Episode 844: Misery

“Why’d you take it off?” Jesse asked. “Halloween isn’t over yet. I thought you loved that costume.” His little brother had been way into old movies lately which probably didn’t help his popularity much at school when combined with mathletes, but whatever, Nate liked it and that was all that mattered.

“I wore it for the school contest,” Nate said, setting the suit and hat on the dresser. “I’m not trick or treating, anyways, I’m probably too old for that now.”

Jesse sat up off of his pillows, shaking his head. He knew kids his own age who still went door to door on Halloween, and Nate had always loved it, and he’d always loved Jesse going with him. This had to be about his illness, Nate didn’t want to go have fun without him, but he didn’t want to trouble Jesse to join him, either.

“Put your costume back on, and draw on your mustache again, we’re going trick or treating,” Jesse said.

“Really?? Excitement flashed in Nate’s eyes only to wobble away. “Are you sure?”

Jesse was sure, he wanted to do this for his brother, with his brother, their parents, however, weren’t so big on the idea once they saw Jesse and Nate headed for the door.

“Hey guys,” their dad said, standing up from the sofa. “Why don’t you just stick around home tonight? We have a whole bunch of scary movies to choose from and plenty of candy.”

“I’m feeling fine,” Jesse said, “and I have my phone, it won’t be a problem, this is what you’re supposed to do on Halloween, it’s what I want to do with my brother, it’s tradition.”

“You know it’s been forever since I was in on that tradition,” his mom said, “I-”

“Nate doesn’t want to trick or treat with his mom, no offense. I’ll be fine, that’s what you keep saying anyway, right, Mom? Unless you don’t believe that.”

It was the easiest way to win an argument with his parents these days, neither of them wanted to say out loud that he may not be fine in the end.

Sometime later as the brothers walked along, Nate turned to Jesse and held up his treat bag. “I have a really good haul here, we can walk home now if you want so you don’t get tired, I mean, it wouldn’t be just you, I’m tired, too.”

“I can stick it out for a while longer, Nate, it’s cool.”

Nate appeared really hesitant, so Jesse led the way forward, he soon regretted it though when they came to Caroline’s house. She and her boyfriend sat at a table outside, requesting sign-ups for donors to be tested to as a match for Jesse, like he was some pathetic charity case. Just when he didn’t think it could be any worse how delicately people tried him, now this.

Episode 845: Breathe