"What?" Cailen said, maybe sort of squeaked.
"Yeah, I think he should go." Asher chuckled. "I mean, not forever... maybe just a couple months to clear his head and see what he really wants to do. But he always talks about missing home and I think it's kind of mixing with all the Camille emotions... So I think he should go and just sort everything out." Asher said.
Cailen hadn't been expecting this at all. He had expected Asher to be very upset about this, to be begging Noah to stay, not telling him to go.
"Oh, you're not going to miss him?" Cailen asked, confused.
"Of course I am." Asher said. "But... You know, we're always busy with Zeke and now Matt and Hazel have Aariyah. He's only got Wil to hang around and Wil's focusing on his band... I'm sure it gets lonely, he just doesn't want to say anything and make us feel bad." Asher explained.
Cailen never thought about it like that, he supposed it made sense and he knew that although Noah enjoyed his alone time, he tended to go a bit mad if he didn't have someone around to talk to.
Maybe it really would be best for Noah to go home for a while.
"I guess... Just sucks." Cailen admitted.
"I know, but we're all growing up... We can't just piss around like we used to." Asher said, his attention being drawn down when Ezekiel stirred in between them.
Ezekiel's eyes blinked open as he turned his body so he was laying almost flat across them, his head in Asher's lap now and his legs pushed even farther over Cailen's lap.
He took a moment to blink at the screen, watching the DVD symbol bounce around before he realized what had happened.
"It's over?" He asked, wiggling around in order to sit up properly, so he sat on his knees and peered at the screen.
"You fell asleep, buddy." Asher explained.
Ezekiel pouted, obviously upset that he had fallen asleep and missed Batman, as if he hadn't seen it a billion and one times.
Honestly, Cailen could probably recite it and he didn't watch nearly half the amount of times Asher did.
"How are you feeling, love?" Cailen asked, reaching out to his forehead to feel that he was warm but he wasn't burning up like he was this morning.
"My throat hurts." Ezekiel answered, his pout still evident.
Cailen nodded, figuring it was just from coughing so much all day.
"Probably from coughing... You know what helps sore throats?" Cailen asked, getting an idea to cheer up the disappointed boy.
Ezekiel turned to him, a curious expression on his face.
"What?" Ezekiel asked, Asher peering over at Cailen curiously as well.
"Ice cream, of course!" Cailen said happily, raising his hands and slapping them down on his knees as he stood, turning to look down at Ezekiel.
"Do you want some ice cream?" He asked and watched as Ezekiel's face brightened up, the boy nodding vigorously.
Cailen and Asher both chuckled, seeing that he was apparently feeling better, and then Cailen was disappearing into the kitchen to dish up a small bowl of ice cream for him.
*****
"Can Noah and William come over after school?" Ezekiel asked as Cailen handed him his back pack from the backseat of his car.
They were standing outside his car that was parked outside the school, other parents and children all around them, saying their own goodbyes.
"Oh, I don't know... I'll ask them but they might be busy." Cailen explained, surprised by the question but still happy that Ezekiel liked them.
"I want to learn more on my guitar." Ezekiel said, slipping on his backpack.
Cailen nodded, smiling down at him.
Cailen had let Ezekiel dress himself today, and after a lengthy discussion as to why he couldn't come to school in his underwear only, he actually picked out some decent clothes that didn't look too ridiculous.
He wore beige cargo pants with a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shirt and because Cailen made him, a blue zip up hoodie. He had brushed out his shaggy hair but with the wind, it was kind of pointless.
"Zeke!" Came a voice from the right.
Both Cailen and Ezekiel turned to see an older blonde kid running up the sidewalk towards them.
It was the same blonde kid from before and Cailen couldn't help but reach out for Ezekiel, resting a hand on his shoulder.
He didn't want Ezekiel running off before the kid got here. He wanted to meet this kid and see if he really was a threat to his son or not, just in case.
Cailen's suspicions weren't really put to rest when he looked down at Ezekiel and saw a look that was a mix between dread and uncertainty.
"Zeke!" The boy repeated, coming to an abrupt stop infront of Ezekiel, wavering slightly in his spot.
Up close, Cailen could see that the boy wasn't necessarily older than Ezekiel, just big for his age.
The boy had bright green eyes and pale skin, blonde hair that stuck up in every direction, and a dopey smile aimed at Ezekiel.
He wasn't really Cailen's definition of 'Class Bully' so he didn't understand why Ezekiel looked like he wanted to run away.
"Where were you yesterday?" The boy asked, seeming to not notice Cailen at all, that or he just didn't care.
"I was sick." Ezekiel explained quietly, letting out a cough as if to prove this.
When Ezekiel woke up this morning, he said he was feeling better than yesterday but he still had a cough so Cailen gave him some cough medicine and got him ready for school.
"Oh, I hate being sick." The boy announced, his face scrunching up to display his distaste. "But you got to miss school so I guess it isn't all bad."
Cailen smiled at this, unable to not as the boy finally looked up at Cailen.
"Is this your dad?" He asked, not giving time for Ezekiel to answer as he stuck his hand out at Cailen for him to shake. "I'm Tripp, Zeke's friend." The boy said as Cailen reached out to take his hand, unable to stop the chuckle that left his mouth because this boy was very... different.
Not that Cailen thought it was a bad thing, it just wasn't something he was used to seeing.
"Hello, Tripp. I'm Cailen." Cailen introduced politely, smiling at the the boy as he retracted his hand after shaking Cailen's.
Cailen didn't see anything particularly mean about this kid but Ezekiel still didn't seem completely comfortable around him.
"Nice to meet you, sir." Tripp said, looking to Ezekiel. "We better go Zeke, or we're going to be late."
Ezekiel looked up at Cailen then, a pleading look in his eyes that Cailen couldn't ignore.
"Actually, Tripp, why don't you run ahead? I need to talk to Zeke." Cailen said, smiling as politely as he could at the blonde boy.
Tripp shrugged, waving goodbye to Ezekiel before running off towards the door and calling out to some other kid making their way to the school as well.
Ezekiel remained quiet, standing at Cailen's side so Cailen knelt down beside him so he could look him in the eye.
"You okay, love?" Cailen asked, reaching out to straighten his hair and smiling when Ezekiel did not move away from the action.
"Yeah." Ezekiel gave a simple answer, avoiding Cailen's eyes and that sent up a little red flag.
Maybe the kid was just a good actor and he was trying to fool Cailen.
"Is Tripp your friend?" Cailen asked, his voice serious.
Ezekiel only shrugged, not giving Cailen a verbal answer and still not meeting his eyes.
"Does Tripp- does he pick on you? Or tease you?" Cailen asked, sort of afraid of the answer because what was he supposed to do if it was ‘yes’?
Ezekiel met his eyes then, his brown and wide eyes looking a bit shocked.
"No, he- I don't know. He's annoying." Ezekiel admitted, looking to the ground in a sort of shame. "I don't want to be mean, but he doesn't shut up." Ezekiel explained, not realizing how relieved Cailen was to hear this.
He was glad the only apparent problem with this kid was that he didn't stop talking, which Cailen didn't find hard to believe.
"Hey, we don't use those words." Cailen scolded immediately.
"You tell Asher to shut up all the time." Ezekiel quickly pointed out, making Cailen pause because Ezekiel was right, he did do that.
"Yes... But... Grown ups are allowed to use those words..." Cailen said, pulling the lamest excuse he could come up with while making a mental note to stop doing that.
It's not like he ever meant it in a mean way, and Asher knew that but he supposed Ezekiel didn't.
"Anyway, he seems to like you... Maybe just try to give him a chance?" Cailen suggested, noting what little time they had.
"Okay." Ezekiel sighed, going to turn from Cailen but pausing and turning back to give Cailen a quick hug before dashing off towards the school doors.
Cailen stood, a smile on his face as he watched his son run off and that's when it dawned on him- Ezekiel hadn't even tried to correct Tripp when he called Cailen his Dad.
*****
"Mrs. Cruz, what are you doing out of bed?" Cailen asked as he came into the room, clipboard in hand, and saw the elderly lady standing by the window.
Mrs. Cruz was a sweet elderly lady who was in the hospital more often than not, unfortunately. Cailen enjoyed talking with her, he did, but he hated seeing her in here so much.
Cailen set the clipboard down on the end of the bed she was supposed to be lying in and made his way over to the window, being careful not to frighten her.
"Oh, I just miss being outside, is all." She said as Cailen joined her by her side.
Cailen frowned at this because it must really suck to be cooped up in a hospital room all day. He felt bad for her.
"Come on, let's get you back into bed." Cailen said because she really wasn't supposed to be standing at all, let alone unsupervised.
Mrs. Cruz didn't argue, she let Cailen take her by the arm and slowly guide her back to her bed where he laid her down gently and pulled the covers up to her stomach.
"You're such a nice boy," She said sweetly, smiling at Cailen. "So kind, so gentle." She continued on, making Cailen smile at her, a sad yet fond smile because they've been through this before.
"Well, thank you. I try to be." Cailen tried to answer with a straight face.
It's not as though he thought of himself as mean or anything, but he was pretty sure if you asked Asher or any of his friends, 'kind' and 'gentle' wouldn't be the first words to leave their mouths when asked to describe Cailen.
"Do you have kids?" She asked curiously. "I think you'd make a good father." She added as Cailen picked up his clipboard again, scribbling some notes from the heart monitor beside her bed.