Teenage Baby

Epilogue

Epilogue:

It was just a little past dawn, and Aaron knew he should be sleeping, but instead he found himself leaning against the window as he watched the world in silence.

He'd always found a liking to dawn; it was so peaceful, so silent save for the whispers and hushed goodbyes between the sun and moon that swept through the cold wind. His eyes had always marveled at the soft orange tinge that would adorn the sky behind the sun as it rose, and at the rays that fell from it and sifted through the leaves of the swaying trees; a comforting glow finally danced along the dark roads.

Everything was so calm at dawn; there were no words and no judgement, and he could let himself think and ponder silently about all that had happened without disturbance.

It had been two years since the kidnapping, and things had changed a lot.

After police interrogation and all the necessities had been completed, none of the captors had been sentenced to jail; they were all transferred to a mental hospital. Among them, Lou was the least screwed up, but even as parts of his sanity lingered, he still needed help. He was the most responsive to therapy, behaving well and eager to heal from all the insanity, longing to live a normal life.

And now, Lou was spending his last months in there; he was getting out soon.

And of course, with the checkups both Leo and Aaron had undergone, the police immediately noticed their old scars that the doctors quickly associated to past years, before the kidnapping—this had immediately dragged their fathers into the equation, and soon enough both were hanging out in their prison cells, keeping each other company.

Aaron hadn't entered into the foster care system; his mom had traveled over and now lived with him instead of his father with her husband. And for the first several months after they'd gotten saved—when police were still interrogating and things still hadn't quite settled dowm—Aaron had been able to see Leo and help him adapt. Leo hadn't been able to take in the new life well at all, and he'd refused to open up to anyone or even listen to doctors. He'd only wanted his brother. But with Aaron's help, he'd gradually gotten coaxed into accepting the doctors', officers', and therapists' help and guidance into healing.

But things went a little downhill when Leo was thrown into the foster care system; he was fostered by a married man and woman, who were willing to pay for all his therapy but lived ages away from Aaron. Aaron lived in the outskirts of a small town, and Leo had to move with them to the other side of the country. Aaron had tried to convince his mom to adopt Leo—an idea she hadn't been against, but at that time the entire kidnapping case had still been fresh and she didn't think it was the right time to adopt—so she'd simply refused.

This had led to the separation.

And it made things worse that Aaron didn't have the chance to visit between his own therapy sessions, psychologists, work as a waiter, and school commitments. For two years, he'd barely visited Leo once, and that one time was rushed because he'd barely had time to stay there. They lost contact for a while save for a few phone calls.

Aaron really missed Leo.

The thin curtains shuddered as the cold air that wafted through the half open window blew past them and nipped at Aaron's bare arms, the icy sting against his skin bringing him out of his trance.

He realized he was still only clad in black trousers, half way through getting dressed to go for a walk, something he'd taken as a habit to dissipate part of the loneliness killing his heart.

Aaron got up and put on a sweater and a thick forest green jacket on top. As he zipped it up entirely to the neck, he walked out of the room and slowly closed the door, tiptoeing like a thief past his mom and step-dad's room as he made his way down to the front door.