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A small boy with auburn hair lay curled under his blue comforter in his room, sniffles could be heard from beneath. He was dressed in his favorite jammies and had his plush, Mr.CuddlyWhump wrapped in his arms tight.
His parents left a couple of hours ago to get some shopping done, and this was the first time his parents trusted him to be by himself at home. He was so excited about being on his own for the first time. He watched TV and tinkered with his invention, but when the clouds started to rumble outside and make it dark, he began to see how alone he was.
He tried to push it away, his parents would be back, and they wouldn't leave him forever, but those thoughts didn't leave. He'd keep looking outside waiting for the dust clouds that their car would leave behind wherever it would go in the desert. He'd glance at the clock and a minute passing would feel like an hour, the TV couldn't hold his attention anymore because they were reruns, he'd seen too many times, and he didn't have a part he needed, his dad would know where it was.
He tried to ignore the nagging voice that was asking if his parents were going to come back, or why it felt like it was taking so long. He squeaked when he heard a roll of thunder, he liked storms, and always thought lightning was so cool, but he hated the thunder that came with it.
He ran to his room, jumped under the covers, and grabbed Mr.CuddlyWhump.
They should be home soon; they wouldn't have left him for good! He curled up squeezing his plush every time thunder roared outside.
Jay huffed as he threw himself on the couch, the others just left, and he was ticked! They were training earlier when the course went off the fritz, and since he was the one who worked on it last time, he got the blame! So, he argued back, and the others left. They've all been pretty tense after back-to-back crimes, most of them being bank robberies or trafficking cases. They were more laid back than the end-of-the-world villains they have often faced but with how frequent it was, it was hard to get a break.
Not being able to sit still, and to prove them wrong, he went to the control panel and checked on the mechanics when he found loose screws. He knew he kept those tight to prevent malfunctions like before from happening when he remembered that he was rushed. They had an emergency at the mall, so he couldn't double-check to ensure everything was good. He groaned, of course, he forgot to check when they got back!
Guess this was on him…
He fixed the issue and put the course back together before taking a shower and putting on one of his old comfortable gis. He picked up his phone and stared at it for a moment before shaking his head and tossing it down on the bed. They wouldn't pick up if he called and ‘ apologies via text weren't genuine ,' so he just laid down. Tired from the earlier training, argument, fixing the course, again, and the hot shower had him attempting to drift, when a voice in the back of his mind pipped up, "They're talking about kicking you out."
Not this again.
"They all hate you."
"You're the weak link."
"All you do is mess up."
"That's why your biological parents left you, they saw how much of a failure you were going to be!"
He to s sed and tried to cover his head with a pillow to drown it out. He hated this!
He knew it wasn't true, it was just his anxiety kicking him, but every time, he couldn't help but feel like there was some truth.
It didn't stop, eventually making his eyes prick with tears, he didn't want to cry!
He reached over and grabbed his childhood plush and held him tight to his chest. They wouldn't leave him, they wouldn't! Sure, they argue sometimes, but they're family, and yeah, he can be a bit much, but they wouldn't-! A tear fell and a sob escaped.
His chest hurt as he couldn't stop the sobs from coming, clutching onto his oldest friend. Old memories were drudged up, the bullying at school, his failed inventions, his screw-ups on missions. Everything!
He didn't know how long he was crying, he knew it was stupid, but he couldn't stop himself. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, whipping around and pressing himself against the wall, he saw Zane with a look of concern, "What's wrong?"
"I-it's no-nothing." He whimpered, attempting to wipe the tears away that kept coming.
"You found Jay yet?" Kai walked in only to stop when he saw Jay crying on his bed with Zane sitting near him concerned.
"He's not in the Kitchen." Cole walked up behind only to see the same thing as Kai. The two glanced at one another before Cole closed the door and the two approached. Both joined Zane in sitting on the bunk, actively blocking any out for Jay if he were to try and escape. "Did something happen?" Kai asked, pulling a box of tissues out from under the bed. He sniffled and took one, he opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. "It's okay to tell us Blue," Cole said, placing a hand on Jay's knee.
"It's...I'm Sorry!" Which was followed by more sobs, catching the other three off a bit. "For what? This morning?" Kai asked.
"I-I checked it and fo-found loose screws, I-I fi-fixed it though," He hiccupped out.
"But this wouldn't amount to this kind of reaction," Zane replied, trying to understand why he was so upset.
"We won't judge you; you know that right?" Cole asked.
It was stupid, he shouldn't have said it, but he let the words slip out with another hiccup, "I-I don't want y-you guys to leave me!" Followed by more sobs.
"Dude," Cole crawled up further on the bed, sitting right next to him, and wrapped his arm around him, pulling him close, "We wouldn't do that." Kai and Zane crawled up to join, Kai flanking the other side and Zane taking hold of Jay's hand. "Especially over something so trivial."
Jay continued to hiccup, trying to keep himself from crying more. "Your anxiety giving you a hard time again?" Kai asked, brushing some of Jay's hair out of his face.
He sniffled but nodded.
The three crowed Jay and hugged him, the warmth of all three made it easier to breathe. "How about I make your favorite dish later?" Zane suggested.
"And we can watch that new series you've been talking about, if you want to," Cole added.
Jay's lips trembled, but he gave another nod, not trusting his voice. "For now, how about we play Fist 2 Face?" Kai asked.
Jay gave nodded.
The three got out to let Jay out, who was still clutching Mr. CuddlyWhump to his chest. No one was going to say anything about it, and they walked out of their room to head to the gaming room.
Everything was going to be okay.
The small child squeaked when he felt a hand on his back, whipping around he saw his mom with a worried look, "Baby what's wrong?"
Mommy was home!
He lunged at her, wrapping his arms around her waist, and sobbed. "Jay-Bird, what happened?"
He looked up at her with wet blue eyes, "I thought y-you and d-daddy weren't coming back."
"Oh Sweetie," She gathered him up to properly sit in her lap, wiping away some of his tears "We would never leave you like that, no matter what we'll always come back home to our baby." He sniffled, "Promise?"
She smiled and tapped his nose with her finger, "Promise."
She easily picked him up from her lap and stood, "How about we get your dad to get us some of the ice cream we bought?"
His eyes lit up, his arms still holding his stuffed animal, as he nodded eagerly. She giggled as she wiped the stray tears from his eyes. The thoughts from early faded away as he sat between his mom and dad, all three with ice cream, on the couch as his dad put on a movie for them to watch.
Everything was going to be okay.