I’m shaking my head & locking the gates

Loren not afraid to use every trick in the book As the boy was handed to him, the librarian took Jace without missing a beat; even Loren didn’t recognize the boy, it was clear—both from Zariah’s actions and Jace’s declaration of ‘Uncle Loren’—that they were family. Indeed, it seemed the two of them were close. However, that didn’t mean that Now, Loren hesitated, not quite sure how to respond to Zariah's question. Finally, he decided to just go with the truth. His words came out gently. ”Honestly, Zariah, it’s because I don’t recognize him. I assume I’ve met him, but my mind has no recollection of him. I honestly have no idea who he is.” Seeing as he was hanging on to the boy as he said that, the librarian gave Jace a sympathetic smile. ”I’m sorry. I’d very much like to get to know you.” But Loren wasn’t going to manufacture fake memories just to make Zariah and the boy feel better; if he tried, it would just end up hurting them in the end. Speaking of hurting people in the end, Loren stared at Edrei for a long while before he finally sighed. ”I’m sorry, Edy, but I don’t think I can stay with you. I will move in next door, but for a variety of reasons, I think it’s best if we don’t actually live together. Please know that it’s nothing personal. I understand and support your reasoning, but I promise I will be here for you, and for the rest of the family,” he gave Zariah, Jace, and Beatrix nods before continuing, ”often and whenever you need me.” However, moving in wasn’t an option: the librarian would need his own space and he wasn’t going to compromise on that point. First, if he moved in, he had no doubt that Edrei, Zariah, Beatrix, and Jace would be wandering in and out and definitely wouldn’t respect his boundaries. As an introvert, that sounded like his nightmare. Moreover, there were certain activities—particularly of the physical kind—that he wanted to explore. It would be much harder to do so under the same roof as the children and his relatives. Besides, he was an adult. As much as they might need him, he needed his independence as well. While he’d always be there for his family (which they could choose to believe or not), in this new world he felt more strongly than ever that he deserved a space of his own. And he wouldn’t, probably couldn’t, get that if he stayed so enmeshed with the rest of the Launceleyns.