Family isn't just blood or law bound ,family is who showed up,who was there.Family is love
The Bronx,New York City,Earth
March 10
3 days till the trip.
Dexter is sitting in a corner in their little living room, practicing something new on his guitar. After racking his brain on possible ways for him to go on the trip, he comes to no solution. So, instead he's clearing his mind with music.
Humming the lyrics to the song he groans in frustration as he messes up the chords. His mind going back to not being able to go on the trip. He truly believed he was just being selfish for wanting to leave his sick mother and have fun with his friends.
'If only Diana could fly in from Cali for the next couple days to help out.' He sighs in thought, but he knows she'd rather drink flaming hot sauce in a go than do that. Diana is his sister, she's about 7 years older than him and they don't talk much or at all, especially since their dad enlisted into the army, she practically cut him off as soon as she got into university 5 years ago. She'd send emails, messages and some funds to their mom and dad but nothing to Dexter, she blocked him everywhere too, so it was futile every time he tried to reach out to her.
She doesn't really classify Dexter as her brother, he's adopted. He tries to be okay with it, reminding himself time and time again that it's fine, he's not their real child anyway but it still hurts him.
"Dolphin, you should go to bed" Dexter's mom, Mrs. Matthews walks into the living room.
His mom had been calling him dolphin since he was eight, he wouldn't shut up about dolphins at that age, he was obsessed and so it became a Matthew house staple.
He would beg his parents to let him swim with them from time to time, back when money wasn't so tight.
"And you shouldn't be out of bed" he places his guitar down rushing over to her, escorting her back to bed. She has stage three lung cancer; the doctor says she doesn't have much time left.
'She probably won't make it to me college graduation' The thought crosses his mind yet again as it had been since he received the news. It is a really difficult pill to swallow. 'On the bright side, I probably won't have to worry about being alone for my college graduation because we don't even have the money to fund it...bright side'
'Your life is only sad when you allow it to be sad' he reminds himself 'put yourself in a position where you cannot be unhappy no matter what, everything will start to look up'
No matter how hard he tries to remember that... it really hurts him to see the first and one of the only people to make him feel loved dying, it hurt him to know he would lose that soon.
"Dolphin" she pulls on his sleeves as he helps her get into bed.
"Yes mom?" He sits beside her on the bed.
"You only get to be a teenager once" she places her palm on his cheek.
"I know" he smiles warmly
"So, what are you waiting for?" she chuckles "live your life, don't worry about me my child" she smiles softly, "I have lived mine, I'm not dying now, stop acting like I'm going to fall dead the next second"
He frowns at her words "Don't say that mom"
"I'm serious Dexter" she gives him a stern look.
"But-" She cuts him off.
"I won't allow it" She speaks before he even has a chance to finish his sentence.
"I'm going back to the hospital tomorrow anyways" she smiles "You can drop me off and then sleepover with one of your friends"
He knew there was no point in arguing, she wouldn't let him have a say "Okay" he responds knowing she'd probably call Elijah's mom and make sure he was with the Starlings 'living his best life' but little does she know, Elijah will probably just force her son to watch the stars with him, or use him as a source of entertainment by making him play an instrument or sing while he stargazes or tries to discover new stars or constellations.
Two days later.
Elijah's a weird kid and If there was anything in the world Elijah loves after Emily...
"Would you guys like to see something I finally found last night?" Elijah asks his friends as they were all gathered round the kitchen island "maybe after the movie?"
...it's astronomy.
"I already saw it so no" Dexter answers chugging down a glass of water. The others had decided to join the sleepover after finding out Dexter had been over at Elijah for two days; it was arranged that they'd all go together from Elijah's place.
The others look at Elijah with uncertainty before Skai responds, "That would be great, but I think we should save it for the camping trip." She chirps.
"I agree it would be so much cooler out in the forest or by the lake" River adds. The Ladistons had never been astronomy fans it absolutely bored them.
"They aren't wrong" Emily agrees, and Elijah smiles grateful that they didn't want to see it just because they didn't find it intriguing.
Just then the microwave beeps and Elijah walks over to it, taking the last bowl of popcorn out.
If Emily wanted it that way, then Elijah would always be for it.
"So," Skai starts "To be sure, we're all going for the trip, right?"
"I'm going" Emily smiles, but a glint of pain was evident in her eyes, causing Elijah to wonder if her dad was causing trouble for her again? He had told her she could stay with him till her father gets his act together, but she keeps refusing the offer.
He wraps his arms around her waist comfortingly, feeling a bit uneasy himself with the thought of her being under the same roof as the monster that is her own father.
"Me too" he mumbles, answering the question.
"You already know I'm going" River laughs when Skai looks at him accusingly.
They all turn to Dexter waiting for his answer.
"Well?" Skai pressures and Dexter scratches the back of his head.
He looks down nervously, playing with his fingers "I don't know"
"Why not?" Emily lifts a brow at him "You literally persuaded me" she lets out a little laugh.
"You know with my mom being sick and my sister not opening my e-mails, there'd be no one to take care of her" he tells them.
And their faces all change to that of realization and understanding.
Elijah moves one hand away from Emily swinging the other around her shoulder. "I mean we could always stay and not go" he tells Dexter.
"Yeah!" Skai claps "Sleepover at the Bardo crib" she twirls. "Or the Starling residence...anyone is good"
"No, no" Dexter brushes off, but they could all see the sadness in his eyes "I haven't made the decision yet, my mom doesn't really want me spending my years with her in the hospital" he frowns
"But that aside, let's watch the movie!" he instantly has a big smile plastered on his face.
After the movie, most of them had fallen asleep, Leaving Elijah and River awake, Elijah looks at Dexter, Emily and Skai in disappointment not understanding how people manage to sleep through movies 'it was literally made to be experienced.' He thinks 'Falling asleep is just cutting the experience short.'
They are all on their huge movie mattress —After Skai, Emily and Dexter kept falling asleep during numerous of their movie nights at Elijah's house, They decided to get one to save River and Elijah the pain of moving three humans up the stairs all the time—Emily is snuggled in Elijah's chest, at the left end of the mattress, Dexter is next to them with Skai's hand over his face and River is at the right end on his phone, stalking celebrities.
Elijah wasn't expecting to sleep anytime soon, he had a special case of insomnia. He ended up falling asleep at the crack of dawn to the alluring smell of his girlfriend's vanilla shampoo and Kendrick Lamar's album, Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers.