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Just the Three of Us

It's now only my mom, Dustin, and I. Larry is kicked out and he is never coming back. I hope he never does. He hurt Dustin and he hurt me. More importantly he hurt my mom. No body will ever hurt my mom like he did ever again. If it was legal and if I wouldn't get caught, he would be dead. I would have murdered him. I don't care the consequences. Five years of prison? Prison for life? I don't care. Nobody will ever, ever hurt my mom again.

We sat at the dinner table and were talking. When suddenly the door bell rang. Who was there? We weren't expecting anybody. Not that I know of exactly. I get up and go open the door.
"A-Alice?" I stutter.
"Hey! I heard what was going on. You okay?" she asks as she walks into the house.
"Y-yea, wh-why?" I stutter even more.
"No, you're not. You are obviously not fine."
"Alice, I-I'm fine..."
"Hello everyone," Alice says before continuing with me. "Hello," my mom and brother say back in unison.
"Let's go talk in your room Eliza," Alice says as she reached for my wrist and pulls me up the stairs.

"Now tell me what's wrong."
"I-It's nothing, really," I manage to get out before my voice breaks.
"No, there's obviously something wrong," she says kind of angrily. "Isn't it obvious? My dad's gone and my brother will have to grow up without a dad. I don't want him to grow up in this kind of life," I say, my voice starting to break.
"Shhh, it's okay. He won't live in 'this' kind of life style. Okay? Trust me."
"R-really?"
"Yes Eliza. He won't have a bad life," Alice reassures me.
"How are you so sure? He would be bullied for not having a dad. Oh my lord. Alice, I don't want that to happen."
"It won't happen sweetheart. I promise"

We walk back down the stairs into the kitchen where my mom and brother are still sitting. As always she asks if everything is okay and I just say yeah while walking to a chair.
"So, what's going to happen to our family?"I ask.
"This is our family. You, Dustin, and me. Three can make a family right?" my mom asks.
"Heck ye! We are the best family ever!" Dustin bursts out.
"'Heck ye'. What the heck Dustin?" I ask starting to chuckle a little bit.
"I learned it from Colby. He says it a lot when he does something cool or wins a game or something like that."
"Hmm, interesting honey. Why is this the first time we've heard of Colby?" my mom asks.
"Because he just moved to my school. He was getting picked on and I stood up for him."
"That's a good thing. Why was he getting picked on?" I ask.
"I think he told me something about how he had something called 'depression'. They were picking on him because he was crying in class and they saw little paper cuts on his wrists. Mom, what's depression?"
We all take a deep breath in and my mom starts to speak.
"Dustin, depression is basically someone feeling sad, unwanted, or useless. I hope you never get depression," my mom says on the verge of tears, "when you go back to school, give Cody a big hug and say, 'keep fighting, I'll help you through this'. Okay?" "First of all, his name is Colby. And second of all, why?" my brother asks.
"Bubba," I say calmly, "depression can kill people. Those 'little paper cuts' are probably meant to be deeper. He's a fighter. He's is still alive and that makes him stronger than everyone. The other people like him are strong with him. They are so strong."
My brother starts to cry. "Colby will forever be my friend. He will be my best friend. I will never let him go. I swear. Monday, this guy will give him a hug. I will give him the biggest hug someone would ever hug him. I promise you on that," my brother says with his voice shaking a bit. There are tears in all of our eyes. My mom pulls us into a big group hug and he all start sobbing. Our family may not be big. It may not be perfect. But, it's perfect for me. And that's what makes it amazing.

~TIME SKIP TO THE NEXT DAY~

Alice stayed the night. The only way I know this is because I felt someone holding my hand as I woke up. Once I looked over and saw her face I instantly smiled. I absolutely love her. I want to show it somehow. Breakfast in bed? That works right? Do you think she'd like that? Hopefully.

I softly release my hand from hers and slip out of bed. I quietly walk over to the door and slip out of my room. I walk downstairs and turn the oven on. What should I make her? Hmm, maybe pancakes, eggs, sausage, and orange juice? Orange juice or apple juice? Oh fuck it. Apple juice it is. I open the fridge and look for the eggs and sausage. I put a couple pans on the, already warm, stove top. I first crack the eggs and make those. Then, I make the sausage to a perfect chewy, crisp taste. Now, instant pancakes. Yes, when I say instant pancakes, I mean instant pancakes. I make pancakes super fast and I make them perfect too. I put the pancakes on a plate accompanied by the eggs and sausage. I kept the fridge open on accident and now it's freezing cold around the kitchen. I grab the apple juice really quickly and grab a cup. I start to pour the juice and whilst pouring it, I hear a big 'plop' sound and a bunch of juice goes on the counter. Okay, easy to clean up. I instantly grab a paper towel and wipe up the apple juice, then I disposed of the soaking wet paper towel. Now is the time to bring her the breakfast. It is 8:22 in the morning and Alice's breakfast is cooked up. Time to see a smile on her face.

I walk upstairs with the plate and open the door. Alice still isn't awake. I mean, it makes sense. It's super early in the morning, I should be asleep too. I set the plate on my night stand. I place a gentle hand on Alice's shoulder and shake her a little bit.
"Alice baby, it's breakfast time," I whisper quietly into her ear.
She turns around and slaps me. "OW!" I yell out, "why did you do that?!"
"Oh my God! I am so sorry! I didn't mean to! I guess I should have warned you to not wake me up by shaking me," Alice hurries to say to me. She sniffs the air and smells a frangrance of sausage, eggs, and pancakes.
"D-did you make me breakfast?" "Yes, I did. I thought since you are the best girlfriend, you deserve it," I tell her.
"Aww, thank you princess." "You're welcome," I say as I slip back into bed and lay next to her. I love you, I say in my head. I really do love you Alice.