Rivers Rescue

by Leanne Davis

  “And no gratitude for Brianna?”

  “She’s my competition.”

  “Then be prepared for things like what she did the other night. She won’t be easy on you just because you’re deaf. Realize that. I am with her too so you’d be wise to accept that.”

  “We’ll see what happens in time.”

  Felicity walked away and Finn watched but he didn’t agree. A weird whisper shuddered through him. Yeah. That odd, gritty honesty he shared with Felicity was unique and he couldn’t do it with anyone else. There were no gray shades in their communication, it was full and clear at all times and perhaps that’s why it was.

  He entered his apartment to smiles and laughter, even if no one could hear them.

  In middle of the ribbing, fun, relaxing and easy talking, Brianna’s text came through and ruined it all. It reminded him he had a girlfriend and also why he did. He knew what he truly wanted in life: to be with her. For real. When she was needy, sad, desperate, angry, happy, fun, sexy and frustrating, Finn wanted to be there for everything.

  At least he knew the answer. He glanced at Felicity, whose face scrunched up when she saw it was Brianna. Yeah, his friendship with Felicity was all it would ever be.

  Brianna? With her, it was love.

  Her text said: Found my brother. His girlfriend had the baby and he didn’t tell us. It’s about three weeks old. Both were high. High. Fucking high. The baby isn’t nourished I don’t think and the diaper was stupid full. It’s a boy. My brother… I can’t believe my brother would be like that. I don’t know what to do. My mom’s coming tonight. Please come back too. I need you…

  He sighed and wished he could call her and speak. He texted back a quick reply, saving the words and his compassion for when he reached her.

  ****

  The work to organize the camp started heating up far past advertising and marketing, which Brianna still faithfully did every day. She worked closely between Kianna the director of Shield Shelter, the main foster care organizer and Jack. They handled everything from logistics, to supplies to programing to insurance and an endless list of functional tasks. In working so much and so often together it wasn’t long before Kianna fully appreciated Brianna’s effectiveness. She could raise money out of thin air it seemed to most people. To her, it was simply from tapping into willing people’s good will and wallets via accessing them on the internet. Not magic. Not air. Commerce.

  Kianna however, was amazed by her skills and offered her a permanent position. Brianna said she’d let her know but it lifted her heart to have it offered. Did she want to be the Head of Donation and Public Relations for Shield Shelter? Kianna hoped so after being so impressed with her work on the Rydells’ websites and the substantial increase in camp growth funding and exposure. She’d have to remain in Everett or in close proximity, however, which was why she wasn’t sure. Not yet. She thought of Finn. His work. Her relationship with him. She wondered if they still had a relationship. Her heart hurt and nearly sunk but lifted as she waited, feeling very unsure. Hoping. Scared. Vulnerable.

  So for now she didn’t know what to tell Kianna.

  She tracked down her brother after one of his friends actually answered her inquiry if they knew where Jacob was. She got an address.

  In her car, all alone, she drove to the address on the south side of Seattle. Off the freeway, she followed a highway through a dismal industrial area that went on for miles. Finally, she parked before a small apartment building. Her heart dipped. Her brother lived here? It was so depressing.

  Clutching her purse close to her body, she wished she packed a gun. The neighborhood was that bad. She walked across the dead lawn and went up the rickety stairs to the outdoor walkway until she found number 12, which was supposedly where Jacob was staying.

  She knocked and waited. She scowled at the door.

  No one answered. She tugged on the knob and surprisingly, it turned. Brianna stepped in and started poking around, unsure of what she was looking for. She eventually found him.

  And instantly wished she hadn’t.

  Her brother?

  She guessed he had to be.

  Her handsome, smiling, sweet brother from her youth was not him. This guy? She was afraid to touch him for fear he could be dead. She shook him. “Jacob. Jacob, wake up.”

  Strung out? She saw needles on the nightstand. She glanced around and paused when she spotted a drawer in the corner, and odder still, little arms were moving inside it.

  A baby?

  No. No. There could not be a baby. Her brother’s baby?

  Jacob was lying asleep on the bed, which was stripped and brown, so dirty it made her skin crawl. The woman next to him was skinny with unwashed, uncombed, stringy hair and her thin arms were clutching Jacob. The baby was in a drawer on the floor. Brianna shuddered as she stepped over piles of clothes, used containers and dirty towels. She knelt down and tugged on the blanket.

  Shit. It really was a baby.

  Her heart hurt in her chest.

  NO.

  She turned angrily and started shaking her brother. “Jacob. Jacob, wake the fuck up.”

  He barely flinched and his eyes kind of sputtered open. She screamed. “JACOB.”

  But he just mumbled. She leaned down to check his pulse. It thumped. He was alive at least. The baby rustled. It was lying shirtless in the cool, damp room. She could have smacked her brother silly. She could fucking…

  Pulling out a notebook, she quickly jotted down that she’d been there and taken his baby.

  She told him to call her. She refused to the leave the poor baby with two strung-out parents, dead to the world on their filthy mattress. She stared at them with a big, heavy heart. She didn’t know if she could ever feel the same about Jacob again.

  She refused to leave this innocent little creature here. There. All alone. Cold. High? Maybe. Starving? Probably.

  She carefully lifted the little body. She believed he was a boy by the blue blanket. But when he turned his mouth towards her, she held him against her chest. She leaned down, kissing his tiny cheek. Damn. The blanket stunk of feces and urine. She hunted around for a clean diaper and clothing. She stripped the baby and cleaned him up the best she could. She stripped her coat off to wrap around the baby. She stood up and took a step. Then she all but turned and ran. Kidnapping? Fine. Her brother was guilty of child abuse and she did what was necessary.

  Fuck her brother.

  She made it to her car, fretting. Fuck. She had no infant car seat. She looked around but knew she could not stay there. It was getting close to dark and yeah, she was scared. But the baby started to sputter. Oh, God. She had to take him to the hospital. Now. Very carefully, she took the little guy with her as she searched the room until she found an infant seat. It would have to do. She was surprised they even had one. She quickly figured out how to strap the baby in it and attach it to the car. He was fully awake now and shrieking. Brianna was shaking as she started home. She couldn’t yet process what she just witnessed and did. She kept glancing back and blinking, expecting the back seat to be empty as usual… not holding a baby. Her brother’s baby.

  Before hitting the freeway, she pulled over to the side of the road. Her anxiety almost crippled her. She called her dad’s number and his voice was so calm and soothing, he instantly made her stop sobbing. Her words came out garbled and unclear. The baby started to cry too.

  “Brianna. I can’t understand you. Calm down and try again.”

  “I found Jacob,” she finally managed to say.

  “Oh. Bri… that can’t be good.”

  “He…he’s so strung out, he didn’t even know I left.”

  “That’s why we cut him off. He’s doing hard drugs. He’s—”

  “I get that. Or I am getting that. But Dad. It’s more than that. He… oh, my God. Dad, he has a baby. I took it with me and left a note. But the baby wasn’t covered properly and Jacob and the mom, I guess she’s the mom, were so strung-out I couldn’t wake them up. I don’
t know what else to do.”

  “Oh, damn. Go to our doctor’s office. I’ll meet you there. I’ll call her and let her know.”

  “Yes. Okay. The doctor’s office. Of course.”

  She calmed her trembling hands, trying to drive safely. She had precious cargo to see home now. Her nerves nearly undid her, but she navigated the freeway until she got to their family doctor’s office. Her dad was there alone, without Trinity. She flung the car door open and all but launched herself at him as he hurried toward her, his face looking tense. He took her and held her against him. She hugged him tightly, shaking her head with wet eyes, until she finally backed away from him. “Why? What happened? Why did Jacob become like that? There is no reason… no good reason for him to be like that.” The words made her start to cry again.

  Her dad again held her against him. “I know and I feel the exact same way. Look, maybe it seemed harsh what we did, but facilitating it won’t make him stop. He’ll just keep doing it and use, abuse, steal from and hurt us. This is the only answer, honey. If you don’t think it’s killing your mom and me, it is. He’s an addict. And the future does not look promising for him. I simply can’t think about how he’ll end up.”

  “But he has a baby. They were so out of it…”

  “Let’s get the little guy checked out. I told the doctor he’s my grandson and his parents don’t have insurance so I will pay for his well-baby check. It’s overdue because of funds…”

  Startled, Brianna moved aside while her dad leaned into the backseat. “Why lie?”

  “Because otherwise, the police will be notified. I’d like to see what’s going on first and at least talk to your mom before the authorities are brought into this. Once Child Protective Services gets involved, it’s entirely out of our hands.”

  Brianna held her breath. She watched her dad bring the infant carrier out and stared down. He leaned over and touched the baby’s head. “Oh, hell,” he muttered.

  She collapsed again, crying.

  “Stay here. This has to seem normal, okay? You can’t control yourself right now. Why don’t you go home? I already called your mom and she’s on her way here. She can stay with us. This is pretty important.” Her dad started to turn but came back to her side, setting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it. “You did the right thing. I’m so proud of you. We are so very grateful for you, Brianna.”

  She nodded. She was glad her dad took charge and was already a few moves ahead of her. As it was, she could barely remember how to get home. Her body trembled all over and she was shaken to her very soul.

  Her brother was an addict.

  What the hell did she do about it? She knew the reality. She denied it for so long and it became harder during the last year. She now understood the source of her mom’s unhappiness. Her son’s quickly declining lifestyle and irreversible addiction was taking its toll on her.

  Sure, Brianna realized Jacob got into trouble a lot. He was always drinking and doing drugs for as long as she could remember. She knew that and didn’t like it. She also warned him against it and tried to talk to him, being supportive at times and combative at others. She tried all the things she could think of but nothing could stop Jacob. That’s the reason it is called addiction.

  Trinity was home by the time she scurried inside her house. Trinity still worked as a personal trainer, which was how she met her dad. Her face was pale. “Your dad called me.”

  “Yeah, I think this time, we’re calling everyone.”

  Trinity nodded. There was nothing else to say or do but wait.

  Finally, her dad walked in with the baby. It felt so peculiar and very wrong. How could this day have ended with her brother’s baby inside her dad’s house? Her parents’ grandchild. Her nephew.

  Her dad set the baby down and his shoulders slumped as he stared down at the carrier before him. “The baby is fine. Normal weight and good health with no signs of drug withdrawal.”

  “It’s Jacob’s then?”

  “Yeah. He finally responded to my calls. He’s coming here. He’ll be here in… well, he said an hour but we all know that story. If he ever shows up tonight, I guess I should consider myself lucky.”

  Brianna sucked down the knot that was lodged in her throat with her tears. The baby was quiet as Trinity came forward. She started releasing the baby from the carrier before taking him in her arms. “We should get some clean clothes and blankets right away. Brianna? Could you run and get some? I don’t like the smell of these.”

  “Yes. Of course.” Grateful for an easy job, Brianna ran out and stayed away from the house for an hour. She selected the items without any thought of the price. She didn’t care. Her panic and confusion outweighed everything else. She texted Finn again and told him she really needed him and hoped he’d come now. Soon. She wished she could call him just to talk. She didn’t want to video talk; she just wanted to hear Finn’s voice on her cell phone while she sat traumatized in the car.

  She shook herself out of it. How easy it was before when all was good and she had the patience and mental and emotional strength to motivate her to make accommodations and deal with his deafness. Right then? She felt beyond tired and wrung out and she didn’t want to.

  Finally, she got back to the house and noticed an ugly, broken, brown, little car in the driveway. Her brother’s wheels? She knew nothing about this stranger’s life anymore. Her mom’s car was parked there as well.

  She entered the house and heard voices in the living room where she saw her brother. He turned at her entrance and they made eye contact, exchanging a long, cold death stare and glaring at each other. All at once, she attacked him. Brianna didn’t even know she had it in her, but while she stood there frozen on the outside, she burned white-hot on the inside. Rage. Blinding and deep when she pictured that little, helpless baby all alone and her shameless brother with used hypodermic needles strewn everywhere, lying right there beside him. Anxiety climbed up her chest, and her neck seemed to boil before the steam exited her ears. Dizzy from her overwhelming anger and sadness, she couldn’t stop herself and suddenly flew at him. He automatically put his hands up to catch her before she landed on him, kicking him while tears streamed down her face.

  “How could you? How fucking could you? I thought you were dead and you were lying there, high. With a new baby? You had a baby?! How could you not fucking tell us? Me, at least? How?” She screamed and cried as he held her far enough away that she could not scratch him or land any blows. Jacob wasn’t the brother she knew and loved her entire life. Her sweet, shy, almost nerdy, baby brother, Jacob. What happened to him? He sure wasn’t this fucking shell of a guy. No. No. She was so angry seeing him there, pretending he was her brother, and that rage nearly cut off her breath.

  Jacob pushed her before a pair of arms came around her waist and grabbed her, pulling her backwards towards the body that loomed behind her. Tears streaming and blinding her, while snot dribbled from her nose, she turned her head halfway around before she saw Finn behind her.

  He held her closer and squeezed her against him. Finn. Duh. Of course it was Finn.

  “Brianna. Brianna… Shh… Shh. Let go, honey. Let go. Let go of him.”

  She struggled against Finn, but Jacob pushed her away while Finn pulled her back until she finally surrendered and ceased her attack.

  “You know I can’t hear you. I can’t talk to the back of your head.”

  She froze. Of course he was right.

  She bent forward, all but falling to her knees and sobbed and cried as Finn kneeled beside her. He pushed her hair from her face so he could see her more clearly. He felt her shaking body and saw her tears, but he couldn’t hear her pathetic wails and screams and whatever other sounds she made. She turned her face and let him pull her to his chest. She clung to him for long minutes before she finally started to calm down and the incessant buzzing in her ears began to fade.

  Stiffening, she scooted back away from him. “Fuck,” she muttered as she wiped her face and glanced u
p. He stared down at her with sympathy and his clear, blue eyes shone with care and concern for her. She sighed. This was so over the top. The way she acted, not to mention, how her brother acted. Jacob had a newborn baby right here in this house. But now she sat sobbing and upset while feeling humiliated. “Hey,” she barely mumbled. She doubted anyone else could hear her. Ironically, those were the times, Finn could.

  He kissed her mouth before replying, “Hey.”

  She touched his mouth. “Are we… are we still us?”

  Though he couldn’t hear her voice crack over the word us, she spelled it with her fingers for emphasis. His hand wrapped around her fingers as she had his before. He held her gaze for as long as she needed to collect herself. When she finally nodded at him, it was as if to signal she’d gathered all her shit together. He signed back, “Yes. We are still us.”

  She knew the signs for yes and we and us. She believed that’s what he said. She thought this was how he heard her now and she started to cry harder. Yes. They were together. How that proceeded or what it would look like were still undecided. She couldn’t predict the future, but this, today, clarified how much she wanted and needed him. Barriers, struggles and all.

  She had hours of conversation in which she could clarify that but right then? She just needed that one sentence. That was her reality. That promise. Her truth. The rest? She believed to her very core that they’d figure it out despite all the evidence that spoke otherwise. And contrary to everyone else’s predictions.

  She started nodding as fresh tears filled her eyes and streamed over her cheeks. They were totally different than the tears of only a few minutes ago. The anger was gone now and her relief was just as potent as a shot of pure vodka.

  She cleared her throat and suddenly became painfully aware of the spectacle she’d made of herself. She saw her family staring at them and realized she and Finn had somehow proclaimed their love to one another in front of everyone. She had no idea, however, what anyone else would assume from their quick, quiet, signing exchange.