Back in the Saddle

Already Deciding Things

Karl's POV:

"I won't lie, aunt Kristen, I have definitely been better. It's gotten a little bit easier, but I can barely go five minutes without thinking about him, the accident, all of it. I drove for the first time the other night when I was trying to get a friend home and... it was horrible. I was so stressed and anxious the whole time, and now I feel like I've lost all the progress I've made in the past few months," I ramble on to Kristen, who is listening with a focused expression.

"Well being able to drive is great, Karl! We knew it would be hard to try again, but you managed to do it, right? You got your friend home safely. You were able to drive, and though it may mean you can't again for a while, that's still a huge step up. Are you still going to therapy or anything?"

"I was for a while, but then I had to stop because I couldn't afford it anymore," I answer, a little ashamed that this is the case.

"We can help with that!"

"No, I can't ask you guys to do that. You're already doing so much for me: I need to be able to come up with the money on my own or just give up on the idea altogether."

"Karl," she sighs, giving me a soft smile, "we're your family. Taking care of you and helping you when you need it is our job. I understand wanting to be able to be independent, but how about for now, you let Phil and I cover the expenses. At least until you can get back on your feet. I can have George take you job hunting sometime."

I lean in and embrace her, resting my forehead on her shoulder. What did I do to deserve such caring people in my life? This family has some of the best people I've ever known in its midst, and I'm just here to witness what they are bound to accomplish.

Wilbur is incredibly smart and is a lyrical genius. He's also a bit of a political junkie. George is also very smart and really knows his way around a computer. Toby is super athletic and shares Wilbur's talent of songwriting to an extent. Phil is a skilled surgeon who is insane at helping people; Kristen is an attorney who specializes in domestic violence and family cases. Overall, they both make a large combined sum of money that puts food on their kids table and provides them with pretty much anything they could ever want. Meanwhile I've barely done anything with my life aside from flushing three years of school and my life down the drain.

Like I said, perhaps I can get a fresh start here. I want to at least try: it's what he would want for me.

"I'll let you go get settled now, honey," she whispers after allowing me to grip onto her for about five minutes. "Wilbur will be home from school later and I'll have him come say hello, sound good?"

I nod and get up slowly. After offering her a quick smile, I leave and head upstairs, opening the door I see at the end of the hall. George is sitting on one of the two beds inside, so I know it's his.

"The movers came with your stuff last night. We went ahead and got you this bed since we figured it would be more comfortable than my futon," George says, glancing up from his phone.

"The futon would've been perfectly fine, you guys spoil me too much," I laugh as I walk inside and collapse onto the bed.

I snuggle up to the pillow, feeling the exhaustion of getting only two hours of sleep along with the three hour flight take over. I hear George say something but my brain is too tired to comprehend his words. When I don't answer, I hear his quiet giggle then feel a blanket being thrown over me. That's the last thing I remember before drifting off to sleep.

===

"Karl, wake up!" Toby shouts into my ear, making me shoot my head up.

"What? What is it?" I ask groggily, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Wilbur's home! He wants to see you, come on."

The young brunet grabs my hand, tugging me out of bed and dragging me downstairs. The sun is setting in the sky at this point, which makes me think that I slept through the whole day. I must've really been tired.

Downstairs, I smell the scent of pizza drifting around and my stomach growls. Phil is sitting at one of the bar stools, a plate of pizza and a cup of soda in front of him. He waves at us when we enter and I wave back, pulling out the seat next to him. Toby sits in the one on the other side of me, where a plate is already sitting with a half eaten slice of pizza on it.

Kristen sets a plate in front of me then goes to stand next to George, who is sitting on the counter. I look around, but don't see Wilbur anywhere, though there is one other plate on the counter with pizza that is untouched.

"He's in the bathroom, he'll be out in a minute," George says, sensing my confusion.

I nod and begin to eat my pizza. I didn't eat this morning aside from some pretzels on the plane, so I'm very hungry. Pretty soon I'm onto my second piece, and by the time I'm done with it, Wilbur is coming out of the bathroom and heading over to my stool. I stand up and meet him halfway, practically leaping into his arms and hugging him tightly.

"Hello to you, too," he laughs.

His voice has gotten deeper since I last saw him. He's also somehow a lot taller, towering over me by at least a few inches, which is saying something because I'm fairly tall. He smells almost warm, like a dark cafe on a cold winter night, where the faint scents of french vanilla coffee and old books float around.

I view Wilbur as the older brother I always wanted but never had. I looked up to him, since he always seemed to have his life together. I still do now: Wilbur's going to law school, he has a girlfriend, he has his entire life planned out. He knows exactly what he wants to get out of life, whereas I typically play it by ear, going day to day with no idea what the next will bring.

"It's good to see you. Are you doing okay?" he asks, voice low enough that only I can hear.

"Better than before," I respond.

He gives me an understanding smile before pulling away from the hug and going over to his pizza. I sit back down and join the conversation that is going on between the others; they're discussing what they're going to do for the fourth of July, since it'll be here in a week from yesterday. So far, the options are go to the lake, go to the nearby ranch, where there are often horse races and bull riding competitions, or Phil and Kristen go stay in a hotel and leave us money to do our own thing.

"I vote we go to the lake!" Toby voices, seeming very enthusiastic about it. "We haven't been able to go all summer, and I feel like Karl will really like it."

"Well I want to go to the ranch," George says nonchalantly, taking the last bite of his pizza and tossing the plate into the trash beside him.

"Why? So you can see Clay? Your boyfriend," Toby teases, dragging the o and e out in boyfriend. I smirk a little, looking at George with a questioning look, but he just scoffs and flips Toby off.

"I don't care what we do as long as I don't have to take care of them," Wilbur says, though his tone makes it sound like he's merely joking.

"How about we let Karl decide?" Phil suggests. The nods and hums from the others signal that they agree, so I think for a moment, weighing all the different options provided to me with much thought. I know it's not that serious, but I want to choose something that I feel will make the most people happy.

"I want to go to the ranch," I say. My answer is met with a cheer from George and a groan from Toby, as well as laughter from Wilbur.

"Look on the bright side, Toby. You guys can all laugh at me when I fall off a horse."

Everyone laughs and I grin, glad to see that no one is too upset with my decision. I'm excited to check this ranch out... and also meet George's "boyfriend." I wonder who he is and why this seems to be an inside joke in the whole family. It turns out there are a lot of things I'm excited for in the future of my time here.

Word Count- 1493

a/n- my friends are rushing me, but i hope you enjoyed this type of content, because there will be a good amount of it in here.