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Being around his family was therapeutic.
The snarky remarks from his youngest sister and the kind ones from his oldest. The singing from his mother as she served people in the restaurant and the strange voice his father used as he talked to his utensils as he cooked. It was basically free therapy.
He was with them at all hours of the day, being alone wasn’t exactly his thing. He’d eat breakfast with them then walk to school with his sisters, then eat lunch with his sisters and talk to them at recess, then they’d walk home together, he and his family would all work together at the restaurant until closing then they’d head upstairs and eat dinner, watch tv, and then it was bedtime. It was routine. And he liked it that way.
But now his comfortable routine was thrown off course.
His sisters couldn’t come to school today. Louise had gotten sick and whatever she had had been transferred to Tina. Some kind of sister flu that for some reason didn’t let him get sick and stay home with them and be cared for by their mother all day. So he’d walked to school alone, ate lunch alone, played at recess alone, and walked home alone. Today had been filled with too many ‘alone’s and he really did not like it. All he wanted to do was see his family, more specifically his sisters. You don’t just spend all day everyday with someone then not see them for 8 hours and feel comfortable.
He pushed the door to the restaurant open and didn’t see them, he’d expected as such though, if they were sick their parents probably didn’t want them grossing up the restaurant.
What he didn’t expect was for no one to even acknowledge his entrance, not even a hello.
“Uhh mom? Dad? You guys in here?” Gene looked around but didn’t see anybody. His mother wasn’t at the counter, and his dad wasn’t in the kitchen.
Where the hell was everybody?
“Mom? Dad??” he asked again more desperately.
No response.
He furrowed his eyebrows as anxiety rose in his chest.
‘It’s okay’ he thought to himself ‘they’re probably just upstairs for a minute checking on Louise and Tina’
He quickly walked out of the restaurant and into the apartment, tossing his backpack in the entryway and looking around for any of his family members.
“Mom dad? Louise? Tina?” He called, to which came no response. He looked in the living room, the kitchen, the bathroom, and all of their respective rooms, but nope. No one.
Now he was panicking.
“Oh god,” His breathing quickened, “Where are they? Why aren’t they here?” His hands shook up and down and he dropped to the floor leaning up against the wall.
He pushed his knees to his chest and covered his eyes with his hands. His body shook rapidly as tears blurred his vision. He breathed in and out deeply, sounding more like wheezing than breathing.
“Why aren’t they here? Why aren't they here? Why aren't they here?” He thought. “Something had to have happened. Dad wouldn’t just leave the restaurant open if no one was home. What if someone took them? What if something happened to Louise and Tina and they had to leave quickly? What if they're dying??” His anxious mind went to the darkest places. The tears burrowing in his eyes making their way down his cheeks. He pulled at his hair, trying desperately to stop his mind.
He stayed like that for hours, at least that's what it felt like, realistically it was probably less than 15 minutes, but his attention was elsewhere, how long he was having a panic attack for really was unimportant to him.
The front door opened and closed and footsteps grew closer from the stairs, but he couldn’t hear them over his thoughts and his breathing.
“Gene?!” Two voices shouted, loud enough to break him from his thoughts long enough to make him look up. His sisters stood before him.
“Gene, what's wrong?” Louise asked, worry filling her voice.
“Yeah what happened?” Tina asked as well, her voice also laced with concern.
“I-” He tried to speak, but his voice caught in his throat.
“Louise go get mom and dad,” Tina ordered as she leaned down slowly to sit in front of Gene.
Usually refusing to be ordered around and instead being the one ordering others around, Louise listened instantly and quickly ran down to the restaurant.
“Gene? Hey hey can you look at me,” Tina asked gently. Gene slowly turned to look at her, “Good good,” She smiled softly, “Can you talk?”
“I-” His voice caught in his throat again.
“That’s okay don’t worry, can you try and breathe for me? Like this,” She breathed in slowly, indiciating him to repeat the action. He did, it was shaky and wheezy but she still smiled at him like he was doing good. She slowly let out the breath and he did the same. As his breathing began to slow their parents and Louise ran back into the apartment.
“Gene!?” Her mother shouted, “Gene baby are you okay!?” She ran up to him quickly.
He put his hands over his ears, though he loved his mother, at the moment she was way too loud.
“Lin shh shh we’re overwhelming him,” His father spoke. He was just as worried as her but they needed to be calm in this situation.
“Ah I’m sorry I’m sorry baby,” Linda spoke again, more gently this time.
Tina intervened once more, “Gene let's keep doing what we were doing before they came in here okay?” He nodded, “Okay do as I do,” She breathed in slowly, then out slowly, he repeated the action, and they did the exercise until he was breathing normally again.
He sighed and hugged his knees, “I- .. I’m sorry I didn’t mean to freak out.”
“Hey hey hey there's no need to apologize baby, we just want to help,” Linda replied.
“Yeah don’t apologize Gene, it's okay,” Bob said.
“What happened?” Louise asked from her seat on the floor in front of him, sitting beside Tina.
“I… I came home and nobody was here, I-I didn’t know where you guys were and I just wanted to see you because I haven’t seen any of you since breakfast a-and so when I couldn’t find you I freaked out and and I just I didn’t know what to do,” He replied quickly.
“It's okay Gene, don't worry we’re here. I’m sorry I was in the basement grabbing more buns, I guess I didn’t hear you come in,” Bob sighed.
“And Louise, Tina, and I had left to get some more medicine real quick, I’m sorry we scared you baby,” Linda said sorrowfully.
“It’s okay..” Gene unhugged his knees and brought his arms to his mother, wrapping them around her torso tightly. She quickly reciprocated the action and hugged him back, then his sisters joined and so did his father.
He really loved his family.