Good Ol' Sibling Love

[Crystal]

((so this was really quickly written..I was supposed to do this way earlier, i know..but..oh well. It's not that descriptive and it's short, but i didn't know what else to put..))

“So you’re actually going?”

It was a conversation that couldn’t be avoided. She knew it would it brought up eventually. Cassie put the casserole dish in the oven and set the timer on the microwave. She wiped her hands on a dishcloth, trying to come up with an easy explanation.

“I am. It’s only for a few days and—“

“It’s for Christmas, Cass.”

“It wasn’t an easy decision, Alex. I know you think I just jumped at this opportunity, but I really sat down and thought about it.”

“It seemed pretty easy from what I saw. You’re choosing to be with some family you hardly know rather than spend Christmas with your own brother. That’s screwed up, Cassie. You don’t know them!”

“It’s Anthony’s family! I know them well enough. They were kind enough to invite me.”

“And you could have told them that you had other plans. You’re trying to get rid of me and I can see that.”

“Don’t you ever say that, Alex. Don’t you dare. I’m just spending Christmas with them. I will be back by New Years and we can celebrate then. Dad used to save presents until New Years Day anyway. It’ll be just like that.”

“No, it won’t be just like that. I’m your family, Cassie, and you’re ditching me on Christmas Day to spend it with his family. We’re the only family each other has!”

Cassie turned away from him and rubbed her forehead. This is what she had been afraid of when she had accepted Anthony’s offer of going to Sicily. She knew Alex would feel like she was abandoning him, especially on Christmas. It was a time to be with family and she was leaving him alone during the holiday. They had spent every Christmas together. The two would go to the graveyard where their father was buried, would have a small Christmas dinner together, and would watch whatever movie happened to be on that year. It was a tradition for them and she was breaking that. But it was also the first Christmas she had been with someone in what she considered to be a serious relationship. The other relationships had never happened during Christmas so the issue had never come up.

She closed her eyes and told herself not to feel guilty about this. Things were going so well with Anthony. Very well, in fact. She saw this relationship lasting for a while and she wanted to spend Christmas with him and his family.

“Alex, I’m spending Christmas with Anthony and his family,” she told him softly.

“That’s bullsh!t, Cassie.”

“Why don’t you spend it with Josh’s family? They’re always inviting us over for the holidays every year, Alex. He’s one of your best friends. They wouldn’t mind having you over.”

“That’s not the point! We’re supposed to spend Christmas together.”

“This is the first Christmas I’ll miss, Alex. The first. I’m here for every other holiday. They were kind enough to invite me and I’m not going to turn down that opportunity. We’ll still have our Christmas when I get back. It’ll be just the same.”

“It won’t be the f-ing same, Cassie! You hardly know this guy…” He shook his head and turned his wheelchair around to head out of the kitchen. “I knew this would happen.”

She bit her lip and sighed as she watched him go down the hall to his room. “Alex…”

[Crystal]

((I just kept thinking about why Alex is the way he is, and...so here it is ha))

"Good job today, Alex. Remember the packet of exercises that I gave you. You need to work on those at home."

Cassie stood up from the chait she was sitting in at the physical therapy office and smiled at her brother. "Ready?"

"Cassie? Could I speak with you for a moment?"

She looked over at Dr. Wilson and nodded. She prayed this wasn't about the bills or payment. "Of course." She told Alex she should be right back and followed the physical therapist into his office.

"Have a seat, Cassie." He shut the door and walked over to sit behind his desk.

"Is everything okay?"

"Of course. I just wanted to talk to you about a few things. Alex isn't doing his exercises at home. I can tell. He's not progessing as he should. He has the strength and the ability, just not the motivation and drive."

She sighed and set her purse in her lap. It never failed that this would be brought up with every physical therapist she had brought Alex to. "I know. I try to encourage him, but..." she shrugged. There really was no hope in trying to explain it.

"As you know, I worked in psychology before switching over to physical therapy. Mind if I give you my thoughts on the subject?"

"Anything would help."

He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk. "I've talked a little to Alex about the accident and his past. I think to really help a patient, you have to know the underlying psychology behind that patient. Cassie, I believe Alex has abandonment issues. Now, these might have been in place before, or they might have come as a result from the accident. He had some head trauma, correct?"

"He did. We spoke to a neurologist at the time of the accident and he said that the damage to the frontal lobe could cause Alex to experience some personality and attitude changes and mood swings."

"So it might have come from that. But either way, I think that's what is stopping him from moving forward. He tells me that your mother left when you two were young?"

Cassie moistened her lips and nodded. "Right. We were really young. I was only around 3. Alex is older, so I suppose he remembers her a little more. We haven't spoken with her since though."

"Not even at Alex's accident? Your father's death?"

She was quiet for a moment before answering. "No. I called her and left a message when Alex was in the hospital. I never heard back from her. She didn't even send a card."

"He's in the hospital, almost lost his life if I understand correctly, and his mother doesn't show up."

"We never really talked about our mother, but I guess it did bother him. Even after 15 years, I guess he hoped she would come to him. Especially since our dad had just passed away." She played with her hands and sighed.

"And was he seeing someone at the time of the accident?"

She looked at the doctor for a moment. "Yes, a girl named Jennifer."

"And what happened with that?"

"She left him while he was in the hospital. He had been a coma and when he woke up, she broke up with him." That incident still angered her to this day.

"At the time he needed her most, she left him."

"I don't really understand why this would effect his therapy and motivation though."

"Cassie, you've been taking care of him, right? You two are the only family each other has, correct?"

She nodded. "Right." She watched him for a moment, trying to see where he was going with this. "I wouldn't leave him though. He's my brother."

"Alex tells me you won't be here for the Christmas holidays."

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. "I was invited to spend Christmas with my boyfriend's family. It doesn't mean I'm abandoning him. And he hasn't been doing the exercises long before I even met Anthony."

"Cassie, I'm not blaming you. In fact, I encourage you to go. I think it would help Alex see that you're not going to leave him just by going on vacation. But have you ever thought that by getting better, he might be saying it's okay to leave him? Think about it, Cassie. If he's able to get the total strength back in his legs, finds a job that he enjoys, and he's able to care for himself, well, then that would allow you to leave."

"I would never completely leave him though."

"I don't think he wants to test that idea. He's remaining dependent on you so that you won't leave him. He doesn't like the idea of things changing, such as the Christmas trip plan. Like a lot of people, he doesn't want to be left completely alone."

"But I'll always be there for him. He's my brother."

"I don't think that concept is getting through to him. Maybe you two need to sit down and talk about things. Have you ever talked about what the future plans are? What happens when he gets to 100%?"

"No, we haven't. I never really thought about the possibility of that being the problem."

"I want you to talk to him about it. Sit down and have a conversation. Plan out the future. Explain to him the things he can do to help out. And if there's anything that I can do, please just let me know. You have my number."

"Yes, I will. Thank you, Dr. Wilson."

"Hopefully this will help him start improving. I've seen a lot of things in my time here," he smiled. "Sometimes it's just a little thing like that."