A homeless thief breaks into a house that has nothing worth stealing - except for the heart of a lonely man who is obsessed with time.
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Blake has been living on the streets for...
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-Blake-
I tried not to think about the DNA test too much because every time it popped in my head, I became nervous. I was sure Jordan could sense it, so I didn't want to give him new things to stress or worry about.
Not when we were on a mission.
During the week we waited for my results, we focused completely on Jordan getting out of his room. He was doing so great! It was going so well it scared me, but then I realized it wasn't supposed to be scary anymore. I mean, he was recovering. He was getting better. Things he once couldn't even think about doing were now just obstacles. He was getting out of the mindset that bad things would happen if he did something wrong.
Jordan still had a long way to go, and he wasn't sure if he could ever get rid of OCD, but he often said he was ready to live with himself even if he didn't get any better than this. He even told me that this was more than tolerable, and he could see himself having a good life even in this state.
We talked about it a lot. I was so happy to see the smile on his face and the excitement in his eyes... He had changed so much during the months I had stayed with him, and he was still changing. The biggest change in him was his ability to not push himself. He didn't try too hard to get better anymore, and he enjoyed the small victories, not feeling bad for not doing better. I was so glad to see that... He was doing so great already and seeing him happy made me happy.
So, when the day came when he stepped out of his room, into my arms, and he only needed a short moment to recollect himself before he turned to look around in the hallway like it wasn't a big deal, I wasn't surprised. When he stepped back, took my hand in his and led me to the back of the hallway and looked out of the window for the very first time, I wasn't scared of it being too much.
Because this wasn't the same Jordan I had met months ago. This was a much stronger version of him. This Jordan knew how to deal with his mind when it tried to play tricks on him.
"This is scary," he laughed nervously, looking out of the window. "I haven't seen this side of the yard in years!"
I smiled, watching him closely. His eyes were wide and his body was tense, but his breathing was calm and his voice wasn't shaking. Nothing indicated he would get overwhelmed. He had gotten used to being in this hallway already, and hadn't had any panicky moments ever since the first time. I still kept a close eye on him to spot the moment this was becoming too much – if it was going to happen, that is.
He looked out for a good while with a big smile on his face, clearly enjoying the change of scenery, but then he turned around to look at the staircase.
"Do you think..." he mumbled, taking a step closer to the railing. "I want to see the second floor."
"Really? Already?" I asked, and he turned to look at me.
