Things Money Can't Buy (Discontinued)

Chapter 15

~*~

I was trying to talk to my brother's lawyer all morning. The judge said that my brother wasn't allowed to cross state lines while awaiting trial, but I wanted him to come live with me once the bail was paid. Evan wasn't considered a 'flight risk', but they wanted him to stay in the same state to ensure he attended the court dates.

I had the money now, but if Evan was just released in California, there was a chance he'd do something stupid again because he was lonely and didn't have anyone watching him. Evan agreed.

I really wanted him to come stay with me in New York City. The plan was to get him professional help by getting him set up with some mental health and addiction counseling programs in the area. This way, he would have the proper help to keep him sober, get him enrolled in a community college here, and get him a part-time job to keep busy. Evan was someone that always needed to stay busy, or he would find unhealthy ways to stay busy.

Most of my life was spent keeping him out of trouble, so I knew how his mind worked. For many years, we only had each other. He'd only become a 'troublemaker' when I left for college four years ago. While my Aunt Laura did her best, he didn't have anyone else looking out for him.

I understood him because I could've easily been him. It was painful to admit, but it would have been so easy to do exactly what he was doing. I sighed. I knew he was lonely and only friends with those loser guys because he didn't have anyone else, but they gave him attention.

He had been abandoned his whole life. I felt a stab of regret in my chest when I realized that I had abandoned him as well when I left for college.

I had to live my own life, though, I convinced myself. Evan and I had grown up in New York City, but we had been sent to California after our mom died to live with our Aunt Laura. It was only natural for me to want to go back to New York: the state that I considered 'home'. 

I had gotten to work early that morning so I could call his lawyer before my shift started. His lawyer was only there during business hours, so he wouldn't be there when my shift was over. He was a public defender, which meant that he was who my brother got because we were poor. It also meant that he didn't really seem to care as much what happened to my brother. Maybe that wasn't true for all public defenders, but it seemed to be the case with this one. 

There was a chair near the elevator on the 55th floor, which is where I was sitting while talking to Evan's lawyer. While I was on the phone, Jason passed by me. He looked at me for a moment, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

After all, I was getting pretty vocally frustrated with this lawyer on the phone. It probably wasn't professional to be making this call in front of my boss, but I needed a place to make the call and this floor had been empty until Jason got here. It was still very early.

"He needs to come stay with me! He wants to live with me. Did you tell the judge that?" I asked the lawyer.

"I did, but I'm afraid--" the lawyer began.

I put my face in my hands. "This is ridiculous! Might as well not even bail him out if he's not going to get help."

This wasn't me wanting my brother to leave the state for a 'frivolous reason' like a vacation, which I was trying to explain to the lawyer.

The lawyer gave some excuse. I was only half-listening at this point because he wasn't giving me the answer that I wanted. I didn't know much about the whole legal process, but this was insanely frustrating.

Jason was still standing there, but he was looking at his phone. It looked like he wanted me to hang up, but I still had fifteen minutes before my shift started.