Laje paced back and forth in her office, glancing at her dear friend from time to time. Their friendship blossomed unexpectedly years ago when he first adopted. He was back again to take on a difficult case; a charge many in her orphanage deemed a lost cause. She nearly gave up hope as well, until a few months ago.

“Are you sure about this, Roth? He’s refused every potential family for the past four years. Honestly, I’m surprised families still wish to meet with him. He’ll be eighteen next summer.”

Roth laughed, smiling fondly at Laje. “I’m not offering him a family. It didn’t work out for him the first time, and he’s suffered for it.”

“I don’t understand. Are you not adopting him?”

“Well,” he shrugged, “I’ll leave that up to him. I have no qualms about becoming his guardian if he doesn’t wish to be adopted into my family. He deserves a second chance, don’t you think?”

“Your son’s gotten to you, hasn’t he?”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

Laje sighed. “His temper has gotten better; I’ll give him that. But he refuses to watch over the younger ones after finishing his chores. He argues with nearly all the caretakers, including me.”

“What do you argue about?”

“School, mostly, and afterschool programs.” Laje stopped pacing and sat down on the sofa. “I don’t have the funds to send any of the children to extracurricular activities, or enough staff to manage their schedules if they were to join. It breaks my heart every year. It’s enough just having full-time caretakers. I didn’t have that five—six years ago. With how things are developing, I’m positive I can offer more options within the next two years, but he’ll have left by then. He’s been in and out of anger management classes for all the fighting he got into when he was returned to us. If he does say yes, I can’t guarantee he won’t get into fights at his new school or with you.”

“Laje,” her friend chided, “we’re talking about a boy who’s been through hell and back. Acting out at his age is normal. It’ll be my job to guide him should anything happen. Don’t put so much pressure and responsibility on his shoulders. He was so young when…well, I’m here now to offer him a second chance.”

She paused. “Oh, all right.” She fiddled with her tea cup. “You’re a kind man. I’ll bring him down. You can wait in the living room.”

“Laje,” Roth hesitated, “why does it sound like I’m not getting the full picture from you?”

She sat back down. “What do you mean? I’ve told you everything.”

“Have you? Do you know why he got into all those fights or why he’s not listening to you anymore? What happened to cause so much distress? You said he used to be full of energy and joy the first time he was brought to you.”

Laje’s grip tightened on her tea cup. Leave it to one of her oldest friends to ask the hardest questions. “I honestly don’t know. Whenever one of his schools called, I’d get three different stories. One from the school, one from the students he attacked, and one from him. Each one varied too much. And he always said he never started them. It was the same pattern of behavior at every school. I knew it frustrated him having to take anger management classes, but we didn’t know what else to do. He changed so much after his first adoption. I feel terrible having let the paperwork go through…”

“Laje, you know it’s not your fault what he went through with that family, right? From all the accounts you shared with me, I can tell the rest of the staff and everyone involved with his adoption feel the same way. The lengths you went for my son also say a lot about you as a person.”

She rose to her feet, wiping under her eyes. “It doesn’t matter. It was my job to help him when he came back to us. I failed him. He’s rejected every family and I don’t think he has any friends. Not here and certainly not at school. I’ve talked with all the caretakers and none of us have come up with a solution. If you hadn’t answered my call, I don’t know what we would have done.”

“Laj—”

“Wait in the living room, please. I’ll bring him to you.”

***

Eric screamed into his pillow, fighting back tears. He couldn’t believe his shit luck. Thinking about it brought on a whole bout of emotions he would rather ignore. He shouldn’t ignore them. Apparently, that was a bad thing to do. But if he didn’t ignore them, he would end up snapping at the first person he talked to. He was already upset before the incident happened. In under thirty seconds, he managed to piss off everyone at school.

Steven falsely accused him of stealing art supplies during lunch and, despite being proven innocent after an investigation, Mrs. Laje lectured him on the way home after he was already scolded by three other teachers.

He screamed into his pillow.

This wasn’t the first time.

Not once in all his four years of being back did Mrs. Laje ever take his side. She listened to the teachers and assholes like Steven. He didn’t know why. If she would just listen to him, or use common sense, or something!

After explaining why stealing was wrong, she sent him up to his room to reflect on his actions. It was ridiculous! His actions were non-existent! Did she expect him to do one of those thought experiments as punishment for doing literally nothing?

How was that fair?

Steven and the others didn’t even get in trouble! He was going insane with the injustice of it all. Even the principal was still suspicious after watching the security footage!

What was he doing wrong? How could he fix it?

He couldn’t fix anything if no one believed him.

No one ever believed him, not until…

Ten years ago, when he was brought home with…them…

He had been abused both mentally and physically. He was thirteen by the time he found the willpower to report them. Then he had been taken back to the orphanage with an absurd hope to see his only friend. But that hope was stupid because his friend would have been seventeen and it was just Eric’s luck he had been adopted by the time he returned.

Adjusting to the orphanage was harder the second time. Nothing about it screamed warm, fuzzy, or welcoming. He was alone and struggled befriending the other children. They were too young. The second oldest after him was ten. Why would he befriend a ten-year-old? What could they talk about? Everyone made it clear he shouldn’t say anything about his horrible experiences to the younger kids because they wouldn’t understand. Since that was the case, and the adults never believed him anyways, Eric kept to himself.

No one cared about him.

Mrs. Laje promised things would get better.

Family after family came to meet with him.

He turned them all down.

Eric caught a glimpse of the potential families as they entered the building, and every one of them reminded him of that family. He couldn’t—wouldn’t—go through hell again. He decided he would rather stay at the orphanage where it was safe.

Eric jumped to his feet when he heard the bedroom door open. “What?” he snapped.

“There’s someone who wants to meet you.” Mrs. Laje explained.

“Why do they bother? I’m too old for families.”

Mrs. Laje smiled. “Don’t be so sure, Eric. There was another young man years ago who said the same thing, and now he has a family.”

Eric rolled his eyes and wiped away his tears with a sullen expression, annoyed she didn’t bother to ask if he was okay after their argument. His last two weeks of school ended on a low note. Students openly shoved him against lockers and the teachers turned a blind eye. He couldn’t fight back to protect himself because everyone assumed he was violent by nature.

What he didn’t understand was why? Why were the teachers letting it happen? Weren’t they supposed to protect students from this type of thing?

Now, with summer school…

Without a word, he followed Mrs. Laje out the door and down to the first floor. He might as well get it over with. She used her sweet voice, which usually meant there was no getting out of what she wanted him to do.

Instead of going to the meeting room, Eric was surprised to be led to the living room where a man sat waiting. He was hesitant to be left alone with someone he didn’t know. He told Mrs. Laje that repeatedly. Why did she never listen?

The man smiled when he saw them enter. “Laje, who might this be?”

She turned to Eric, waving him forward. “This is Eric Sanders.” Giving him a pat on his arm, she left.

Eric watched her leave with narrowed eyes. So, it was a lecture about something he didn’t do followed by leaving him alone with a stranger, which she knows he doesn’t like. Great. Good to know she has his best interests at heart. He settled on glaring at the person in front of him. He didn’t know why Mrs. Laje bothered. He turned seventeen three days ago, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t wait one more year before moving away from this hellhole.

He didn’t need a family.

He could go another year rejecting everyone.

“Eric?”

“Old man.” Eric snapped.

“Well, this old man would like to tell you a story.”

Eric raised a blonde eyebrow, taking a seat on the couch opposite the man. Something about his voice was soothing, threatening Eric’s intentions of keeping his walls up during their conversation. He felt a bit bad about snapping and calling him an old man. This was a new approach compared to the other families looking to adopt him. Shouldn’t the guy start out by introducing himself and boasting his capabilities to take of him and provide everything he wanted?

Apparently not, based off the next sentence he said.

“Quite a few years ago, I got coffee from the café at the corner, just down there,” he gestured, fondness echoing through his words. “It was a gorgeous winter night. On the way back to my car, a young boy ran into me, causing me to spill coffee everywhere. He started crying. I offered to take him back home, then realized he was running away from this orphanage. Without a second thought, I offered him the chance to join my family.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Eric wasn’t amused. He had an English essay to write and five pages of math problems to solve. Susan insisted he be put in summer school to keep him out of trouble. Well, so much for that, considering how today went. Steven would try something again tomorrow. If not Steven, then Nick or Mira.

This meeting was a waste of time. Besides, if he didn’t finish his homework by ten, he’d have to sneak away to the attic so he could use the lamp up there because the younger children had a strict bedtime routine.

Mrs. Laje chewed his ear off the last time he tried doing his homework in the kitchen. How he was setting a bad example for the others. If he wanted to use the kitchen after curfew, he should have asked.

Eric thought it was stupid. He didn’t understand why it was a problem for him to use the kitchen. He lived there, after all. He was also the only teenager. Why did he have to follow rules meant for ten-year-olds?

The stranger met his angry glare with kind, brown eyes. “Because the boy who spilt my coffee and became a son to me was thirteen going on fourteen.”

Eric’s eyes widened but he tried to hide it. “That has nothing to do with me. I’m seventeen, not thirteen, by the way. I’m not some sappy wimp who needs a family.”

“Perhaps,” the man allowed. “I’d like for you to join my family. It would be nice if my little girls would have a brother closer to their age. A thirteen-year gap between the eldest girl and my son seems too wide. He’s a grown man with his own business and I don’t want to put more stress on his shoulders.”

“Shouldn’t you be looking at my file or something?” Eric demanded. “I could be some crazy person that’s gonna kill you all in your sleep.”

The man smiled, though it faded when he spoke. “I did take a look, Eric. I know what you’ve been through and I want to offer you a safe place. You don’t even have to think of us as mom or dad, brother or sister. I’m offering you a place to call your own; if you want it.”

Eric met his explanation with confusion. “What’s your name?”

“Roth Anders. My wife’s name is Susan. I’ll introduce you to the others should you decide to come home with me.” Roth replied.

Eric’s brow furrowed. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, should you agree to join my family, you can come home with me, today.”

Eric stared at Roth, full of amazement. He must have started the adoption process at least one year in advance since the rules and regulations changed a few years ago. Which meant he was serious about giving him a place to call his own…

For the first time in a long time, Eric felt hope.

What came out of his mouth next was at extreme odds with his inner emotions. “I don’t want to be adopted.”

Roth chuckled, “I thought you might say that.”

Eric looked him up and down. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.” Roth’s playful demeanor disappeared as he leaned forward, catching the young boy’s eyes. “I meant what I said about giving you a safe place to call your own. If you don’t want to be adopted into my family, what do you say to me just becoming your legal guardian? You’ll have the chance to start fresh and a permanent home for the rest of your life, no matter where the world takes you.

“I won’t lie to you, Eric, after reading your file, my heart broke. You deserve so much more than what’s been handed to you. If I can give you even a little bit of safety and security, I’ll do it. I don’t care if you ever think of me as family. I’m offering you a second chance because you deserve it. If you say no, I won’t question your decision. I think you’re old enough to decide what’s best for you. If you need time to think things over, take as long as you want. This doesn’t have an expiration date.”

Eric sat in silence for a long time. In all the years since he’d been back at the orphanage, none of the potential matches brought up his past, even in passing. They showered him with praise, promising him lots of things. And unlike Roth, they insisted he call them mom and dad.

This was the first time anyone had explained their reasoning behind wanting to adopt him. It wasn’t out of some desired, twisted picture-perfect family. Roth genuinely wanted to give him a second chance. Something he thought was impossible.

Something he knew was impossible.

But, maybe, if he opened himself up one more time, things would be different.

“I think I need a moment…to think.”

“Of course,” Roth stood, “I’ll be up in Laje’s office. It’s okay if you don’t come to a decision today. Take as long as you need, Eric. I mean that.”

Filled with an emotion he didn’t know what to do with, Eric watched Roth leave in silence.