Benjamin "Ben" Zerat

With ten years between him and his older siblings, you could understand that Ben wasn't planned. By the time he was born his three older siblings (triplets) were independent and their parents were focused on building their own business in Kentucky. After having their three children and moving into a fixer upper his parents had found a love-and a talent for flipping homes and reselling them. With their kids in school full time his parents were allowed to follow their passions and turn it into a thriving business that they were hoping to expand when his mom started to feel sick and on a whim took a pregnancy test that came back positive. His parents, at first, weren't thrilled at the idea of starting over with a baby, but not believing in giving up on a baby, they got ready for his arrival. His siblings were excited for the new baby, until he came home and they realized how much he cried and how...unfun he was in his early years. Most of his childhood pictures and videos were of Ben and his sister Eva, their parents saying they were partners in crime, even with Ben toddling after Eva in diapers.

His younger years were average but as he got older Ben started to feel alone. His parents went back to working and eventually his siblings graduated and went their separate ways. Eva and Charlotte weren't speaking and went to different colleges while Oliver went to the military. Ben and Oliver hadn't been too close, Oliver thinking himself too cool to hang out with a baby, but Ben looked up to him. With the house now empty and parents always busy, Ben was left with a baby sitter and he started to get frustrated. School was hard. He felt like an idiot. While everyone else was understanding math and reading he was left sitting there while the numbers and letters swam in front of his face, causing him to panic and learn to cheat off his peers in order to keep up with everyone. He barely skated by and even though his grades weren't the best, his parents were too busy to notice and it started an angry fire in him. How hard was it to care about your kid? He started to act out, talking back to the teacher and fighting with other students. It got his parents attention but instead of trying to figure out what was wrong, they punished him and told him to get himself together, only igniting that inferno inside him. He continued to act out but then Oliver had to come home.

While on duty Oliver had been hurt in an explosion, he being the only in his platoon to survive, but at a cost. He lost both of his legs and his will to live. He was sent back home and though his parents tried to care for him, they couldn't, their business was too important-as was punishing Ben. Charlotte was unable to handle what had become of him so Eva came home, doing her school work virtually while taking care of her brother. Oliver was like the shell of himself, he rarely spoke and his mind was ravaged with PTSD flashbacks. When he spoke, he spoke of misery. He scared Ben and so Ben avoided him, a fact that Ben feels guilty about every day. He could have been there for his brother, but instead he stayed far away and continued to make waves at school while classes got harder. He was building a reputation for himself as the person to not mess with unless they wanted to be beaten up. Some kids riled him up on purpose and while Ben focused on causing problems Oliver was laid to rest on August 17th.

Ben was angry at himself and at the world. His brother didn't deserve the hand he was delt and Ben was an idiot for not being a better brother. He took his anger out on anyone who messed with him while his grades sank...until Eva took notice. She tried helping him with school but he pushed her away, she tried to tell him he needed help, that he had a learning disability, but he wouldn't listen and pushed her away until she finally left back to school and continued on with her life. Once again Ben was left on his own, wrestling with his guilt, grief, and this disability that his sister said he had...dyslexia. He tried to Google it, but it was too hard to focus. Ben figured no one would care. He was failing all of his classes but finally reached the last straw when he broke a fellow students nose and sent him to the hospital.

Ben was expelled and at a loss his parents called Eva and sent him to Tidewater. Once again the siblings were together but this time Eva wasn't going to let her brother push her away. She fought through his walls and when he realized she wasn't going to leave him alone, Ben did what his sister said. He was finally diagnosed with Dyslexia and Oppositional Defiance Disorder, which is what caused him to get angry, argue, and be defiant frequently. He agreed to go to counseling, but tells no one. He hides his challenges-not wanting to be labeled an idiot-and with his slow improvement he enrolled at Tidewater. It's been rocky, he's no stranger to detention or a fight on campus and after the last one his parents have threatened to send him to military school if he didn't straighten up, so he's trying. Not for his parents though, he is trying for his sister, the one person who seems to believe in him.