It has been 3 months since my head injury. Ethan and Emy were glad that I was okay, and Ethan's brother apologized for what had happened. I told him it was fine, and he didn't need to apologize, but I knew he felt disappointed in his kid for what they did to me. I'm fine with it, but I know that I will never get on the same path as them. However, as time passed, I encountered something new.
One morning, I woke up to Ethan and Emy calling me from the living room, so I put on my shirt and rushed down to see what was going on. When I went to the living room, I saw that Ethan and Emy were bringing in luggage. When I asked what the luggage was for, all they told me was that I would be meeting someone. When I heard that, I was wondering who it would be. After I thought about it, Emy walked in with someone that I didn't expect. A little boy, no more than 7, was holding on to Emy when I asked what his name was. Emy replied.
"Well, Tony, this little boy here is Rudy. He's going to be your little brother now."
"Really?" I replied in shock, processing what I had just heard. "Where did he come from?"
"He came from the adoption center in Las Cruces. When we found out he was being transferred to Albuquerque, we adopted him just in time. We wanted to tell you sooner, but we thought it would be better as a surprise," she explained.
Before I could ask her anything else, Emy interjected, "Before you start talking to him, there's something I need to tell you: he can't talk because his vocal cords were damaged when he was young. However, he can hear, not speak."
"Thank you for letting me know, Emy," I replied, with a smile on my face. After replying to Emy, I got down on my knees and asked Rudy if he wanted to look around his new home. He paused for a minute, then he grabbed my shirt and held on to it. I think he was scared of me as well because he wouldn't look up at me, and every time I would point at something, he would flinch as if I was going to hit him. When I saw this, I felt really bad for this kid. I mean, he probably went through some rough times when growing up. After I showed him around the house, I saw Ethan and Emy get Rudy's room ready for him. When I asked if he wanted to check out his room, he just looked down at the floor and shook his head.
Later, Emy got dinner ready for us, so I sat down at the table, and Ethan left a seat open so Rudy could come and eat, but when Emy called Rudy, he didn't show. Emy asked me if I could check on Rudy to see if he was okay. So I got up from my seat and walked towards his room. When I opened the door, I found him standing in front of his bed, looking as if he were in another world. I tapped him on the shoulder, and he snapped out of it in shock. I told him it was time to eat, so he grabbed my arm, and we made our way down to the kitchen. When we reached the table, he sat down right next to me. I started eating, but he didn't; he just held onto my arm as if he thought I might leave him. I told him he could eat the food since no one else was going to bother him, and he did take a few bites, but only a little bit. After we finished eating, I went to my room and started fly tying. It was the only activity that made me feel calm, and it also helped me learn more about what the fish eat, so it was a win-win for me. While I was tying flies, I heard someone behind me and turned to look. It was Rudy; he was just standing there, so I asked, "Do you want to see what I'm doing?" He nodded and walked over to me. When he sat down, he pointed at the fly as if to ask what it was. I explained that it was a fly I was tying to catch fish and to see if they would eat it. When I said that, he just looked up at me, and then he looked back at it. A few minutes later, I felt some weight lean next to me. When I looked, Rudy fell asleep right next to me. This made me smile just a little bit because I knew that he got comfortable being with me.