Golden Gooses

20

     Evan whizzed past Timothy, who had just gotten ahold of a first aid kit. He dashed to his room, desperate and in tears. He flopped onto his bed and sobbed hysterically. Miranda passed through their new splintered doorframe, glancing at Timothy. They exchanged looks and understood, both walking towards Evan's room. His wails seeped through his thin walls and door, making everything audible. They shared a glimpse of remorse before opening his door cautiously. Timothy placed a firm hand on Miranda's shoulder, listening for any out-of-place faint buzzing or crackling. When the coast sounded clear, they approached him. Miranda tried to speak but was too shocked and confused to answer. Every time she opened her mouth, her mind would go blank and her throat would run dry. How do you even respond to this? She thought. Lacking the words to address the situation, she silently but assuringly rubbed Evan's back as he wailed and sobbed into his pillow. Timothy hesitantly sat on the other side of Evan's bed, thinking over how to tend to this situation. They both were silent for a good moment, the only noise being Evan's muffled cries. "Are... you all right?" Timothy asked vaguely. Evan sat up, staring at his father with bloodshot eyes. "Am... I... OKAY?! I just blew up the front door to our house in front of all the kids in my class who think I'm weird! I'll never live this down! They'll see me as a monster for as long as I live, and they're right!" Evan unloaded, shouting away all of the weight on his shoulder before screaming back into his pillow. "Oh, Evan..." Miranda commented softly, holding back her tears. Timothy was shocked, scrambling through all of his memories for something, anything that he could've said to make the situation even a tad bit better. Nothing could've prepared him for this. Now's not the time to be rational. All I need to be is here. He reassured himself. Without thinking, he wrapped Evan into a bear hug. He closed his eyes tight, not wanting to cry. "You are not a monster. Don't you ever let them convince you otherwise. Everyone who matters is right and we both love you. That's all you need." He said quietly, almost afraid that Evan may break just hearing the words. Evan broke from his father's embrace to look him in the eye. "Really?" He asked, almost in disbelief that anyone would think that way of him. Timothy grimaced, trying to keep from crying as he wrapped Evan into an even bigger bearhug. "Yeah. I'm sure of it, bud. And it hurts us so much thinking you don't look at yourself the same way." Miranda would scoot over to them, joining the hug. "We love you, Evan. So, so much. And we always will." Miranda added. Evan sniffled, pushing away from his parents. "Okay, okay." He dismissed them jokingly. "I get it, really. Thank you." He smiled. "Good." Miranda returned his smile with one of her own. Timothy ruffled his hair. "Alright then, champ. We'll get out of your hair. We'll call you out when dinner's done." He explained as he was on his way out of Evan's room. Evan nodded, settling into the covers as they left. He lay in his bed and just held his heart as he grinned goofily. It was warm. He had felt love, felt esteemed. He was noticing it was the first time he had felt this way in a while.