Jeremiah II
Jeremiah II, known as JJ, was Jordan Wells’s younger brother. He was about three years younger than Jordan.
Education
Jeremiah attended the information technology P-TECH program at Carver Vocational-Technical High School in Baltimore City. Through the program’s partnership with Baltimore City Community College, he earned an Associate of Applied Science in Cyber Security and Assurance.
Career
Jeremiah later worked for a major technology company.
Health and Disabilities
Jeremiah had epilepsy and experienced severe migraines.
His seizures were infrequent but could be large, with forceful muscle spasms that Scarlet found brutal to watch. They left him profoundly exhausted. He was slow to regain full responsiveness during the postictal period and often needed to rest or sleep before becoming fully responsive. He vomited after approximately half of his seizures.
On the morning Jordan returned home during his first college winter break, Jeremiah had his first seizure in almost a year while eating breakfast. Scarlet recognized a shift in his gaze as one of his outward seizure signs, leaving only a few seconds to help him get down. He could still hear and respond briefly, allowing him to help lower himself. He vomited afterward, bringing up the breakfast he had just eaten. He remained queasy and worn out, and his hands were still shaking slightly when he woke from a later nap.
Physical Characteristics
Jeremiah was over six feet tall, like Jordan, but less broadly built. His face was longer and narrower than his brother’s, with a firm but less broad jaw. He shared Jordan’s deep-set dark brown eyes. He wore his hair longer than his brother did, mainly in shoulder-length individual box braids about the width of a pencil, especially during his late teens. Between braided styles, he also wore it loose in coils with some fullness around his head.
Tastes and Preferences
Jeremiah preferred computers and technology. He was not interested in sports except for watching his brother play basketball.
Family and Core Relationships
Jeremiah’s family lived in a decent-sized house in Ashburton, within Baltimore City. They were financially comfortable, though less wealthy than the Westons.
Jeremiah’s mother, Scarlet, worked as a real estate agent and held a cosmetology license that she had earned when she was younger. She was shorter than both of her sons and stood under six feet tall.
Jeremiah’s father, Jeremiah, also known as Jerry, worked in information technology for the school district and owned and ran an IT consulting business. Father and son shared an interest in computers and technology.
Jordan Wells
Jeremiah knew how to draw longer responses from Jordan.
Jordan regularly talked with Jeremiah during his postictal recovery, continuing an ordinary conversation and allowing time for Jeremiah’s delayed, slurred replies. This familiar exchange was part of how Jordan supported his brother as he became more responsive after a seizure.
Before leaving Georgetown for his first college winter break, Jordan called Scarlet on FaceTime. Jeremiah was still on the kitchen floor recovering from his breakfast seizure when he softly called for his mother. He could hear Jordan and respond despite remaining heavily postictal, and the brothers continued talking while Scarlet stayed beside Jeremiah.
Their father returned home early from work because of the seizure and helped Jeremiah get to his upstairs bedroom. Jordan stayed on FaceTime while Scarlet carried the phone and Jeremiah was helped into bed. Once his brother was settled, Jordan ended the call to begin the drive home, telling Jeremiah he would see him when he arrived.
Jordan drove home for winter break after his first semester at Georgetown University and asked his mother, Scarlet, where JJ was. Scarlet told him that Jeremiah had not been feeling well and was resting. Jordan went to check on him, knocked on his bedroom doorframe, and found him asleep. Jordan sat beside him, then lay down, exhausted and intending to spend some quiet time without having to do anything. He fell asleep too, and Scarlet found both brothers asleep and snoring.
Jeremiah later woke to find Jordan asleep and snoring beside him. He was pleased that his brother was there despite still feeling unwell. Two thermoses of soup stood on his nightstand; he gingerly sat halfway up and picked one up with slightly shaking hands.