The thunder rumbled overhead, cracking the air with its loud roar. She walked past container after container, each one coated in mud and bright-yellow spray paint, sporting tags and obscure cartoons characters. The open door of an empty cab groaned in the wind and Elly heard a rustling. Something darted out from the red train car in front of her. It was trying to move fast, but was ultimately unsuccessful and was more like a shuffle. All the air was pushed out of her lungs and Elly began running toward the shadow. He tried to outrun her, but it didn’t matter. For once in her chubby life, Elly Jordan was fast.
At the sight of his hair, her heart throbbed with relief, her fears running out onto the wet pavement, running alongside with the buckets of dirty rain. She felt the mud under her sandals, and the awkwardness of his body as she approached him. Finally, with a wheeze, he collapsed to his knees before her. Large sobs racked his shoulders. He clutched a tiny jade pineapple in his hand. “Dennis?”
“Don’t come any closer. Go away. I’m here to do something.”
“I’m sorry,” Elly whispered, the wind carrying away her words. “Dennis. I’m so sorry. I didn’t understand.” The certainty in her voice sounded like a gavel, ringing out across the empty park. “Please come home. You are my family.”
His eyes misted over as he looked away. “I don’t care. Nothing you ever say again will mean anything to me. Ever again.”
She crouched beside him, rain pelting down on them both. “I mean it. You are my family. I’m sorry that I hurt you. I should have been stronger for you. I should have paid more attention. And I didn’t. Can you please give me another chance?”
Dennis looked up, his bright-blue eyes startling under his plastered hair. “Do you even know that we are family? Isn’t that why you ordered that kit? Because you want to see if I’m really your brother? And if I’m not, you’ll kick me out and never talk to me again. It was better to just go.”
Elly’s heart broke. By leaving, Dennis had been protecting himself. Even this, this sad, forgotten place of his worst memories, was a better option than being rejected by the only person he knew in the world.
“I should never have ordered that kit. I don’t care if we aren’t really related, although my heart tells me that we are. I will never use it. You are my brother. Now, always. We have stuff to work on, but we’re family.”
His cloudy eyes met hers. “But I’ve been a dick. What if I mess it up again?”
“I’m sure you will. And so will I. I’m sure there are days where we will want to murder each other and will fight and yell, but that’s okay. That is what family does. What makes us a family is that we come back together when it’s over. We forgive. We can try harder.”
Dennis shook his head. “I’m not sure why you want to deal with a messed-up kid like me. I’m not … normal. I have issues.” He clasped his hands over his head. “You don’t even know.”
Hesitantly, Elly put her hands over his hands and lowered her eyes to meet his. “Then I will help you battle them. Every day. You are the only family I have, too. You can’t go anywhere, because then I’ll be alone. Do you hear me Dennis? You can’t leave me alone.”
Dennis’s eyes were confused. “You … need me?”
“Yes. Yes. I need you. I might not need World of MageCraft playing all night, but I need you in my life, because I need family, too. More than anything else, this is what matters. I didn’t realize it until now.” With a start, Elly felt her own tears running in the rain as she stared at her brother. Before her eyes, she saw his face transform from a stranger’s features into something familiar and comforting. She saw the beauty in him, saw the truth of his life and his innocent soul. Elly saw his face struggling to come to a decision.
Then Dennis Trager reached for her with a sob. “I’m broken!” he cried desperately. “I just don’t know what to do. Please help me!”
She didn’t know what to say, and so she just reached for him.
Elly loved him.
She wrapped her arms around him and together they sobbed in the rain, family at last.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Dennis and Elly walked out through the train yard gates and toward the car, where Keith waited in the rain. Both men seemed unsure of how to react to each other, so Keith simply nodded and said, “Good to see you, Dennis.”
“Yeah” sniffed Dennis, climbing in the car before reconsidering his words. “Good to see you, Keith, man.” It was an awkward exchange, but it warmed Elly’s heart.
Instead of sitting up front with Keith, she sat in the back with Dennis, not wanting to leave his side for the moment. Feeling bold, she wrapped her hand around his and gave a firm squeeze. “Let’s go home.”
She saw a slight smile creep over his face. “Okay.” As the car pulled away from the dusty road, Dennis leaned his wet forehead against the window, watching the past fade into a humid fog.
“We can stay longer if you want. We could rent a hotel here if you want more time to say goodbye, see your neighbors.”
Dennis shook his head. “I didn’t say goodbye the first time. This was enough. My parents aren’t here.”