"There's a word I found recently. Evanescence. It made me think of you. It made me think of us. Were we just a dream, Sebastian?"
TW : Key themes of suicide and trauma.
WARNING: This is Book Two. Please read "affluenza" first to avoid any spoilers...
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COMING BACK HOME was an easier transition than I thought it'd be. I realized how deeply I did miss my family, how the anger I'd held towards them had seemed to disappear almost all at once. As Oba sneaks me a glass of wine while we eat the pizza we ordered for dinner, I can't even begin to wonder why I left. These were the best people I'd ever known and they were mine.
One of the other best people I knew, I hadn't heard from. I know it's only been a few hours but shouldn't he have texted me by now? I did lay out my heart to him. What was I supposed to do with that, now?
Hiro nudges my shoulder. "So...this Roman guy? Is he, you know, good to you?"
I chuckle once. "Are you trying to protect me?"
He smiles bashfully. "Well, yeah," he admits. His eyes glance at Aunt Amanda and the twins who are engrossed in an argument about a party the twins wanted to go to. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again."
I smile softly, leaning back against the couch. "Thanks, Hiro. Really. But last year was a different kind of hurt. One no one could protect me from. This is different."
"Okay. Sure. I'm just happy you're happy," he remarks with a grin, going back to his slice of pizza. "So, Oba, what's the wedding gonna be like?"
She smiles softly and the pure joy on her face is recognizable, even from across the table. "Small. Gerard and I both agree that we don't want to make too big a spectacle of this. Him because he's shy and me because the last time I walked down an aisle..."
I smile reassuringly, knowing that she's thinking of her previous divorce. "It'll be great, Oba. Really."
She smiles softly back at me. "Braylen, will you help me grab some dessert?"
"Okay," I agreed hesitantly. I stand slowly and follow her into the kitchen. I knew the dessert thing was only a pretense. It was really time for a talk, most likely her yelling at me for disappearing so suddenly. "I'm really sorry, Aunt Amanda. I know I shouldn't have just left like that."
She reaches into the freezer, grabs a container of gelato, and nods towards me. "Five bowls, please."
I gnaw on my bottom lip. "Yeah," I murmur, standing on my toes and reaching into the cabinet. I place the bowls in front of her and sigh. "Is that all?"
She looks up at me. "You know, sometimes I forget how much you've grown, Braylen," she admits, smiling sadly. "To think back to how we met all those years ago--you, a broken child with a sad past. Me, a recently divorced mother with no clue what she was doing. Sometimes I look at you and don't see that. And sometimes I look at you and I do."
I purse my lips, looking down at the bowls. "I wish I knew how to help it," Oba murmurs tearfully. "I wish I could be a better support to you. If I could take every ounce of pain you've ever had, Braylen, I would. In a heartbeat. Because you have had to hurt so much."
