomly gotten his rent covered for six months, so weirder things had happened today. Levi quickly scanned all the details of the message. Someone named Nathaniel was offering help. Huh. Okay. He couldn’t remember a Nathaniel. Levi clicked the non-photo of Nathaniel’s university hosted email address and went to his page. Not a lot of information there. He was an alum, attended JHU eight years ago, and his page was locked to private. Confused, Levi went back to the message and read the single question again. “Do you need any help?”
Maybe this was some sort of counseling program since he’d left school so abruptly. Or maybe the sender reached out to the wrong person. Both equally possible. Instead of guessing any further, Levi typed back, “Do we know each other?”
Levi looked up at his sleeping brother then Logan who was doing something on his phone. This had all the makings of being a long drawn-out time in their lives. He saw a lot of these moments in his future. He figured they were probably more healing than boring, and they needed this time together to bond as a family unit without their dad at the helm. Levi tilted his head, listening to Luke’s slightly labored breath; it sounded like he might have a sinus problem, and Levi mentally added that to the list of things to have checked out. His phone vibrated in his hand, drawing his eyes down to the bright screen. He had a text message from Logan.
“Luke said for you to check email. They cancelled the counseling appointment for Monday morning. Someone’s sick.”
Levi nodded, lifting his eyes to his brother, then his phone vibrated again. So few people ever messaged him, he looked down, half expecting Logan to have sent another text message. Instead, there was a new direct message from Nathaniel.