Kasey was in the middle, with small bright eyes and holding a stick with a marshmallow on the end like it was a trophy.
His mother knelt beside him, her arm around his back, smiling at him instead of the camera. He was her son, her rock, and her entire life.
Behind them stood Kasey’s father, one hand on the mother’s shoulder, the other on Kasey’s head.
It was normal. They looked happy; they were happy. Always content to be just the three of them. I knew Kasey’s mother dealt with some issues of having more children, and they never pushed to have more than the one that they were graced with.
But with Kasey’s disappearance, things had been rough, and rightfully so. It was rough for us all.
“That very last family photo.” I think one of my parents snapped this photo. It was just hours before Kasey had left our lives.
“It’s…. no.” Kasey took another step back, tears in his eyes as he shook his head back and forth.
“I knew you, Kasey, when you were younger. I knew the way you’d look at me each time you set your eyes on me. I knew the way your mother adored you to pieces, often times spoiling you when she thought no one would notice. I know the way our families felt after you disappeared on that camping trip. I know how your parents were defeated. But I also know how I never once stopped looking for you.”
“No…they…they…died. Car crash.Theysaid so. There were pictures. I’m not….” Kasey snapped his mouth shut, stopping whatever words that wanted to come out. Then, as though he had no choice, he shut down.
“Your name is Kasey Lorne Hale. Born September tenth, two thousand and eight. You didn’t have any siblings, but in their place you had me and a number of other cousins who all adored you. I was your favorite.”
Kasey dropped his gaze to the floor, a single tear slipping from the corner of his eye and trailing down his cheek. Then, with a voice stronger than I expected, stronger than he probably meant it to be, he whispered. “That’s not me. It can’t be.”
He didn’t look at the photos, nor at me. He stared at the floor like it was the only thing holding him upright.
“That boy is happy. I’m…. I’ve never been happy. But if you wish it of me, I’ll be him for you, Sir. I’ll…study him to become what you want of me.”
Hearing those words split me apart all over again. I didn’t want a different type of Kasey. I wanted the one that stood before me, who was lost and confused. Yeah, I wanted the happy little boy I once knew, too, but the one before me now was more important. That happy Omega I once knew may be there somewhere. He had to be.
Setting the handful of pictures on the bed, I stepped towards him, just one step, slow enough that he could stop meif he wanted to. He didn’t. He only kept his gaze pinned to the floor, shoulders tight, and breath thinly.
“Kasey,” I said. The word came out rougher than I meant it to. Not a command, not a correction. But a plea.
A plea for him to lift his head. A plea for him to see me. A plea for him to understand that I wasn’t showing him these to trap him or corner him or force him into a past he didn’t remember.
“Kasey,” I tried again, softer this time, the sound barely filling the space between us. “Please.”
His fingers curled tighter into the blanket, but he still wouldn’t look up.
And God, it broke something in me. Watching him fold in on himself like he expected the truth to hurt.
“I don’t want you to pretend to be that boy in the pictures.” I stepped another step closer. “I’m not asking you to be anything but who you are. What I want is for you to know that you are that boy. You went missing, Kasey. Taken from your family and friends. Taken from your parents. Taken fromme.”
I heard him swallow as another tear slowly rolled down his face.
“It’s okay if you don’t believe me. You don’t have to believe the pictures or the stories to go with each one.” My voice cracked, barely audible. “But at least don’t pretend to be someone you aren’t.”
“I’m whatever you want me to be, Sir.”
I never wanted to shake someone so badly as I did right then. I wouldn’t. I’d never hurt Kasey. But I wasn’t sure what I could do or say to get through his head.
“I want you just as you are, sweetheart. Tears and all. I’d like to see you happy, but I don’t expect that right now.” Or maybe never at the rate we were going.
Kasey didn’t speak, only blinked, tears slipping down his cheeks. Each one fell without a sound.
I moved carefully, giving him every chance to pull away. First, my hand brushed his shoulder, light and barely there. When he didn’t flinch, I let my palm settle, then slowly lifted my other hand to cup his cheek.
His chin was warm beneath my thumb, damp with tears, but he didn’t lean into my touch. He didn’t shy away from it either.
He just…went still. That awful, familiar stillness I was seeing way too much.
