So I do apologize for my extended vacation. I was busy with school, softball, college shit, and actually having a social life. But right now I'm Facetiming a nerd who shares my IRL name and she is pressuring me to write. Her FF name is justfireheart13, and she is the one you can blame for any feels you might have. Please in fact message her even just to pretend to blame her. So I can laugh. Tell you what, for every message she receives about this chapter, I'll, idk do something. Leave a comment for what you want me to do, that's legal, and I will decide the best one.
Neal regretted how he snapped the moment he had shut his door. Everything was just getting to him. He had been enjoying a nice, normal meal with adults who seemed to care about him. They had been chatting about things that normal family would do, even down to embarrassing their son. It seemed so idealistic, like someone could have taken a picture and used it on the cover of a magazine. Then Elizabeth had to mention school, and everything bad that had happened that week just crashed down on him suddenly.
Then he just lost it in his room.
He dumped his backpack on the bed, with all his case files and school papers, and started throwing them around the room. They flew around the room like confetti. Neal turned to the desk, piled high with books and swept them to the floor. They made a large noise that Neal didn't pay any attention to; all he cared about was letting the anger out.
The bed that was perfectly made every morning had the top cover pulled roughly from it, and the pillows were thrown across the room. One knocked over a lamp. Neal swung his arms back from throwing the pillows and accidently knocked the mini sculpture of the Michelangelo that Elizabeth had bought him to the wall, where it shattered.
It was then that Peter threw open the door to see the chaos, with Elizabeth right behind him. Neal took one look at their faces, and lost the little composure he had retained.
Seeing Peter and Elizabeth's worried faces caused him to just crumble. Neal collapsed on the floor, in the middle of the strewn papers, the books that were scatter across the floor, the shards of the sculpture that had been smashed. He didn't even care that the pieces were cutting into him as he sat down and just started to sob.
He missed Mozzie so much. Mozzie was always there for him in troubled times. With a odd quote or a weird antic that always made Neal laugh, Mozzie had been there. Neal really needed Mozzie.
He noticed immediately when two pairs of arms wrapped around him. No one had really given him a hug before. His parents didn't even want him, so any physical contact from them was out of necessity, or the need to hit him. Mozzie wasn't a huggy person, he normally settled for a clap on the back or shoulder.
But the hug.
The physical contact that felt so comforting, something he lacked in his life.
It made him cry harder.
He could feel Elizabeth on his right gently pull him towards her, wrapping her arms tighter, but providing more comfort all the same. He could feel Peter shift so one hand was on his shoulder and one was making comforting circles on Neal's back. Neal could make out Peter saying "Its okay kid, let it out."
Neal didn't know how long they stayed like that, but eventually he calmed down. He could start to feel the shards of the sculpture digging into where he was sitting, and his hands, which were on the ground. His sobs started to quiet down to the heavy breathing that comes after crying.
"Hey buddy, how about we go downstairs for a bit. We can clean your hands, and El can make some hot chocolate." Peter said gently. Neal nodded, and he could feel Peter and Elizabeth's hands gently help him stand up. In a slight daze, Neal let them guide him downstairs and to the couch. Peter placed him on the center seat and went to find a blanket while Elizabeth went to the kitchen.
A few minutes later Elizabeth and Peter joined him on the couch, Peter had covered all of them with a blanket and they were sitting there. Elizabeth had a book open in her lap and Peter had turned on the game.
This comforted Neal.
A normal family having a normal night.
Neal, exhausted from his meltdown, was lulled to sleep by the sounds of Peter's basketball team getting destroyed, and Elizabeth turning the pages.