As His Heart Hopes...

Oh, Brothers!

As T.K. stepped away from the group during the final day of prep for their first trip back into the digital world in years, he looked down intently at his phone. He tried to refresh the message feed, but his messages to Ephram remained unread. He let out a sigh and slid his phone into his pocket.

When he looked up, T.K. saw Matt walking towards him. As much as he'd been pumping himself up to finally tell Matt, the sight of his older brother made T.K. nervous to share his secret. He sighed aggressively to himself, and Matt laughed as he approached, "Oh. Do I bother you that much?"

"No...Sorry...I'm just a little stressed right now." T.K. roughly ran his hands through his hair. His mind suddenly returned to the fact that he was hatless and he'd wished he'd taken one of his security blankets with him today. 

Matt studied his younger brother for a long moment, before looking away. He sighed and then offered T.K. a new look that was soft and felt safe, "Is it...something that has to do with us?"

T.K. let out a breath and nodded trying to formulate how to go about this. This was, after all, the moment he'd been waiting for. "I've been fighting with myself for a while to try and tell you something important..."

Matt watches him curiously but doesn't make any move to interrupt his brother. T.K. glanced behind Matt to get some confidence from the group, but a small body rushing up to them caught his attention. The navy beanie bobbed through the air and T.K. realized that Uri had rushed up to the group.

But something was..off.

No.

Not off, something was wrong.

T.K. broke away from Matt and when Uri Meyer saw him, the young boy rushed to him. Uri threw himself into T.K.'s arms and sobbed. T.K. held him gently while Matt watched on. When T.K. and Uri finally pulled apart from their hug, T.K. saw that the youngest Meyer had fear on his face, and then he started to speak.

"T.K.! I need your help...I don't know what to do. It's Ephram..." Uri rushed out to T.K. as Matt watched the exchange quietly. T.K. shook off his brother's presence and focused on the devastated Meyer boy. Uri kept talking when he met T.K.'s eyes. "He's been in his room for the past few days and he won't come out. He won't even talk to me or Mom!  He's barely been eating again and I'm just so worried. I knew he was sad but it's been getting worse!"

Within seconds T.K. is on his feet, shouting to the concerned group that he has to go. A few others nod, seeming to sense something was wrong since Uri showed up in such a state and alone. The only opposition he faces is when Matt grabs his arm gently and looks him in the eyes. "Are you sure this is important right now? I'm sure your friend-"

T.K. roughly pulls out of Matt's grip, causing the whole group to step closer to them, but T.K.'s voice stops everyone in their tracks. "Shut up, Matt! Ephram will always be important to me! He always has been and he's sure as shit gonna continue to be!" 

Matt is stunned for just a moment before he seems to shake himself out of it. Without a warning, he scooped up Uri--who was still panting from running all this way--and put the young boy onto his back. Matt started walking ahead of T.K., with Uri glancing back at him, before saying without turning around. "Then I'm going with you guys."

*********************************************************

After the long, painfully awkward, and quiet walk back to the Meyer residence, the sky was darkening. Uri seemed to grow more nervous and Matt spoke to the young boy for the first time, "It'll be okay. We're here to help."

Uri nodded, seeming to find comfort in Matt's words, but T.K. was still struggling to be at peace. The trio walks into the apartment and when Ms Meyer sees him she pulls T.K. into a huge hug. She seems to collapse against him as he hugs her back and T.K. knows she's been trying her best to hold it together.