A Home For Zoe

Broken (Edited)

The picture above is of Cason

"Families don't have to match.
You don't have to look like someone else
to love them."

Cason

It's a week after Zoe arrived, and I'm lying in my bed reading. Tyler is having a campout in the backyard with some of his friends so I have the room to myself. Someone knocks on my door, "Come in!" I call, shutting my book. The door swings open. "Hey, Case." I look up and smile.

"Hey, Mom," I say.

She walks over and settles onto the edge of my bed, reaching out to gently brush the hair out of my face, "How are doing?" she asks.

I smile, "I'm good." I know she feels bad when she doesn't get any time with us one on one all day. Mom's a worrier. She probably spends about half her time worrying about us, especially me. I had it ruff before coming here, sometimes I think she feels bad for not finding us sooner, but it's not her fault, I'm just grateful we found each other at all.

Mom leans forward and kisses my forehead. With a sigh she says, "You going to sleep soon, sweetheart?"

I suppress a smirk and nod, "Sure, Mom." I may not be a completely typical teenager but I still have to be a little annoyed with her.

She laughs, "I know, I know, your fifteen, but your still my baby." I shoot her a glare, but it's not real, then I smile. She smiles back, gets up, and walks to the door, before pausing, "Lights on or off?"

"Off." I reply.

Before she flips the switch, she says, "I'll see you in the morning, I love you."

"Love you, too."

Now that the lights are off, I roll onto my side and try to sleep. My thoughts; however, won't turn off, and I find myself stuck in the past. The only thing that helps on nights like these are to repeat in my head...

I am loved.

I am safe.

I am home.

The next morning, I wake up late and find everyone else has already eaten breakfast and gone outside. Mom has summer's off too, since she's a teacher. It's great because it means we can take the boat out or go swimming during the day. Today is Friday and I know Mom will keep us busy outside all day.

I plod into the kitchen, still not fully awake, and search for some food. I smile when I see a plate sitting on the counter waiting for me. I fill a cup with water and settle in at the table to eat. When I'm done, I stick my dish in the sink and head outside.

Everyone cheers at my arrival, "Now can we go tubing?" asks Tyler.

"Put on your bathing suit, Cason!" yells one of the twins, Peyton, I realize as soon as she's a little closer.

I look around, "Where's Zoe?"

Chloe shrugs, "I tried, she said she was in the middle of a good book." I frown.

"Mom! Can we please go tubing now?" Tyler repeats.

"In a second, T." She says gently. "Cason, why don't you go inside and put on your bathing suit," she seems to consider for a moment, "and maybe try again to get Zoe to come out?"

"On it!" I call as I turn and head back inside.

I take the stairs two at a time, reaching the top in what must be record time. Zoe's bedroom door is open and I can see her, perched on the window ledge staring out at the commotion in the backyard. "So, you finished your book?"

Zoe jumps and then whips around to face me, for a second she looks angry before her face crumples, allowing me a glimpse at her misery. Within seconds her mask reappears, "Um, I was just taking a break."

"Uh-huh," I mutter, not believing her for a second, "I'm sure you were. Come on, we're going to take the boat out, you don't want to miss that."

Immediately she shakes her head, "I already told Chloe I wasn't in the mood."

I stare her straight in the eye, "I'm not leaving this room until you agree to come with me."

Now she's defiantly angry. She glares at me, "Can't you just leave me alone."

"Nope. Oh, by the way, I'm not responsible for the prank Tyler will probably pull on you if you're the reason he can't go tubing today."

"You're the reason he's not going tubing today."

"No, I'm the reason you're going to come outside and join the fun."

Zoe goes quiet for a minute, before sending me one last death glare and caving, "Fine I'll come."

"Great, put on your suit. I'll meet you out there in five."

Zoe still looks annoyed when I meet her by the back door, but she seems to get over it by the time everyone's buckled into their life vest and Mom starts up the motor.

It takes mere minutes to reach the center of the lake. Zoe gets the first turn on the tube, much to Tyler obvious dismay. Chloe and I explain that once she's ready the boat will pull away from the tube, dragging it behind. We also show her how to hold on, and I warn her not to let go when we're going fast, because hitting the water will hurt.

As the boat started moving, she looked nervous, but then, as we started going faster, her face lite up for a second, I wince as she forces the corners of her mouth back down. We slow down and she re-boards the boat. Tyler takes his turn next, then the twins go, although the boat moves a lot slower for them. The whole rest of the trip Zoe doesn't ask to go again.

At lunch time we return to dry land, and Zoe makes an excuse to return to her room. For the rest of the afternoon I'm distracted. I keep looking up at her bedroom window, trying to catch her looking out.

When the twins start acting tired, we all go inside to eat dinner. Zoe comes down, but doesn't talk to anyone. Mom sets up a movie and manages to convince Zoe to stay. But I notice she's sitting as far away from us as she can get.

It's almost like looking in a mirror. I know every thought that's going through her head. I understand her, because I was her. Terrified that I would be rejected again. Scared to trust anyone and anything. It's natural to try to protect yourself from that. I hope she figures out she doesn't have to anymore.