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Lincoln looked up at me. “I feel like I’ve missed something.”
Mark moved closer to him and ducked down, lifting Lincoln’s arm over his shoulder. “Come on. It’ll be a good story to tell you on our way outside.”
I took Lincoln’s other arm and put it over my shoulder. Mark lifted, and I pushed him up until all three of us stood.
Lincoln swayed and closed his eyes as he gritted his teeth, but Mark and I continued to support him.
My mom opened the door for us. “How do you feel now that you’re on your feet? Do you think you’ll pass out? Do you need to lie back down?”
Lincoln blew out a small, shallow breath before opening his eyes. “A little dizzy, but it’s starting to pass.”
My mom scrunched up her nose and mashed her lips together. “Take it nice and easy. The last thing we need is for him to pass out and take all three of you down, especially on the stairs. Be careful.”
Lincoln pushed one foot forward, and we all took a step. “I think I’m ready to start walking now. Maybe you could tell me that story as we’re moving.”
We took small mini steps across the carpet. Mark turned so he and Lincoln went out the door first, and I followed behind.
I reached up with my free arm and curled my fingers around Lincoln’s as we started toward the stairs. “Brandon’s first shift was a disaster.”
Mark chuckled.
I shared a look with my brother on the other side of Lincoln.
Mark grinned and nodded. “Brandon was the boy who cried wolf. Literally. Once he turned thirteen, he would tell Mom and Dad he thought he was going to shift at least three to four times a day. Then he started waking them up a few times in the middle of the night, every stinking night as well.”
Lincoln chuckled. “How long did this go on?”
Mark huffed out a laugh. “Months. Mom and Dad were at their wit’s end. No one was getting any sleep.”
Lincoln wobbled as we took the first step down. Mark and I stopped, letting him get his balance before we moved to the next one.
I grabbed his hand harder as we continued. “It got so bad that he was waking them up in the middle of the night to take him outside to shift. They started taking turns. It got to the point where people stopped believing him when he said that it was time to change.”
I shifted Lincoln’s weight when we got to the bottom step. “Every Friday night is movie night. We were watching Shrek, and he just started transitioning right in the middle of the couch.”
Lincoln shook his head. “Oh no.”
Mark laughed. “Erica was a toddler and sitting right next to him, so Mom and Dad were more worried about getting her out of the way than getting him outside.”
I giggled. “He shifted on the couch, shredding the whole thing. Then he freaked out and ran like a maniac around the front room.”
Mark reached for the front door, shifting Lincoln slightly as he opened it. “I’m not sure who opened the front door and let him out, but by the time he finally ran outside, both couches were done for. The TV was destroyed, and he’d clawed the hell out of the carpet.”
I bit my lip to keep from laughing. “Mom and Dad had just put in new carpeting, too. They ended up redoing the whole living room because of it.”
Lincoln huffed, his breaths shallowing and becoming raspy as we made our way across the porch. “That sounds horrible.”
I gave his hand a squeeze. We were almost there. “We try to make light of it now. I mean, what else are you supposed to do, right?”
Lincoln trembled as we took the last few stairs down to the driveway. I held him tighter, not daring to breathe, and worried that he might fall.
We reached the bottom step and then moved into the grass.
Lincoln gulped in a large breath. “That’s good that you can make fun of it now.”
I smiled as my mom’s words rang in my head. “Sometimes bad things happen. It’s how you make the best of it that makes it all work out.”
Mark made a noise in the back of his throat. “God, you sound just like Mom.”
