Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88317 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 353(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
After we put the medicine in the Gatorade, Josh walked it over to Scottie and sat next to him. I got goose bumps as Scottie leaned his head against Josh’s shoulder, and Josh spoke to him gently to get him to drink the concoction. Josh would make an amazing father someday. My heart clenched. I wondered if he and I would keep in touch after we left Woodsboro. I couldn’t imagine a life where we didn’t at least speak from time to time. Ironically, he was all I had left of Brad. Maybe that sounded screwed up after last night. But it was the truth.
After about twenty minutes, Josh finally got up from the couch. He waved the empty cup. “Got it all down.”
“You’re seriously my hero for that,” I said.
“Hopefully he’ll start to feel better.” He went to the kitchen to rinse out the cup. “It’s strange how the fever makes him calm. Did you notice he wasn’t stimming at all this morning?”
Stimming was the term we used for the self-stimulatory behaviors Scottie constantly exhibited, things like hand-flapping and humming.
“Yeah,” I said. “It’s fascinating. They should research that, how fevers affect people with autism.”
Josh nodded. “Did you have coffee this morning?”
“No.” I rubbed my temple. “I got distracted and never made it. It’s no wonder my damn head is aching.”
“I’ll make us some,” he said.
“Thanks.”
As I watched him fumble with the coffee pods, I realized how tense he was. I obviously knew why. And I couldn’t take the silence anymore.
“I guess we should talk about last night, or is it better if we don’t?”
Josh froze—literally stopped everything he was doing and leaned against the counter.
He finally turned to me. “I’ve been trying to figure that out. I don’t want you to think I’m blowing it off—just the opposite. I can’t think about anything else. I’m sorry if I’ve been quiet.”
“I know.” I nodded. “I get it. Last night was…”
“Fucking incredible,” he said. “But I haven’t figured out how to handle it.”
“I don’t know how to handle it, either. Maybe we just don’t handle it and don’t put any pressure on each other to find the right words or make it make sense.” I shrugged. “What happened, happened. It was just sex.”
There it was. One of the biggest lies I’d ever told.
He stared into space for a moment. “I don’t think we should do it again.”
That declaration came as no surprise. It was the same thing he’d said the first time we’d messed around.
“I agree,” I said, though it was the last thing I wanted. No way would I push for something he wasn’t ready for. Maybe it was better if we took a step back, now that we’d gotten it out of our system.
We quietly watched the coffee drip out of the machine. Then my cell phone rang. When I saw that it was Scottie’s social services agency, I put the call on speaker so Josh could listen, too.
“Hello?”
“Hi, is this Carly Garber?”
“Yes?”
“This is Maxine Gerard from The Johnson Pruitt Center.”
“Yes...”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but it seems we have an opening at the group home you’ve applied for. The one on Jones Avenue.”
Josh and I looked at each other.
His eyes widened.
My jaw dropped.
“How is that possible?” I asked. “They told us it could take months, or even years, potentially.”
“Well, as it happens sometimes, family members decide that a different place may be a better fit. There was one resident who seemed to be very agitated by another in this particular house, so one of the families put in for a transfer to another home across the state. And they were approved.”
“When would this spot be available?” I asked.
“Well, the transition won’t happen until after the new year. With Christmas only a week away, everything will slow down for a bit. The current resident’s official moving date is January third, and then we’ll need a few days to get the space ready for Scottie, if you choose to take this opening.”
“How long do we have to decide?” Josh asked.
“I can give you until the end of tomorrow. Honestly, Scottie wasn’t the first one on the waiting list, but we think he would be a better fit for this particular home, because he’s fairly calm. Not every home is a good fit for everyone. But we really can’t give you much more than a day to decide since we have to get going on all of the transition paperwork and give the opportunity to someone else if you’re not going to take it. And since Lorraine Longo is officially Scottie’s next of kin, she’ll need to be the one who signs off on everything, though I know she instructed us to communicate with you first.”
“Okay... Well, Josh and I will discuss it and keep Lorraine apprised, too. We’ll get back to you by tomorrow.” I placed my hand on my chest to try to contain my racing heart. “Should I call you back at this number?”