Little Drummer Boy

Chapter 2: Open Doors and Open Arms

He opened his eyes and smiled at her and then turned to me. “You’re my family now, right?” he asked.

“Of course,” I said.

“I’m glad to have a family.”

“And we’re glad to have you,” Mom then added. I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through his mind. His words seemed so simple, but I had a feeling his story was anything but simple. I later learned I was right, though couldn’t imagine the truth then. But then, the simple welcoming words were all that I could offer to my mysterious brother.

Not much else was said until we got back home. We ended up getting back a little after 7, and right about the time I entered the door my stomach started growling. “I’ll get dinner started soon,” Mom said as I was hanging my coat up. Jace had followed me and took his coat off, though was holding it, as if asking where it should go.

“Here, I’ll take it,” I said, hanging up beside mine. From the other room, Dad glanced at me, and then to the closet, giving me the message. I ruffled through a couple of the coats, in there, though it seemed like half of them were the ones Julia decided not to take with her. At the back of it, I found the one I was looking for.

“Here Jace,” I said getting out a red coat that had a couple scratches and dirt marks covering it.

“For me?” he asked.

“Yeah, I don’t wear it anymore. I’m just bad at getting rid of old stuff. I think it would fit you.” He took it and slowly put it on. It seemed a bit big for him still, though not nearly as bad as Dad’s.

“That looks good on you,” Dad said walking over toward us.

“Thank you,” Jace said with a bit of eagerness.

“Why don’t you show him the house, and his room,” Dad said before walking away again.

I’m not going to lie and say that things didn’t seem awkward between me and Jace. When I’d had friends over before, we’d normally just go to my room, and not care about the rest. Plus, I knew them well enough to have something to talk about.

“I’ll show you to your room upstairs.”

We went up the stairs and to the small second floor we had. There were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a small closest. I then realized I’d have to share a bathroom again, but at least it wouldn’t be with a sister. I don’t want to count the number of times I got yelled at for accidently moving one of her 72 different creams and lotions.

“This is your room,” I said opening the door to my sister’s old room. The first thing that you’d notice walking in were the bright green walls. We had planned on repainting and decorating it when we learned more about the person that was going to move in with us. As it was now, it still very much resembled the way Julia had it. Granted, it didn’t have lots of girly things on the dressers like it used to, but I doubt many guys had a room like this. “Sorry about the color, we can change it to whatever you want,” I said as Jace went further into the room. “This is what my sister liked.”

“You have a sister?”

“Yeah, she’s away at collage though.”

Jace walked over to the nightstand and saw a small picture she had on it with her and her boyfriend Mark. “Do you miss her?” he asked picking up the picture.

“A bit. But she was here over Christmas for a few weeks, so we got to spend time together then. We also talk online sometimes too.”

“So I’m taking her room?” Jace asked, placing the picture gently back down.

“She wants you to have it,” I quickly said. “If it meant someone else could get a home, she said she would be glad to give it up.”

Jace sat on the bed, which I was quite glad didn’t have Julia’s bright pink and purple colors all over it. “She seems very nice.”

I sat on the bed beside him. “Do you miss your family?” I asked placing a hand on his shoulder, however he quickly scooted away from me. “I’m sorry,” I said placing my hand back into my lap.

“No, it’s just,” he said looking down for a moment before returning his gaze to me. “I do miss them.”

“I’m sure this is really hard for you.”

He nodded. “You’re my family now though. So, I don’t have to miss having one anymore.”

I wondered how true it was. New people in your life didn’t just replace the old. You still missed the old. Though sometimes, the new people, the comfort of them would dull the pain. “You can take your time getting used to us.” As I said this, the smoke detector started going off, causing him to jump up, and glance around the room in a panic. He started running from one end to another, his gaze shifting all over the place, from the walls, to the ceiling, to the floor. “Calm down Jace, it’s just the smoke detector.”

He glanced back at me, his eyes still darting around, and I thought I could see him shaking. “Oh, um, what happened?”

“Mom probably set if off cooking again. Like I said, things will take some getting used to.”

“Oh, okay.” He seemed to relax a little bit, but still seemed more on edge than normal.

“Dinner should be ready soon, if you want to head back down stairs.”

He nodded and followed me. I hoped that dinner would be good, and that most things wouldn’t be burnt. He needed a place he could feel safe, for more reasons than I knew at the time. A good meal would make that easier for him, but I hoped it would be enough to let him open up.