It's September and I need a roommate. I couldn't live in the dorms anymore. I was fed up of being paired with idiots. I was done sharing my kitchen and my bathroom with an entire floor. When I signed the lease for my apartment, I did it with the guy...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
It's May and Holt wants to tell his family that he's getting married.
"It just feels kind of wrong not to tell them, like I'm hiding something."
I want to tell him that it's probably a bad idea, that he doesn't owe anything to his family and that he's most definitely going to get a bad reaction from them. But that's not what he needs to hear. He already knows all of that. So instead I tell him, "Whatever you want to do husband-to-be, I'm supporting you completely."
"I don't really care about my father, but my brothers weren't always absolutely disgusting. Sometimes they were almost okay. I just feel like I should at least call one of them to tell them."
I give his arm a reassuring squeeze. "Once again, I'll be there, whatever you want to do."
Holt gives me one of his shy little smiles. "I know."
I can't believe that after all these years he can still smile at me like that, like we're just two strangers flirting. There's just something so endearing about it.
I hope I never forget how much Holt has grown. I never want to take his overly enthusiastic self for granted. I never want to forget that under that happy smile there are years of suffering. I never want to forget where he came from and how much he's changed for the better over the years.
I just don't ever want to take the person Holt has become for granted.
In the end Holt calls one of his brothers. The one he calls is the one he talked with at the hospital, the one that looks a bit like him. From what Holt has told me, I think they got along sometimes. I know enough to understand that Holt would have wanted them to have the kind of relationship that I have with my sister. Even if he knows he'll never be close to his family, that doesn't stop him from still longing for that kind of relationship.
He calls him sitting beside me on the couch so I can hear everything. He doesn't give him the exact date and he gives very little information, but his brother seems alright and not mean, so I've stopped holding my breath, until his brother asks, "What's her name?"
No hesitations, Holt answers, "His name is Eliah."
"Oh."
Holt doesn't give him time to say anything else, "I just figured someone ought to know. You can tell dad and our brothers. You can keep it to yourself. I just... I just wanted you to know."
I'm stroking his arm, trying to give him comfort.
After a second of silence, his brother says very softly, "It's good... it's good that you got out of here Holt. I'm glad you did. And I hope you're happy."
Holt covers his mouth with his hand, his eyes filling with tears. He takes a second too before saying, "thank you."
