Family

OK, I'm gonna be honest here…I cried today. I'm still kinda sniffing right now, but the feeling's still there, still strong.

The reason? Well, I'm not entirely sure either…but I do know the thoughts and realizations I had leading up to it.

Basically, Sonic and I have been living with the Doherties for over six months now, and they're nice people, they take such good care of us. But it's only over the past week, in which they were around me much more than usual because of Sonic's absence and my injuries, did it really, finally occur to me. I actually feel ashamed, you know, to realize it only after this long.

It wasn't just them helping me with things I can't do because I'm hurt. No, it's way more than that. It's also them just talking to me, doing stuff with me like eating, watching TV or playing video games…normal things. But I think it was Cheryl, especially, that got to me. She's the one who primarily looks over my injuries and stuff since obviously that's her job, but only then it hit me that she wasn't treating me only as a patient.

She was treating me like a son.

She doesn't just check my wounds, she also cooks for me, cleans the house, even offers to pay expenses for me occasionally…things I normally did by myself or with Sonic back on Mobius. Of course, she does all of these as much for Sonic as she does for me, but with him away for now, I just felt it more acutely this time. Like I was experiencing something I've been missing.

Took me a while, but I finally figured out what that word was when I heard Alicia say it a few hours earlier: mother. And by extension: family. That's what Cheryl's being to me. That's what they are being to me!

I was totally frozen at first, my mind became totally blank. Then…I just lost it. I ended up sobbing loudly enough to get everyone's attention, and they all rushed into the living room where I was.

When they asked why I started crying, I just kinda let it all out. I told Cheryl that she was being the mother I never had or even knew. I told Alicia she was like being a sister, a sibling…like Sonic. I told Alan that although he doesn't really act like a father to me, he still does feel like family…though I'm not sure what he's called then. I didn't know, still don't, if I was feeling incredibly happy or sad. It's hard to say. But I was definitely emotionally overwhelmed.

Eventually, even though my torso wounds haven't healed yet, Cheryl decided to hug me anyway, very gently and tenderly. She asked me if it hurt to do so. Well, it did. But I didn't care.

After that I just thanked them over and over again for everything they'd done for and given to me and Sonic. Then Alicia asked if I wanted to play more 360 with her, but I wasn't really in the mood anymore to do anything other than sleep. I thanked her again anyway for the offer.

It's 11:30 PM now…I do feel better now, but I don't know how to make it go away completely. That feeling of indebtedness, I mean. I don't know if I can ever repay them.

But I do know that I am going to try.

I thought it'd be a good time, you know, to remind any of you who feel like running away from home or something because of family disputes: don't. Seriously. There's always a better way. In my experience, living out there all alone…just plain sucks. There, I said it. I don't want anyone to grow up like I did. Because I know there may not always be a Sonic or Doherty for every person who needs one. Despite any flaws they may have, your family loves you. Please…love them back.

Sorry for the not-so-upbeat post. Hope my next one won't be like this. Goodnight, everyone.

*EDIT: Fixed a mistake above where I originally said: "Alicia asked me if she wanted to play more 360 with her..." Heh, must have been kinda jarringly funny in a serious post like this.