He Was Scared

Theia turned off the TV immediately and turned to look at Ezra, whose face had once again gotten that blank, lifeless look. She reached out and held his hand, tugging him in her direction until he looked at her. 

"WE are your family now. Do you understand? " Theia looked at him, directly in his eyes, so he would see that she meant it. 

Ezra looked at her, seeing the seriousness in her face, and nodded, his eyes tearing up before,"OUCH!" He yelled, turning to look at Alex, who had just flicked his forehead.

Alex looked at him with his reddening forehead and fought the urge to laugh. "We told you that yesterday, and I told you that this morning. Why are you so forgetful? That was a reminder. "

He looked at Alex, his eyes full of resentment. It wasn't that he had forgotten. It was just that it was too far-fetched for him. How did an attempt at kidnapping turn into a new family? Who would believe something that fantastical? Could they truly blame him for not believing them? He thought that anyone would be hesitant to believe that something this good could occur so easily. However, it wasn't as though he didn't want to believe them. He had never had siblings. He was a token child his parents had because they needed one. 

He had always treated his younger cousin, Mickail's sister, as if she were his younger sister, but now he couldn't even contact her anymore. Being able to treat them like they were his siblings would be great. Especially since they were really genuine people and he liked them alone already. This entire morning had felt like something out of a dream. Having fun making breakfast with someone and eating happily, they were all things he had never known that he missed or even desired until now. He would have loved for it to continue, but he was scared. 

He was scared that this would be nothing more than a fleeting interest for them, and he'd end up without a family again after getting used to having them in his life. He was afraid of being abandoned again. More than anything, he was afraid that they'd show him all the things he wanted from a family, make him fall in love with the feeling, and then he'd lose it.

Alex saw the range of emotions flashing across Ezra's face and realized that he was dealing with whatever trauma his parents had left in him due to their coldness toward him over the years and their subsequent abandonment. He patted his shoulder, standing up to take the dishes into the kitchen, and said,

"Don't overthink it for now. Very soon, you'll realize how serious we are. "

Theia ruffled his hair and hopped up to wash the dishes. It was only fair since they had made breakfast. 

When she was finally finished, she headed back over to the couch to wait with Ezra until Alex was ready and she saw him staring at his phone. Apparently, while they were clearing the table and washing the wares, Ezra had received a "no reply" message stating where he could collect his things. It didn't sound like a parent to a child at all. It was more like a service announcement. 

"Dear Sir,

You can collect your things at the New Haven Storage facility at lot number 345. Please provide your identification upon arrival to be taken to your lot. If there are any issues, please deal with them yourself. We no longer have anything to do with you."

Theia didn't bother to say anything to him again. Instead, she'd show him that they were serious. For now, it was more than okay for him to wallow in grief as much as he wanted. No matter if they were his family now or not, even if he had never received love from his parents, they were, ultimately, still his parents. Their rejection would definitely hurt. It was better for him to deal with it now and work through it slowly than have it affect him later on. 

"All right, people, let's go! Let's go! Let's go! We have a lot to get done this morning, and we need to be back home by 2 o'clock. Let's get to it. " Alex said, coming out of the bedrooms. He glanced at Ezra and saw the message on his phone. He grimaced. He would surely ruin the Duprees soon enough. He wasn't worried. He would do them along with his parents. It would be a two for one special.

"Ezra, let's pass by the storage container and see what's there first. Don't bother taking things like clothes and stuff. Take only the things that are special to you. Leave everything else, okay? "

Ezra looked up at him, startled, but he understood his way of thinking. He agreed as well. If he could help it, he didn't want anything from those people. Now, he was even more grateful that he had gotten a scholarship to go to college. 

"I understand. I just have a few mementos from my grandparents that I want. That's about it. I can buy everything else. "

"Great," Theia chimed in, "Then let's go shopping!"

"Yeah!" Ezra shouted excitedly. It wasn't that he was over the situation. It was simply that he was happy and grateful to have them with him as he organized what little he had. 

They filed out of the house, chatting excitedly about the latest models of computers as they went down the elevator.

*****

When they finally got to the storage facility, they were taken to the lot that was rented for him. After sorting through all of the clothes and miscellaneous items, Ezra took only what his grandparents had given him and left the rest. He removed his computer's hard drive, replacing it with a spare he had. That way, he could keep all of his research for his thesis and ensure that none of it fell into anyone's hands. 

If it was before, he'd have simply wiped it off, but now he was much more cautious. Who knew if his data would be taken and passed off as if it were theirs? That would simply be getting himself sold while helping them count the money. He had done enough of that before to continue doing it now. He may not be able to think things through on a level like Alex did, but he sure as hell wasn't an idiot. He would learn quickly, so he wouldn't get fooled again. 

When he was finished changing them, he also backed up all of his information on his phone, wiped it, and removed the SIM card. He didn't even want the phone they had bought him. Who knew if they would throw that back in his face as well? 

He looked around at the things that made up his nineteen years of life and felt his chest tightening. It really did hurt to be abandoned, but if he thought about it another way, he had already been abandoned. What hurt him now was the thought that they never loved him or even cared about him. He took a deep breath, trying to clear the knot from his heart, and he felt Theia's hand intertwine with his on one side and Alex's hand on his shoulder on the other side. While the knot in his heart didn't completely dissolve, he felt it ease significantly. Perhaps, they really could be his family.