"That was...mind blowing!" Noah jumped up after the interview ended. "I just saw Jeremy Patterson talking about my brother. On national television!" He bounced around. "I gotta go tell Dave!" He sprinted out of the room.
Meanwhile, I was stunned. Brother of my brother. It sounded awkward and sketchy, and a little bit weird, but none of that mattered. He claimed that I was his brother. And that Zeke was my brother. It warmed me on the inside.
Zeke and Kyle came home shortly afterwards and found me alone in the living room. Zeke held papers while Kyle held a box.
"Where did Noah go?" Zeke was immediately suspicious. He spotted the cookies and frowned.
He opened his mouth to say more, but I cut him off. "Jeremy talked about you. In an interview."
Zeke blinked in surprise.
Kyle was even more shocked. "What?! Why?!" He whipped out his phone. "Do you think I can find it online?"
"Noah went upstairs to tell Dave so they might be looking it up." I explained.
Kyle put away his phone. "This, I gotta see." He waved before hurrying towards the stairs.
Zeke stayed behind. He sat on the smaller couch. "So? What was said?"
I glanced at him, then glanced away, then back at him. "You can go upstairs and watch. Nothing bad."
"So something good?" Zeke asked.
I nodded. "He complimented you."
Zeke looked me in the eyes. "What else?"
I felt embarrassed. "Nothing much..." I scratched my cheek. "If you want to know more, then go join the others upstairs."
"Did he mention you?" Zeke asked, ignoring my suggestion.
I nodded slowly. "Kind of." I glanced at Zeke, feeling a little shy. "He said you were his brother's brother."
Zeke nodded. "Very accurate."
I beamed with happiness, feeling more secured with his approval. Although the Atkins talked about accepting me and how I was like a brother to them, Zeke usually isn't this forward.
Zeke's eyes shifted to the entryway of the living room. "I saw you, Noah. Come in here and explain this package of cookies."
Noah slowly came in the room, looking sheepish. "It was just a snack. To hold us over until dinner."
"Why can't you pick healthier snacks?" Zeke asked. "Fruit is a hundred times better than this junk. Next time, eat an apple or two. Throw in a banana and an orange."
Noah picked up the bag of cookies. "Yea, but they aren't as sweet. I'll go put them back." He rushed out and returned just as fast, trying to prove that he wasn't an addict.
Zeke shook his head. "If you want to get to the next level, you're really gonna have to show some self-control." He looked at me. "You too. Less junk. More fruits and vegetables."
I nodded obediently.
Noah sat beside me, picking up his homework again. "It's not like we get to binge on cookies everyday."
"Uh-huh." Zeke was unconvinced.
We spent the afternoon under his watchful eyes, doing our homework steadily during commercial breaks. We watched as the A's kicked butt early on in the game.
"With this win, we now have a five game lead in first place." Noah told me after the game ended and the channel was switched to a new game. "This is really one of the best seasons we've had."
"So far." Zeke pointed out. "It's too soon to tell if they can hold onto first."
"But it's still a good feeling." He grinned.
I nodded. It was definitely a good feeling to see everyone so happy.
"Boys!" Mr. Atkins could be heard yelling as the front door opened. "We're home. We brought takeout!"
Noah jumped up and hurried to the kitchen. Not just for food, but to tell his parents about this afternoon. Zeke and I came in and sat down as Noah told his parents what Jeremy had said.
Mrs. Atkins passed out the separate containers to each place setting. "Noah, will you go get the twins?"
Noah paused his story. "Sure, Mom!" He got up and ran again. Just looking at him made me tired.
"Jake, I want to ask you something..." Mrs. Atkins hesitated.
I tensed up. "What..?"
Her tone and expression didn't make me think it was going to be something good. She looked nervous and uncertain. "About Jeremy..."
"What about him?" I asked, confused.
"Do you have any thoughts, about a more-" She stopped. Then started again. "Do you think you'll want to be even closer to him in the future? Like...him...being your guardian..?"
I froze. "Do you guys n-n-not want me?" I stuttered, scared, anxiety on high.
"Of course we do." Mr. Atkins rested his hand on my shoulder. "We just want to make sure it's mutual. We don't want to take away your opportunity to-"
"I want to stay here." I cut him off, looking up at him in the eyes. "I don't want to....leave."
"Oh honey, we don't want you to leave either." Mrs. Atkins came around and rested her hand upon her husband's, adding weight to my shoulder. "We want what's best for you. If you wanted to reconnect with Jeremy, we wouldn't be mad at you."
"I have reconnected." I frowned. "That doesn't mean I want to live with him. I want to stay here. I feel safe with you guys." I scrunched up my nose as my eyes stung. How can I tell them that I want to be adopted without sounding needy and clingy? I don't want to leave this family for something that's so risky.
"We have good news for you then." Mr. Atkins smiled.
His wife's smile was just as big. "Our petition to adopt has been processed."
I blinked, not understanding clearly.
"Congratulations." Zeke said, breaking me out of my shock. "You're one step closer to being an Atkins."
I got up from my seat, startling Mr. and Mrs. Atkins into letting me go. I stared at them. "Really?"
Mrs. Atkins started to cry. "Really."
Without thinking, my body moved by itself, and I flung my arms around Mrs. Atkins waist, hugging her. All on my own.
"What's going on..?"
"What did I just walk into?"
"Are they having a moment? Should we leave?"
Noah had arrived with the twins. They came in together, finding me in Mrs. Atkins warm embrace, watching as we both cried.
"They're so happy, that they're crying." Zeke explained. "Jake's papers have been processed. As long as we aren't secretly serial killers, then Jake should be officially one of us."
"What!"
"No way!"
"Really?!"
Mr. Atkins laughed at the trio. "Yes, that's the gist of it. We'll have to schedule some at-home visits with Mr. Duncan and probably other social workers. As long as you boys don't go breaking the law or anything to put us in a bad light, we should get the all-clear from the state."
All the boys started to ask questions, wanting to know about the visits. Should they dress up? Can they plan it for when we're studying for finals? What do they have to do, to make this happen?
I felt like I was riding on a cloud. This was the highest I've ever felt. Not even winning the CIF championship could compare to this family wanting me to stick around. For good.
"Not to be a downer, but what about his uncle?" Kyle stopped to ask. "He's not going to stop this from happening is he...?"
The excitement died down with those simple, yet somehow complicated, questions.
I looked up at Mrs. Atkins, worried.
She brushed my hair back with her fingers. "We'll talk to him. As long as he has no objections, it should be smooth sailing."
Should? I bit my lip, not liking the verb.
