Misunderstandings

~~

Deimos rocked back and forth on his feet as he waited for the door to open.
Zoe was the one to answer the door. She gave Deimos a look up and down before finally realizing who it was. She let out a shock gasp before embracing her son. She kept it short, pulling back to look at him, Deimos it’s wonderful to see you, She signed, I almost didn’t recognize you. You’ve grown so much!
Deimos nodded and gave her a simple ‘hi,’ and his mother ushered him in the house.
Zoe sat him down on the couch before going to the kitchen, bringing herself and him a cup of ice tea and sitting on a chair adjacent to him. You’ve barely called, haven’t visited, what’s going on?
Deimos was about to start telling her when his mother turned towards the door, so instinctively he turned too.
Andreas walked in, apparently talking about something or other, but he paused as he looked in the living room. “Deimos!” He said aloud before signing, It’s been forever.

Deimos was told by his overly-excited father to wait for him to be ready, so he took that time trying to figure out where to start, wringing his hands nervously as he tried to figure it out. Biting his lip, he sighed and just began, letting himself sign whatever came to mind, I came here on a scouting mission for a hybrid. Since I am the only person at the school apparently that knows Greek, and also a hybrid, they wanted me to go. I didn’t want to, really, but I eventually agreed. I was debating the entire time if I wanted to come visit you guys or not. Because I told myself I wouldn’t, because I thought you had let me go back to the academy so easily because you didn’t want me in the house. At first, because of that thinking, I was really angry at you guys. After what happened with the hospital and my going back, I thought you definitely didn’t want me, that you were just anxious to get rid of me. He looked up at them, pausing as he saw their faces.

Zoe took the opportunity to butt in, Sweetie, I’m sorry we ever made you think we didn’t want you. We’ve always wanted you.

You said I scared you! Deimos retorted.

This time it was his dad that replied, You did, but it was because we didn’t understand what happened, Dei. You became unpredictable to us. That didn’t mean we wanted to give up though. Us sending you to Otherworld was because it sounded like they’d be a good school for you. You were on the edge of being expelled again here. We were trying to do what was best for you, and the scout said there were other hybrids… We thought you’d be able to finally meet someone like you.

“Anyway.” Deimos said aloud, seeming to only sit on those words for a couple moments. That hadn’t been a total lie, but when he had started at the academy, there were only two other hybrids. Only recently had that number seemed to be growing. I was convinced I’d be fine never seeing you guys again. But then something happened recently. He paused, not sure how to put it gently, my bio parents showed up at the school. He didn’t finish as both his parents gasped, fighting each other for his attention. “Stop.” Deimos told them, closing his eyes. He kept them lowered as he continued, I guess they were looking for refuge from the human world, so they were trying to become teachers. I walked in and saw them and it quickly went to hell. He said bluntly. His eyes seemed clouded as he looked at his parent’s faces, They told me they were hoping I would die. That they didn’t want me even before I was born.

Zoe gave him a sympathetic look, Oh sweetie, I’m sorry you had to hear that.
No child should ever be told they’re unwanted. I’m glad you got us instead. Andreas agreed.
Deimos nodded, That’s when I realized all the times I thought you guys didn’t know what to do, you turned to people that did. Whether it was the academy or the psych ward, or something else entirely, you turned to people that you knew would help me. I was still upset at you guys, but it was nothing compared to them.

That’s understandable. I’m sorry we made you upset. We really did have your best interest at heart, Deimos. We have since day one. Zoe said, putting a hand on his knee as she finished.

Deimos sighed, putting his hand over his mother’s. “I forgive you.” He said softly. “But it still hurt to be told my parents were afraid of me. What I did back then was an accident.” He told them.
We all made mistakes back then. Don’t you think it’s time we moved on from it? Let’s start fresh. Andreas told him.

Deimos finally moved his hand so he could use it, What made you guys get me in the first place? You said you kind of knew what you were getting into, and that you’ve always been open-minded...

Zoe looked to her husband, letting out a sigh as she asked through gritted teeth,”Should we tell him?”
Andres nodded solemnly.

Well, for starters, we already never thought supernaturals should be treated any differently. It was part of both of our conditions for marriage, an equal view of supernaturals. Then we uh… well before we decided to adopt, we actually had a baby.
Deimos furrowed his eyebrows, he’d never heard about this. Then again, it took them 21 years to finally say out loud he was adopted, so maybe he shouldn’t have been too surprised.
We ended up having an elf baby. She was the sweetest. But unfortunately, not everyone saw her as we did. She was four when she was killed.

Deimos looked down to the floor, biting his lip. To think, he could’ve potentially had an older sister, assuming they still would’ve adopted had she lived. This was one of the reasons he was so okay with staying at the academy, human's typical treatment of supernaturals.

We, of course, didn’t start searching for a child to adopt right away. Zoe continued once he was paying attention again. But when we had finally decided we were ready to have a child again, I could no longer get pregnant. There was a problem, and so we couldn’t conceive. So, we turned to adoption agencies. At first it seemed very overwhelming; there were so many kids waiting for forever homes. But then we came across an orphanage that stated it had a few supernatural kids, though we didn’t see any evidence of it in any of the information we were given about the kids. Originally, we were thinking of getting a girl that was slightly older than you. But when we had gone to visit the orphanage, She smiled, breathing out a laugh, There was some little baby that just wouldn’t stop crying. From the time we were in the office to the time we went to see the kids. We were surprised the source of the crying wasn’t with the other kids. When we asked about it, the caretaker said some mean things,

I’m sure i’ve heard it all, try me, Deimos said simply, giving her a shrug, entranced by the story. Maybe they had simply never told him because he had never asked.

She said… oh I can’t say it. She said mean things. I said I wanted to see you. She was so skeptical, saying something about trying to find a place to put you because you’d never get adopted. We saw you and, despite the fact that you were still screaming, we fell in love. The entire adoption process, we were warned you were a hybrid, that you’d be ‘dangerous’ and end up either dead or a criminal. They mentioned nothing about you being deaf. They hadn’t even bothered checking why you weren’t up to speed with the other one-year-olds. From the beginning of the process to the day we finally took you home, they kept telling us we should change our minds. We could get another kid, any other kid there. Zoe looked sad as she recalled the memories, It only made us want you more after the injustice our daughter had faced.

They say hybrids are the cursed supernaturals… Deimos commented, do you believe that?

Zoe and Andreas looked to each other before Zoe replied, I wouldn’t say cursed, but raising you, we could tell you were troubled. We had no idea how to help you. We couldn’t take away your pain, and so it ended up manifesting itself in your personality. You would be grumpy all the time, and snap easily. Eventually you were diagnosed with so many different problems we didn’t even know where to begin with treatment. She paused, seeming to hesitate on what she was about to say, unsure if she should say it. Until you were sent to Otherworld, almost every doctor we had for you said we should ‘put you down.’ Like you were just an animal. I think it’s because hybrids hold a stigma that they aren’t treated properly. They get abandoned by their biological parents most often. Those who survive tend to age out of the system, and then go on to living lonely, and sadly usually very short, lives. It’s a vicious cycle. I’d like to think ‘cursed’ is true only in the sense that there is far too much stigma. If hybrids were treated humanely, I think they’d all turn out better, like you did.

Deimos raised an eyebrow, You’re aware I am still an alcoholic, still reckless, and still… He had to stop though, he couldn’t admit to himself he was still suicidal. That some days (especially on days where his stupidity made Rosie upset), mixing alcohol and pills again seemed like the best idea ever. He lowered his gaze, looking to his hands.

He only looked up when his mother put her hands on his. I also know you have a little brother who you would give the world to if you could. And didn’t you mention recently you now had a girlfriend? That’s already two more important relationships that you have over most other hybrids. Everyone has issues. We still wish you’d deal with yours, but we are your parents so naturally you don’t want to listen to us.

Deimos smiled, In time... he paused, his eyes wandering to the clock on the wall, and he paled a bit. I should get going, I told the team I’d be back almost half an hour ago. He told them quickly, standing up.

His parents stood up with him, each giving him a hug. Don’t be a stranger this time. His dad said before ruffling his hair. And come visit for the holidays. Bring Felix and your girlfriend! His mother demanded.

Deimos started walking out the door, turning so he wasn’t completely walking backwards, uh, yeah, maybe. I’ll come for the holidays. He promised. He’d meant it this time, though he wasn’t sure how he felt about his parents meeting Rosie yet. Maybe Felix. Maybe.