Line of Best Fit

FINEGREAT

FINE, GREAT
13:39 (2/23)
San Diego, California

Zebulon didn't want to get out of the car. He didn't want to get in the car in the first place, but now that he was actually sitting in the driveway, with Tyler getting his bags out of the back, he couldn't bring himself to move. Their house was nice, in a big neighborhood where everything looked the same. There were a couple of houses with basketball goals out front, or a few kids toys scattered across the yard. He had no clue how he was supposed to fit in here.
   "Hey, Zeb, you wanna grab a few of these and come on in?" Tyler called from behind.
   Zebulon took a deep breath and reached for the door handle. The drive from the airport hadn't been as painful as he expected. Tyler gave up on small talk pretty easily, so the majority of the trip had been uncomfortably silent. He grabbed a couple of the duffle bags off the pavement and followed his uncle through the front door.
   As soon as he walked in, he was hit with a hazy sense of nostalgia. Family Christmas parties, a few short trips over spring break, all before he was fourteen. It had been years since he had seen them.
   "Tyler?" He heard his aunt's voice echo from down the hall.
   "We just walked in," he called, stopping at the doorway of the entry and setting the bags at his feet.
   Zebulon mimicked him and dropped the bags, taking in the living room and the kitchen off to the side. In a sense, it wasn't that different from home. An ungodly huge house for three people, everything so clean and white it barely looked lived in. It wasn't much of a comfort.
   His aunt rounded the corner with a smile on her face, but the look in her eyes was wary. She knew why he was here, and what that could mean for her.
   "Zeb! Oh my god, it's been too long. I'm so glad you're here!" She gave him a quick but solid hug, holding onto his shoulders after she pulled back. "I just can't believe how grown up you look!"
   "Ah, thanks," he replied, shrugging off her lingering embrace. Even if he was used to physical contact, this would be too much.
   "I told him he's gonna have to get a new wardrobe. It'll be spring before we know it, and those long sleeves will get uncomfortable pretty quick," Tyler interjected, filling the silence that barely had a chance to settle.
   His uncle had mentioned that on the ride from the airport, but Zebulon had mostly tuned him out. The long sleeves weren't just a result of the weather, but a different kind of necessity.
   "Oh, we'll figure all that out once he gets settled in," Alicia said as she placed a hand on his shoulder once again. "Do you wanna go see your room?"
   "Sure, sure." He picked back up a couple of his bags and followed her up the stairs that were to the left.
   "Our room is downstairs, but Blake will be around sooner or later."
   Zebulon didn't mention the slight shift in her tone when she mentioned his cousin. Blake was two years older than him, and his gap year before college had turned into two, without an end in sight.
   He snapped out and realized his aunt had been staring at him, her smile looking a bit more forced.
   "Okay, well," she said suddenly, "I'll give you some time to unpack. We can go out to dinner tonight if you want."
   "Oh, yeah. Thanks." He forced himself to smile back at her, but as soon as she shut the door he felt more than relieved.