Chicago || Self-Para
“H-hey, Sammy? I need your help.”
Sam wasn’t expecting his older brother to call him, and he especially wasn’t expecting him to be asking for help. Rusty never asked anyone for help; he had been self-reliant since they were kids. When Rusty needed something, he always did it himself. Sam could count the number of times he had given his brother help with anything on one hand. But right now? This sounded serious. Rusty sounded like he’d been crying, and Rusty hadn’t cried in front of Sam since elementary school.
“Of course. What’s up?” Sam asked, not knowing what else to say. Sure, he and his brother had had their differences, to say the least, but Sam wasn’t about to say no to his only brother.
“I-I lost my job. The company had to lay people off. I don’t know how I’m gonna make rent next month...” Rusty paused to blow his nose. “Can I borrow money from you?” Money. That really was serious. Rusty got his first job at twelve years old and had never been without a job since then. Even throughout college he worked almost full-time.
“Yeah. Yeah, of course you can, bro.” Bro? Sam couldn’t remember a time where he ever called Rusty “bro,” but it felt right in the moment.
After a mumbled “thank you” from Rusty’s end, the two brothers sat in silence for a few minutes. During those minutes, Sam began to think. Rusty was unemployed. There was no telling how long it would take for him to find another job in data analysis. Rusty liked living in Chicago and would rather die than move back with their parents in Paradise. Sam liked Greensville, but at the same time felt as though he was in a dead-end job going nowhere. Maybe being closer to Rusty would be good for him. Rusty always wanted Sam to do more with his life. Maybe this would be the push Sam needed.
After silently contemplating, Sam stated, “Hey, Rusty? I think I have an idea.”
“What idea?” Rusty asked, hesitantly.
“What if I moved in with you? I already have a bartending license so I can get a job at a place near you. Chicago’s packed with people, I’m sure some bar will have an opening. I’ll pay the rent and whatnot until you can get back on your feet, and then we’ll split it after that. Just as long as you have a couch for me, I’ll be set.”
“I think I’d like that. Having you around. You sure things will be okay with your job now though?”
“I’ll give them my notice. My bosses are nice guys, they’ll understand.”
After an agreement was reached, the two brothers talked on the phone for another two hours. for the first time in a long time, they actually caught up with one another. They talked about everything, from childhood to their dating lives (or rather, lack thereof) to Netflix movies. It felt nice to catch up with Rusty, to actually feel like he had a brother again.
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The phone conversation with Rusty had occurred on New Year’s Day. One month later, Sam had tied up all of his loose ends in Greensville. He gave Rain n’ Bows a month’s worth of notice to find a new bartender. He cancelled his gym membership, but not before getting a few good workouts in with Daichi. He paid his rent for Kayin’s apartment and told him what was going on. He sent Rusty money to pay the rent for February, because he knew he probably wouldn’t be there before the first of the month. He applied to all of the bars he could find within reasonable driving distance from Rusty’s apartment, and even got three interviews scheduled. This move was a lot less stressful than his last. It wasn’t as impulsive or chaotic. Now all he had to do was actually get to Chicago. Hopefully his old rust bucket wouldn’t kick the bucket on the drive up. Hopefully Chicago would be good for him. And maybe, just maybe, he’ll call Margo and they can meet up some time.
