Surely Blue

~25~

"What do you need help with?" Brayden asks after a long silence. I felt my heart jump at his words. That one question showed that he would be there for me.
"I need help finding my mom or dad. My mom is alive and well and I've been lied to this entire time, and I need to know if Andrew had stopped by here?" I explain.
      "I'm honestly not sure Jack." He said uneasy.
     "Well have you seen him or-"
      "No. Not about that. About your mom being alive. I mean why would your brother blame you for that kind of thing." He then said.
     I stood there in shock. The roles were reversed. I was the one getting my hopes up and Brayden was the one bringing me  down to reality.
      "I saw her. In a picture and I was just a newborn." I explain shakily. I wanted to believe that she wasn't gone and this was all just a mistake, but life never goes as planned.
"I'm just saying. I don't want you hopes to get crushed, and I don't want you to do all this work to find that she really is dead." Brayden said softly.
"Then we'll look for my dad." I say without feeling.
Brayden gave a small sigh. "Your brother was here a couple days ago. He seemed worried and was looking for you."
     I looked around the room, not sure what to do next. He was here, great, now what.
     "Is there a sign in book?" I ask him. Brayden shrugs his shoulders. His eyes dart around the room. He was still...off.
     "Ok...I'll be back then." I say not sure how to react to his odd behavior. I start towards the door when he speaks up. 
     "No, wait I'll go. Who knows what Ms. Brady will do to you if she saw you." He said. Brayden then walked passed me and went to the front office.
     I close the door as a warm summers breeze drifts through the room. I hear a shuffle of a piece of paper as the wind carries it to the open floor.
     It was a crumpled folded piece of paper. I opened it up to see a messy handwritten letter, addressed to Brayden.
     Brayden-
It is with my deepest apologies to inform you that your younger brother, Liam, has passed away. The reason being is thought to be a heart condition, but still not certain. We are truly sorry,
-Daughtey Foster Care.

     This explains it. Brayden was close to his little brother. It must've been hard enough that they got separated, now having to deal with the fact that Liam died is clearly taking a toll on him.
      "What are you doing?" Brayden asks in a broad voice. I quickly look up and he snatches the paper from my hand.
     At first he looked mad, but after he took the paper, his eyebrows furrowed together and he look down at his feet.
     "Why didn't you tell me?" I ask him in a strong voice. Sympathy is useless in any situation.
     "Because if I told someone then, that would make it true. And that means that he's really gone." He answered with his voice cracking.
     I watched him as he completely fell to pieces.
     "Life goes on, Brayden. You have to accept the fact and move on, no matter how hard, because of you don't your going to be stuck here forever." I say with my voice softening.
     I run his shoulder, then pull him into a hug. I felt the tears roll down his cheek and onto my shoulder. That's when I realized he needed me more that I needed him.