To Zion

27

"I'm suing both of you for plagiarism." Miller announced loudly, as soon as we were seated at the table across from Cooper and Laurie.

He said it with a smile on his face, but Cooper shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and Laurie looked close to tears. It was hard to tell though with everything he'd been through yesterday, one of his eyes was swollen and bruised, and the other one didn't look much better. He looked like he'd lost a really bad fight.

"At least you know now." Cooper glanced up at Miller, but quickly looked away.

"I would have told you if Zion hadn't." Laurie admitted, his voice barely above a whisper, as if even speaking was causing him indescribable pain. I was surprised he was up and relating to people after what he'd been through yesterday. "I'm sorry, Miller."

"I wasn't serious." Miller almost fell off his chair in his haste to reassure his friend. "And I forgive you. Both of you. I don't want you feeling all bad about it, especially right now. We can talk about it some other time if you want to, but right now, we need to focus on you."

"Everyone here wants to help you, Laurie." I reassured him, and he looked at me quickly.

"I don't need help." He whispered angrily, glaring down at his clenched fists. Cooper was looking at him, not saying a word, just staring, with tears in his eyes and his heart on his sleeve. Maybe this had always been their struggle. Laurie desperately needed a way out, and yet, not admitting it, or allowing anyone to offer him one. Not even Cooper, the boy he loved.

"But your dad does. He has serious issues that shouldn't be taken out on you, and he needs to be taken away from you. Laurie, you can't...you can't live in an abusive home." My voice broke unexpectedly, and Laurie glanced up at me quickly. Our eyes met for a few seconds, and I think he understood.

"What would you have me do?" He asked me seriously, and I felt Cooper's eyes on me. Perhaps he was surprised that I had actually gotten Laurie to admit that something needed to change.

"I don't think I'd advice foster care, especially since you're already seventeen—"

"I'm sixteen. I'll be seventeen in a few weeks." Laurie looked down at his hands, breathing out a heavy sigh. "I don't have any family that I know of who would take me in. One only been working for a short time, and I don't think I'd be able to support myself. I'm not putting myself into the hands of Child Protection Services if that's what you were going to suggest next."

His eyes met mine in defiance, and my heart broke for him. No child should have to be making the decision he was making right now. Why the hell did people have children if they weren't going to treat them like a gift they'd been entrusted with? Why were so many children broken before they had a chance to know any other way of life? Why did his dad hate him? Why did my dad hate me?

I shook my head to clear my thought, looking over quickly at Miller when I felt his hand cover mine under the table. His eyes met mine, concern radiating from his beautiful eyes. I gave him a tight-lipped smile before turning back to Laurie.

"I can't make you do anything, and I'm not trying to act like I know what to do in this situation. I think we should talk to Cooper's parents, maybe even talk to the principal at school—"

"No!" Laurie looked absolutely horrified, eyes widening as he looked between the three of us. "No. This has to stay between us. If he finds out that other people know, he'll kill me. It's nice to act like people are going to care, but even if they do, i still have to go back to him until I can find another solution."

"You are not going anywhere near that man ever again, unless it's in court when you send his ass to jail." Cooper spoke for the first time since the discussion began, and his voice shook with emotion. He grabbed Laurie's hand in a tight grip, staring at him with such a fierce look of protectiveness that I knew, right then and there, that I wouldn't have to worry about Laurie's safety.

"What else can I do?" At this point, Laurie had given up the tough facade that he'd hidden behind for years, and the small, broken boy beneath it was close to tears.

"You can stay here. I'll make my mom say yes. She's seen what happened to you, and she won't let you go back to him either."

"Cooper, you can't just—"

"About that." Miller cut in, both of the other boys looking at him curiously. "Laurie obviously needs a safe home much more than I do. And it's unfair of me to make your parents keep supporting me, when I have another option. I know you guys technically have room for both of us, but financially, you can't expect your parents to take in both of us."

We all looked at him for a few seconds, letting the logic of what he was saying sink in. It made sense, but...sending him back to his mom...after everything I'd seen...

"You'd be willing to go back to your family..,for me?" Laurie was close to being speechless, his words only coming out in a breathy whisper.

"Well, I mean, it's not that bad, right? I mean, all she can use against me are her words, and..." He pauses for a second, and I could see the pain in his eyes. He'd gotten used to the feeling of being wanted, and now he's was going to through himself back to the world that had driven him to attempt suicide. I felt tears sting my eyes, and before I could reconsider, I pulled him into a hug.

"I won't let you feel alone there. I swear to God you won't be alone." I whispered fiercely into his ear, feeling him nod before I pulled away.

"Mom's not going to be happy." Cooper looked close to tears as well. "We got used to having you around, and I think she likes you more than she likes me." We all let out watery laughs, and then Cooper spoke again. "I've come to think of you as my sibling, Miller, so you're stuck with me for life. Just because you go back to that house, doesn't mean your home still isn't here. I know mom would let you in anytime. You won't be alone."

How we all got out of that conversation without fulling breaking down, I don't know. Cooper finally convinced Laurie to lay down, and went to talk to his mom about everything.

Miller took my hands in his the second we were alone, turning his body to face me.

"How old were you when you were brought to foster care?" His squeezed my hands gently, letting me know it was okay to talk to him. But I already knew that. I knew I could trust Miller.

"Seven." I sighed, rubbing my thumb along the back of his hand. It was soft, gentle, just like his heart.

"That's so little." I nodded, too scared of the emotions swelling in my heart to look into his eyes, because I wouldn't be able to control them if I did.

"You must have been so cute. With your beautiful hair and all those freckles." He pokes my cheek, and I felt myself smiling against my will. "And that smile."

"I didn't smile as a kid." My voice came out more bitter than I planned. He pulled his hand away and I saw him leaning closer, trying to get a better look at my face, probably trying to guess what I was thinking. "I just cried."

I heard Miller's soft exhale of breath, then felt his hands take both sides of my face and tilt it gently towards him.

"I can't change your past, and I don't know what the future holds for us, but I can promise you that I'll be here for you for as long as you let me. And I swear I'll make you smile as often as I can, and never intentionally make you cry."

I didn't trust myself to speak, so I just smiled at him, because he felt me, he knew me, he understood without making me explain. He was everything I never knew a person could be to me.

"Miller, will you be my partner?"

The kiss he pulled me into was answer enough for the both of us.

I pushed through some serious writer's block to get this chapter up, and I really apologize for the wait. Hopefully I can get the next chapter up in a decent amount of time.