After being on suicide watch at the hospital for about four days, Jim was allowed to return home. Although Mr. and Mrs. Burleson had grown more attentive of Jim ever since he destroyed their house, the doctors felt it was best that Jim start living with Anthony until further notice (something that even Mr. and Mrs. Burleson agreed on). This meant that Jim would no longer be living with his parents, but with Anthony and his family about thirty minutes away.
Anthony and his wife, Ellen, had been married for about five years. They had first met at work about two years before their marriage (around the same time that Jim had his first and only visit with Cassie and Meagan). Ellen (Ellen Sorensen at the time) had just gotten out of a messy divorce with her alcoholic and abusive ex-husband, with whom she had a one-year-old son, Joel. After really getting to know each other, they became good friends.
As time passed, Anthony and Ellen became much closer, but Anthony was unsure about dating due to how afraid he was of going through the same experience that Jim was going through. He knew that not all women were like Julia (hopefully not even most were), but he was unsure if he even wanted to take the chance.
Interestingly, this is almost exactly how Ellen was feeling. She wasn't sure if she wanted to marry or even date ever again due to how horrible her ex-husband had been to her. Things soon changed once Anthony and Ellen opened up to each other about their feelings.
Ellen one day sat down with Anthony and described in detail how the mere idea of dating again terrified her because of what she had went through. Anthony, who had been to afraid to reveal his feelings out of fear of upsetting Ellen, stated that he pretty much felt the same way. He began to explain what Jim was going through (something he had never told her about up until that point), and how it upset him on a daily basis. Ellen seemed quite upset herself to hear about this and began saying how bad she felt for Jim, believing that such a great father didn't deserve such harsh treatment (much like everyone else). She even stated that she wished that Jim could have been the father of her child rather than her ex-husband. Although Anthony knew that Ellen (and pretty much everyone else's) opinions wouldn't change a thing, he couldn't help but smile when Ellen told him these things.
After talking for a few hours, Anthony and Ellen promised to each other that they would not to become the husband and wife that they feared. They promised to be as loving, caring, and faithful to each other as possible all throughout their lives.
"Isn't that how marriage is supposed to be?" Anthony asked after they made this promise.
"It is," Ellen replied. "But society has seemed to turn it into something else over the years. Marriage just isn't what it used to be."
"Well, why don't we go back to old ways then?"
Sure enough, that was the official beginning of Anthony and Ellen's relationship. After dating for a year, Anthony made his proposal after a dinner with Ellen at Olive Garden (Ellen's favorite restaurant). They married two months later. Interestingly, Jim actually showed up at the wedding, although he carried a depressed expression the entire time and hardly talked to anybody. He hardly even showed any enthusiasm when Anthony and Ellen kissed. As upsetting as this was to see, Anthony hardly expected Jim to act any way else.
Four months after Anthony and Ellen married, Anthony legally adopted Joel (three years old at the time). Anthony and Ellen soon had three more children: Daniel, Elijah, and Hannah. Jim had only met Anthony's children a few times (which were holiday events that Jim usually did not stay long for). Anthony always felt it was best not to take his children along with him when visiting Jim at their parents' house (Mr. and Mrs. Burleson only visited Anthony at his house), as he knew they would ask several questions about Jim (particularly Daniel, who always seemed to have a question about everything he saw), and Anthony felt Jim's situation was much too complicated for them to understand at their ages. Up until that point, the children saw Jim as just another distant relative whom they hardly knew. Needless to say, it was quite confusing to them when Jim started living at their house.
Joel (eight years old), Daniel (four years old), and Elijah (three years old), all asked at least a hundred questions during the first week that Jim began living with them. Most questions were about Anthony and Ellen's unusual behavior towards Jim. Although Jim was no longer on suicide watch, Anthony and Ellen always kept a very close eye on him and made sure not to leave him by himself for too long. Jim had to sleep on a cot in Joel's room (something that Joel wasn't entirely happy about) and Anthony and Ellen told Joel to tell them immediately if Jim started to do anything strange. Jim's own behavior created a lot of questions from the boys as well. Jim usually never did anything other than lay on the couch and stare at the ceiling, he never wore anything other than underpants, and the expression on his face was always a very sad looking frown.
"Why is he staying here?"
"Why is he always sad?"
"Why is he always on the couch?"
"Why is he always in his underwear?"
"Why do you and Mommy always watch him?"
"Why does he have to sleep in my room?"
Joel, Daniel, and Elijah's questions eventually became so frequent that Anthony and Ellen soon had no choice but to give them a brief explanation for what had happened to Jim. They explained that Uncle Jim was very sad because his two daughters had been taken away from him. Joel, Daniel, and Elijah all knew that they had two girl cousins (mainly because there were photos of Cassie and Meagan on walls around the house), but they hardly knew anything about them. Of course, the explanation lead to even more questions.
"Why were they taken away?"
"Can he ever get them back?"
"Will we ever meet our cousins?"
"Who's their mommy?"
The only other thing that Anthony and Ellen said was that Uncle Jim had been married to a woman who had turned out not to be so nice and ended up taking Cassie and Meagan away for good. They also said that they did not know if anybody would ever see Cassie and Meagan again.
While Daniel and Elijah hardly blinked after being told all of this (which wasn't a surprise since they were only four and three years old), Joel was actually quite saddened. He went on for a while about how bad he felt for his Uncle Jim and how he wished that he could have Cassie and Meagan back. He was also sad that he would probably never get to meet his cousins.
"Maybe we can see each other when we're grown up," Joel once said right before he went to school. "That would be awesome."
"Yep, it would be," Anthony said, staring at his cup of coffee. "It would be."
"I wish something good could happen to Uncle Jim. I want him to be happy."
"I wish for the same thing everyday."
"Uncle Jim can sleep in my room as much he wants. He can even sleep in my bed if he wants."
"I think he's fine with sleeping on the cot. But thanks for the offer, Joel."
Joel sometimes tried to talk to Jim to cheer him up, but this obviously never worked. Jim usually never replied with anything other than a forced smile (that still looked very sad) or a wave. Joel would always eventually give up.
"I hate that woman that Uncle Jim was married to," Joel once said after another failed attempt at trying to get Jim to talk. "What she did to him was very cruel."
"I can't agree more," Anthony replied, looking over at Jim.
Jim's daily routine mainly consisted of being woken up around nine o'clock by Ellen or Anthony and then walking to the living room to fall asleep on the couch for a few more hours. He would always wake up around noon, eat lunch, and then continue to lay on the couch for the rest of the day. He would usually head back to Joel's room around ten at night. Anthony and Ellen, who continued to keep a close eye on Jim all throughout the day, both wouldn't fall asleep until he was back in Joel's room.
Just like before, Jim never ate anything other than canned soups. He always ate his soup very slowly in the living room and usually never ate more than half of it. Anthony was satisfied that Jim was eating at least once a day. There were times where Jim would go days without eating back when he lived at his parents' house.
Interestingly, Jim still took a shower every morning. He would always head to the shower after waking up around eleven or twelve. Of course, he never put on anything other than white briefs afterwards. Anthony was at least glad that Jim was still willing to bathe himself on a regular basis.
Because of his suicide attempt, Jim was required to see a counselor on a regular basis. Thankfully, the counselor was willing to speak to Jim at the house and didn't seem to mind speaking to Jim while he was only wearing underpants.
"I've seen worse," The counselor once told Anthony. "Believe me."
Of course, Jim hardly even spoke while the counselor talked to him. Jim hardly would even look the counselor in the face. Anthony was sure that Jim was still disgusted about having to see a counselor since the only purpose of doing so was to help him cope with his loss. At the very least, Jim never objected when the counselor arrived.
"It's a growing process," The counselor once said as he was leaving. "Just like with pretty much everything else."
Anytime Jim and Ellen went out together, Mr. and Mrs. Burleson would come over to the house to watch both Jim and the children. Mr. and Mrs. Burleson had finally decided to retire from their jobs (Anthony's jaw nearly dropped when he first heard this news), giving them much more time to spend with their sons. Of course, Jim's mannerisms often made this difficult.
"I know there aren't that many memories," Mrs. Burleson once said as she patted Jim's back (Jim was lying face down on the couch). "But I still remember how happy he had been as a little boy."
"Yeah," Mr. Burleson had replied. "I do too."
After an entire year had passed, things had hardly changed. Jim's daily routine of laying on the couch throughout the day stayed pretty much the same, Anthony and Ellen continued to keep a close eye on him, Joel continued feeling bad for him and tried talking to him every so often, and Daniel and Elijah would every so often smile at him and say "Hi." The boys still constantly asked questions about Jim and their cousins. These questions often became the subject of conversations at the dinner table.
"Daddy, did you ever get to meet our cousins?" Daniel once asked as he was stuffing a large piece of steak in his mouth.
"Yes, I did," Anthony said as he cut Hannah's meat into tiny pieces. "I got to see them a lot when they were little. I was at the hospital when they were born."
"What were they like?"
"They were very, very, sweet little girls. They always loved to play together, they loved to play with your Uncle Jim, they always would give me hugs when I came over to a visit, and they were some of the most well-behaved little girls ever. I have a bunch of photos and videos of them playing together and with Uncle Jim. He was so happy at the time."
"Yeah, because he still got to be with them," Joel said
"Yes, I know that," Anthony said, taking a deep breath.
"If Uncle Jim wasn't so sad, would he play with us too?" Daniel asked.
"Oh course he would, Honey," Ellen said.
"If Uncle Jim wasn't so sad, I'm sure he'd spend time with all of us," Anthony said. "Because that's the way he used to be."
"Daddy, do you miss our cousins?" Daniel asked.
Anthony paused a moment before he spoke. He felt a giant lump form in his throat.
"Everybody in our family misses them, Danny," Anthony said, wiping his eye with his thumb. "We all miss them every single day."
"Every single day?" Daniel asked.
"Every single day."
Daniel stuffed another piece of meat in his mouth.
"I wish I could meet them too," Daniel said he chewed. "I want to play with them like they did with Uncle Jim. Even though they're girls."
Anthony usually never finished his food after having these conversations. All the memories that flooded his head usually made him lose his appetite. Then again, seeing Jim on the couch often kept him from having appetite to begin with.
Although Jim's mannerisms had hardly changed at this point, there were at least some improvements. Jim now was eating things other than soup, including sandwiches and oatmeal. He also was now finishing most of his food. He still never usually ate more than once or twice a day, but Anthony was at least satisfied with the improvement.
Jim was also now moving around a bit more. He would not only now sit up on the couch, but he sometimes would get up and walk around the house. He often would walk over to the windows and look outside for a few minutes. He also sometimes would walk over to photos of Cassie and Meagan and stare at them for a very long time. Anthony always felt a lump form in his throat whenever Jim look at Cassie and Meagan's photos.
The biggest improvement, however, was that Jim was finally speaking to people. He would say "Hi" whenever the boys tried to talk to him or say "sure" or "okay" whenever he was asked a question (Anthony and Ellen only asked Jim yes or no questions). Of course, Jim never spoke more than one or two words and never spoke without being spoken to first. Once again, Anthony felt satisfied that there was at least some improvement.
But as satisfying as the improvements were, they hardly made anything much better. Jim still never interacted with people by his own volition, he still never wore anything other than underwear, and he still always looked very depressed. His mannerisms still caused Anthony and Ellen to feel sad on a daily basis.
"It's a growing process," Jim's counselor would continue to say.
From the very beginning, Anthony knew that Jim would more than likely never fully recover from everything that had happened to him. Anthony was still wondering what Jim's future looked like. Was Jim going to live the rest of his life a depressed wreck? Would he ever feel happy again? Would Anthony have to take care of Jim for the rest of his life?
The only thing that Anthony knew for sure was that Jim was not going to get better anytime soon. Anthony soon felt it was just best to stay focused on the present and never even think about the future. Thinking about the future only made things much worse than how they already were.
Needless to say, Jim's sadness was spreading throughout the rest of the Burleson family. Even Daniel and Elijah often stated that seeing their Uncle Jim so sad sometimes made them feel sad. The Burleson household had become just a very sad place to be.
But how exactly was the youngest member of the Burleson family feeling through all of this?
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