Becoming a DeMarlo

27: "This is the time to live!"

Chapter 27: "This is the time to live!"

Elijah and Charlie were waiting for me outside the room, leaning against the wall and discussing something in a serious manner.

Their conversation immediately ceased when they saw me approach them. 

"Well? How was it?" Charlie asked, carefully observing me.

"It was exactly what I needed," I blurted out, unable to stop a wide smile from spreading.

My brothers glanced at each other in a meaningful manner, before turning back to look at me.

"What did you say?" Elijah asked, his eyebrows knit in confusion.

"You were wrong Elijah! I don't feel upset! I feel good! Fantastic!" 

Elijah slowly nodded before he turned back to Charlie, who still looked bewildered. 

"You see, this is the type of behavior one exhibits before having a mental breakdown."

"Oh, shut up," I laughed, with a big grin and a carefree tone. 

Not even Elijah's bitchy sarcasm could spoil my mood. 

My brothers were puzzled, to say the least. We stood in silence for a few moments, as the two men continued to contemplate what the right thing to say was, while I smiled at both of them, truly feeling elated.

"She's covering up for it," Elijah insisted, speaking to Charlie once again. "Watch her come into your room tonight and cry and then tell you she doesn't know why she's crying and then ask to cuddle—"

I interrupted Elijah by pulling them both into a hug. 

"I feel great," I announced into their chests.

Charlie wrapped one arm around me and stroked my hair with his free hand, while my oldest brother stood as stiff as a plank of wood. 

"She's lost it," Elijah muttered.

—

"What did Ross say that made you so happy?" Charlie asked, as I followed behind them to the car, with his jacket tightly wrapped around me due to the cold weather that I had been unprepared for. 

"I don't even know, Charlie," I honestly answered. "I guess I'm happy because I've finally realized that there's no use of crying over him or any other person who's wronged me. And now I know exactly what I need to do."

"What do you need to do now?" Elijah asked, suspiciously. 

He unlocked the car and opened the back door for me to slide in.

"Live my life! Forget about the past and all the suffering. Boo hoo, I lost my parents before even getting a chance to know them. I had the shittiest siblings growing up and my fake mom left me with a crazy dad when I was twelve. So what? Am I just going to be upset about it for the rest of my life? Fuck no!" 

Elijah and Charlie were now seated in the front, both attentively listening to me. They gave each other a "what-is-going-on" glance, before Charlie supposedly nodded to allow Elijah to take the lead. 

"Okay, first of all, stop cussing. I don't like hearing those words out of your mouth. Second of all, this is not the lesson I wanted you to learn today," my eldest firmly stated.

"I have my whole life to learn lessons, Elijah! This is the time to live!"

Charlie bit his lip at my words, a habit that often appeared when I seemed to stress him out. 

"How about we rethink the therapy idea, kid?" he gently asked.

"I don't have time to tell my problems to a middle-aged man so he can just paraphrase what I say until it makes sense to me!" I sighed, starting to get irritated with my brothers. "You guys don't understand. I'm just happy to be alive."