Every Bright and Broken Thing

Chapter Forty-Six - Ezra

The ride back to the house is mostly silent. Elaine drives her car behind us while I ride with Dad and Liam, unable to be apart from them for even a second. But it feels like there's been such a distance between the three of us for so long that I'm not sure we know how to be with each other anymore. I get the feeling we're going to have to relearn how to be a family. This fills me both with grief for what has been lost and hope for what we might yet find.

But I'm scared. I'm scared because now everything I am is open before the very people I hid myself from for so long. It's liberating and terrifying all at once to be so vulnerable with the people you love.

As we drive through the Summit, all the memories I tried to bury come rushing back. The park where I used to take Liam to play basketball. The candy store Mom and Dad took us to after church on Sundays. The creamery where we got root beer floats every Saturday. Then, we turn onto our street. The street we rode bikes on as a family and where I taught Liam how to skateboard. And then there's the house. The house I haven't stepped foot in for nearly four years. As Dad pulls into the driveway, my eyes are drawn to a ragtag group of guys waiting on the porch.

I turn to Liam. "Who are they?"

"They're my friends." I think I make out a slight smile at the corner of his lips.

Climbing out of the car as Elaine parks behind us, we make our way down the sidewalk and onto the front porch where Liam's friends wait. A tall, black kid is the first to stand and approach us. He looks first to Liam, then to Dad, then finally to me.

We exchange a knowing, wordless glance before he turns back to Liam.

"How are you feeling?" he asks.

"I'm fine."

The kid smiles. "No, you're not."

Liam laughs for the first time since I've been home. "No. I'm not." And the kid pulls him into a careful hug. Then, he turns to Dad and extends a hand, but instead of shaking Dad wraps his arms around him. He turns to me.

"I'm Theo," he says, holding out a hand.

"I'm Ezra." I pull him into a hug, too, and in his ear I whisper, "Thank you for taking care of him."

"Anytime," he whispers back.

We break contact and Liam introduces me to the two other guys on the porch: Jace and Will. Dad invites them to come inside and join us for dinner, but they decline. I get the feeling, though, that I'll be seeing a lot more of them in the future.

When they leave, Dad takes Liam's things up to his room and leaves us in the living room. The house smells the same as it did the last time I was here. Like coffee and evergreen scented candles.

Straightaway, Dad sets to cooking cheeseburgers on an indoor griddle and when they're finished, he calls us to the dining room. We gather around the dining table and I notice that a thin layer of dust covers most of the surface. With a washrag, I wipe it clean and sit down beside Elaine. Across from me sits Liam and at the head of the table is Dad. For the first time in years, we gather to eat as a family.

"Boys, Elaine," Dad says when we're finished. "I don't know if it's too soon to ask this, but... I would love if you all came to church with me this Sunday."

Liam and I exchange a look.

"Look, I know that it's been a long time since either of you have come. And, Elaine, I don't know where you stand on the matter, but it would really mean a lot to me and, I think, to your mother too." He folds his hands in front of him. "Our family's been broken for a long time. And we've all been running from it. It's time to stop running and face it. Together."