Chapter One: Welcome Home

June glanced out the car window as the golden and red leaves blurred past his view. The crisp, cool air meant it was officially sweater weather in Brooklyn, New York, and June could see his breath vaporize whenever he decided to exhale.

He liked to imagine the color change in the trees was just nature making its own art, sick of the greenery and yearning for a color change. In winter, apparently, nature was depressed (or maybe that was just him).

Marshall slightly turned down the radio's pop music from the driver's seat and fixed his rearview mirror to meet June's eye. "How ya' feeling, Junebug?" he asked as they approached a red light, coming to a slow stop. June preferred to answer with silence and a shrug. Marshall ushered his lips into a smile. "Don't worry, the Carvez family is kind. They have a clean space for you, and I'll visit you almost every day. It's only temporary, June."

June shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I'd rather go back to living in the hospital," he mumbled. Marshall stifled a deep sigh. According to June's doctor, it was best to keep neutral reactions around him whenever an uncomfortable topic came up. Marshall held back at least a hundred sighs a day.

The vehicle came to a slow stop once they approached an old, eight-story apartment complex. The building didn't look too shabby aside from its ancient structure, and neither did the surroundings.

There were no homeless elderly gathered on the street corners or junkies smoking pot in the allies; in fact, the only familiarity this place shared with June's old home was the number of teenagers who roamed the streets, laughing and talking along the sidewalk.

Marshall and June exited the car to grab June's two suitcases, or, in other words, his entire livelihood. The only item Marshall allowed June to carry was his backpack, despite June's will to carry his own items.

A gust of wind played with June's locs of hair, tangling his silk curls in every direction. Quickly, he pulled his hood over his head and pulled the drawstring to secure it. Although he loved Fall for its cozy aesthetic, he didn't appreciate the weather that came with it.

June's reluctance to walk inside the apartment building caused his feet to drag against the carpeted floors of the lobby, hoping that his slow movements would somehow prevent him from ever walking into the Carvez residence.

It didn't.

Marshall's speedy walking somehow got them to the eighth floor within four minutes, and before June realized it, they were knocking on the door of apartment 204. For a moment, there was silence, and then there was a jingling sound, followed by barking. Instinctively, June took a few steps behind his brother to avoid whatever type of viscous dog stood behind that door, waiting to feast on June's ankles.

 "¡Vamos! Move, Cooper!" 

June could hear high-pitched yelling from the other side of the door. The door opened quickly, revealing a beautiful tan woman who looked to be middle-aged. Her long, straight black hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, not a single loose strand. Immediately, June noticed the purple scrubs she wore, signifying she'd been working at some point that day.

Julia smiled brightly and spread her arms wide, pulling Marshall into a tight hug. Their huge height difference already made Julia look short, but the side-by-side comparison made her look even smaller.

Then again, June couldn't judge; he was shorter than the average height for a seventeen-year-old male, so his doctors claimed, though he liked to believe he was just a late bloomer.

They departed, and Julia reached to hug June, but he instinctively backed away. Instantly, a wave of guilt washed over him. His body had reacted before his mind could, and suddenly he was the most skittish creature on earth. Julia lowered her hands to her side, regretting her habit of a warm welcome.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart; I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Come, come inside." Julia ushered them in. Marshall glanced back at June with worry, allowing his younger brother to walk in front of him first, then shutting the door behind him. The tiny Dalmatian puppy ran around June's feet, sniffing around his shoes. June stiffened, resisting the urge to kick the dog on accident.

"God, it smells so good in here." Marshall complimented him, and a bright grin spread across his face. June recognized the smell of delicious cooked food; the combination of spices, seasonings, and cooked meat brought him delight.

The Dominican cultured dish of La Bandera brought a small smile to his face—probably his first time smiling since he was released from the hospital earlier that day. Marshall chuckled when noticing June's pleased expression. "Ahhh, that managed to crack out of you, huh?" He teased, slightly brushing June's hair away from his face. June's green eyes revealed themselves as he rolled them and pushed away Marshall's hand in annoyance.

Marshall glanced around the room. "Wow, it looks so different compared to when we were younger." He glanced around the apartment, observing the Spanish paintings and art Julia hung on the walls. Items such as dollies and glass trinkets on the coffee table took Marshall back to his old family home.

As he and Julia spoke about the past, June scanned the walls of the house, littered with picture frames of the Carvez family. In many of the photos were the Carvez brothers, Aaron, Noah, and Luca. Pictures range from infantile to young teenagers around the ages of fourteen and fifteen. The three brothers sat politely in some pictures, smiling for the camera. Other pictures were goofy, taken unnoticed while the boys goofed around in a grassy field or around the house.

June inched closer to the picture, studying Aaron in particular. He looked so happy in these pictures, unlike the last two times he saw him.

It was four years prior, his first night after his long recovery in the hospital after the car accident. June had no choice but to spend a night at the Carvez residence until his aunt Vivian could take him in.

Marshall went back to his college dorm because he'd been missing his college courses for at least a month due to his healing process, both physically and mentally. Noah and Luca had a full room, which left June with no choice but to crash with Aaron for the time being.

He would forever remember the way Aaron looked at him that night, as if he were backstabbed with a million knives, each at the hand of June. Every attempt to converse with Aaron went sour, resulting in a few mumbled words or just silence. As June lay on Aaron's bed that night while staring at the ceiling (Aaron took it upon himself to sleep on the floor), there was this desperate wish to disappear.

He couldn't stand that he was surrounded by a bunch of strangers who claimed to know him when he barely knew himself. Who he was prior to the accident was erased from his memory, along with his recollection of anyone else or even his deceased parents.

June recalled that night like it was yesterday, and he couldn't believe he was re-living the moment three years later. So much anxiety bubbled deep within his stomach that he felt nauseous—these were entirely new surroundings, and strangers, and eventually a new school.

Everything was supposed to be better, according to his older brother, yet he didn't feel better; he felt misplaced. "June, come see your new room. My husband set it up this morning while the boys were at school." Julia interrupted June's deep thought, waving him over. She stood in front of 'June's new room', proudly presenting the room as if it had won first place in the science fair.

Except it wasn't his room; it was Aaron's room, split in half.

June had a hard time remembering what Aaron's room looked like, but he first noticed how clean it was. In contrast to June's style (who was heavily aware that he wasn't the tidyest), the room was well put together. Numerous basketball trophies and shiny metals hung from Aaron's red wall, along with expensive brand shoes that were probably never worn. His bed was spread neatly with a red and black comforter, and beside it was a small, wooden table topped with a black lamp. Across from that was June's half of the room, just as clean except there were no decorations on the walls, only the extra bed that Julia's husband assembled for him in hopes that June would decorate it himself.

It was guaranteed that within the next hour, June's side would look the complete opposite of its original state.

June admired the nice space he was gifted for about fifteen seconds before his heart sank with realization. This time, he had to share a room with Aaron for longer than a night. "This isn't my room," he said, because part of him was still in denial. "June, this is where we say thank you." Marshall warned. June shook his head. "He won't like me sleeping in his room. I don't mind sleeping on the couch, Mrs. Carvez."Julia smiled warmly. "He'll manage, sweetheart. I think it'll be beneficial for him too; he needs a new friend," she said.

Unfortunately for Aaron, June wasn't interested in making friends. His new task was quite simple: avoid Aaron and mind his business. He figured it was the easiest way to not bother anybody, and it wasn't like he talked much anyway.

As if on que, the sound of laughter erupted from the front of their house. June slightly gasped and bit his lip nervously. It was them; it had to be.

Fuck, their timing is horrible.

He thought to himself, resisting the urge to hide behind his brother again, not that it would work anyhow. "Your jokes are shit," one of them joked, the laughter even louder. Aaron came into June's view first, his basketball in one hand and his phone in the other, Luca and Noah following behind him. Aaron froze, his raspy laughter cut off suddenly, and his smile faded. The three boys stood face to face with June, their mouths slightly agape.

Julia smiled with her arms folded. "Boys, June will be living with us for a while."