AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s my basement! I want my basement!”
“You have a room up here, Lev. I made it for you special. It’s got green curtains and a fish tank. Just like you wanted.”
“I want my basement!”
I lean away to prevent him from bursting my eardrums. “Lev, you’re not listening to me.”
“I don’t want to listen. I want—”
“—your basement. I know.”
He’s trying to rock back and forth again. His eyes are watery with tears. He’s still struggling but it’s half-hearted.
“Lev, please. Take a deep breath.”
“My fort. I want to be in my fort… The train is coming… My enemies are coming… I want…”
“There is no train, Lev. There are no enemies, either. I’ve taken care of all of them.”
Lev shakes his head. “My books… My games… My paints…”
His body has gone limp, which is how I know it’s safe to release him. His outbursts are abrupt, sometimes unpredictable, but they fade away as fast as they come. I turn him around slowly so that we’re face to face.
“You have books, games, and paint in your new room.”
His eyebrows are pulled together tight enough to erase any gap between them. His dark brown eyes zip past me, back to me, then past me again. “I don’t like the new room.”
“Tell me why.”
He makes a sound that comes from the back of his throat. It happens anytime he doesn’t like something but he doesn’t know how to express himself.
“Use your words. Tell me why.”
He shakes his head. “Not safe… too bright…”
I take both his hands and squeeze. “Who am I?”
Lev looks at me, his mouth dropping open. “My brother.”
“Your big brother,” I say with a nod. “And what is my most important job?”
Lev’s frown slowly starts fading. “Me.”
I smile encouragingly. “That’s right. Taking care of you is my most important job. Protecting you is my most important job. I would never do anything that wasn’t good for you, Lev. You know that, right?”
His mouth twists like he’s not sure whether to smile or cry. He looks down at our linked hands and takes that big breath I’ve been trying to coax him into. He’s never been good at getting words out when he’s distressed, but the moment he calms down, it gets easier.
“But I… miss my basement. I don’t like being up here… alone.”
He pummels his head against my chest and I clutch the back of his neck. “You’re not alone. I’m right here. I’m always here. How about this: just for tonight, you can sleep in my room.”
Lev jerks his head up. “Like a sleepover?”
I stare at my not-so-little brother’s face, marveling at all that childlike joy, the innocence that has become a permanent part of his personality. I still see the boy he was. The boy heis,frozen in time. Trapped in a body that left him behind a long time ago.
“Yes, like a sleepover.”
He grabs me for a tight bear hug. “Sleepover!” he exclaims. “Sleepover! Sleepover!”
