"Hi. How can I help you?"
Niall was standing at the desk and the lady behind the computer was looking up at him with a smile. "My name is Niall Horan. I'm here to visit Greg Horan. I've been here before."
"Oh yes. Ms. Betty called the front desk earlier and let me know you'd be coming in with chips and a canned drink for Greg. Hold on a second and let me get you into the computer."
She typed Greg's name into the computer and when she found him, she then logged Niall into the patient log.
"Alright, I'll take you to see him. Ms. Betty should be in the room with him."
She got up from her chair and led Niall to Greg's room. She was the one to knock on the room door and soon, Ms. Betty opened the door. She was happy to see him.
"Mr. Horan. You made it. Come on in."
Niall did and she closed the door behind him.
"Greg just finished his bath. Unfortunately, he thought it would be fun to play with the syrup that came with his pancakes this morning. Got it all over himself and down in his clothes."
Niall chuckled. "Oh no."
"Don't worry one bit. He loved it. Almost fought me to keep from having to get in the tub."
He walked all the way into the room and saw Greg sitting in bed on top of the covers and in his white gown.
"Ms. Betty. The TV." He said.
"Hold on a moment. Let's not turn it on, yet. Someone is here to see you. See?"
He looked curiously at Niall. "Who are you?"
For once, Niall was actually happy that Greg didn't remember him. Because if he had remembered him, then that would mean he probably remembered how he came in and accused him of murder the last time he was here. But Niall was hoping to start over fresh. He was hoping to have a much different visit that resulted in a much different outcome.
"I'm your brother."
"What? I have a brother?"
"Yes. You do. But it's okay if you can't remember me."
"Okay."
Niall sighed, then slowly walked over to the bed so he didn't scare him. "You know what I heard?"
"No."
"I heard you are a big fan of salted chips and orange soda."
He only nodded. But he was surprised when Niall pulled the two items he just mentioned from his bag.
"Is that mine?"
"Yes."
Ms. Betty smiled. "That's a gift, Greg. What do you say?"
"Thank you."
He took them from him shyly and Ms. Betty came over, while pushing a rolling table with an empty styrofoam cup and empty styrofoam bowl already on it. "You know the drill, Greg. We always pour everything out, remember?"
"Yes ma'am."
He let her take the items from him and open them.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Horan." She said to Niall. "When someone brings in outside food, we have to do this to make sure no one is trying to slip weapons or objects that can cause patients harm into these items. Some years ago, we had a patient who cut herself and almost killed herself by doing it before she came here. Her family was paying for her stay here and they were tired of doing it, so they tried to get rid of her by slipping in a razor blade into a bag of chips and resealing it. Luckily we caught it before the patient had a chance to do anything with it."
"Oh wow. And no, that's okay. Go right ahead and do what you have to do. At least I know you're looking out for his safety."
She poured half of his drink into the cup and then poured all his chips out into the bowl. "There we go. That's all for you. And when you finish what's in the cup, your brother will pour the rest in."
He slid his feet to the ground and began to eat. The sight of it made Niall's heart hurt. This was his older brother who had him by seven years. And yet his insanity did not paint him nearly as such. He couldn't even pour his own food without supervision in this place.
"I'll leave you to it." Ms. Betty whispered to him as she passed. "Remember to holler for me if you need anything."
"I will."
When she left, he sat down in a chair in the corner of the room and took a book from his bag.
"Do you like stories, Greg?"
Greg only looked at him. "What's your name?"
"My name is Niall."
"Do you like chips, Niall?"
"Yes. I love chips."
"You want some?"
He smiled. "No. Those are your chips. Go on and eat. And while you eat, I'll read you a story."
"Okay."
Niall opened the book. "By the way, this story is called Charlotte's Web. It's a story I read when I was a young kid. You probably read it too and just don't remember. So I'm going to read it to you again. It's mainly about a pig and a spider."
"Charlotte's Web."
"Yes." He began to read now. "'Chapter one. Before Breakfast. Where's Papa going with that ax?' said Fern to her mother as they were setting the table for breakfast. 'Out to the hoghouse,' replied Mrs. Arable. 'Some pigs were born last night.'"
He continued reading the story to him and Greg listened quietly. When he finished eating and drinking, he got into bed and underneath the covers to listen. But Niall had gotten almost halfway through chapter two of the story when when he had fallen asleep. So Niall closed the book and put it away. Then he stood up and went over to the bed.
He sighed softly down at him. Greg had to live in this room everyday. He ate here, he slept here and he watched TV here. He did almost everything here. Niall could not imagine having to live life like that while also not having any close family members to help make it easier and less lonely. Niall really felt sorry for him. As if it was hard enough being insane and alone, Greg didn't need Niall to come blaming him for something he could not even remember doing. So he decided he wasn't going to do that anymore. Not even when he was alone.
He bent down and softly kissed his brother's forehead. "I forgive you, Greg." He spoke quietly. And then he grabbed his bag and left the room. Ms. Betty was at the end of the hall and sitting on the couch where she normally took her breaks.
When she saw him, she got up and came to meet him.
"How was it?"
"It was great. He fell asleep though."
She chuckled. "Oh. I'm sorry. I guess the bath put him right on out."
"That's okay. I definitely wasn't expecting to finish the entire story today anyway. I was hoping that I could make a habit of coming by at least once a week for a while. That way he'll start to get used to me and remember me on future visits. And hopefully even call me by name like he does you."
She smiled at him. "That sounds a like a great idea. I know he'll like that."
"Alright then. I guess I'll see you next week."
"Yep. I'll be here."
Niall left the building and went out to the car where Liam was waiting for him.
"Thanks for waiting for me." Niall told him.
"You're welcome. How did it go?"
"Um... it went great. Sorry, I didn't invite you in. I didn't want to overwhelm him with too many new faces and have what happened last time happen again. Maybe next time."
Liam turned on the engine. "That's okay. Are you sure it went great though?"
"Yes."
"Then why do you sound so stressed?"
Niall put on his seatbelt and sat back in the seat as the car started to move. "It's quite the opposite of stressed, actually. In fact, a burden was lifted today."
"How so?"
"While I was there this time, I realized that Greg isn't as lucky as me. I mean... sure I lost my family and my home in one night but I have you and I have my adoptive mother and father and family. On the other hand, Greg is pretty much alone. He never gained any more family after the house fire. But I at least had that opportunity. It's not fair for me to keep blaming him and holding a grudge over what happened. It happened but not only did it happen, he's also paying for what he did. And I can't keep being angry at him. Especially not when he has lost so much more than I have. Including his mind and freedom."
Liam glanced over at him. "So you forgave him."
"I did. And it felt good. And you know what? I still love him too. Even after all these years."
Liam chose to drive with one hand and used the other to grab Niall's hand so he could hold it. "You didn't have to do what you did today. You're a good brother. You know that?"
He faced the window and only mumbled to himself. "Well... Now I am."
As they headed back home, Niall went quiet. If anything was sure, it was that his lifetime of experiences had left him with many scars. Whether they were emotional, mental or physical. No doubt he could never change the way things went in the past. But he could certainly make the best of the position they put him in.
He started to see that fire did not completely ruin his life for good. Because there were people in his life who loved him enough to make sure he didn't let it. Their insistence on getting him help taught him that recovery was possible no matter how long and arduous the journey back may be. So who knows? With someone in Greg's life and showing him how much they cared, maybe he too will began to come around and start his own journey of recovery to get back to a somewhat normal life. Niall wanted to be that someone. He wanted to be there every step of the way and holding his hand if he needed to. Just the way he knew a true and loving brother should.
THE END