Page 14 of The MC's Little Brother

“No broken bones. You’re malnourished, though. Did he not feed you?”

His expression hardened, and he turned his face away. Mel rolled her eyes at me.

“You couldn’t have asked that in any other way?”

“Like what?” I demanded. I needed information. It was better to get it over with.

“Oh, I don’t know. How about in a non-dickish sort of way?” she sassed, scowling at me.

Her sassing me seemed to amuse Xander if the smirk pulling at his lips was anything to go by. When he noticed me watching him, the smile disappeared, and he looked away again. I hated myself a little for putting my foot in my mouth, but I couldn’t exactly take it back.

“Doctor said he needs an IV before he leaves. I’m gonna make a call.” I turned to leave, silently berating myself the entire way out to the parking lot to call Prez.

9

Melissa

“Boys,” I said with a scowl, before turning back to Xander. “No offense.”

The smirk came back, and he shook his head. “None taken.”

He’d been put through the wringer with the amount of poking and prodding he’d had to put up with today. Dealing with Wraith’s inability to be a human being shouldn’t have been added to that. I couldn’t exactly be pissed at Wraith, though. He needed information in order to help Xander, and Xander wasn’t giving up anything he didn’t have to. But being an ass wasn’t going to get him to open up. He needed more time.

“So, favorite TV show?”

Leaning back into the pillows, he frowned. “Um…”

Maybe too personal. He didn't look like he wanted to answer that one. I changed tactics. “Do you like music?”

That got a nod, so I figured I was on the right track. “What’s your favorite type of music? I’m pretty eclectic myself, but I was basically raised by a crew of bikers, so I’ll never say no to a good rock band.”

Another flash of a smile. He chewed his lip, but this time he looked thoughtful, not closed off, so I gavehim a minute to answer.

“I like a lot of music… But rock is good, I guess.”

It wasn’t the full picture, but it felt like we were getting somewhere. Baby steps were still steps. I pulled out my phone, handing it to him after pulling up my playlist.

“See anything you like?”

He scrolled through it, nodding slowly. Then his brows furrowed. “You’ve got the Hamilton soundtrack on here.”

My eyebrows flew up. “Do you like musicals?”

If he did, he’d be my new bestie. It was the only thing neither Skylar nor Maggie seemed to care for. Maggie was a pop girl all the way, and Skylar only seemed interested in whatever was on the radio at the time. No one loved musicals like I did.

Xander shut down almost immediately, pushing the phone away. “It’s whatever.”

I was surprised at the abrupt change, but then I thought about it. He was a preteen boy. Admitting he liked things like musicals would probably get him bullied in some circles. And since he was related to Wraith’s asshole dad, it was likely unsafe to admit that at home. But we were alone now while we waited for Janelle to bring the IV. He didn't need to be afraid to tell me those kinds of things.

“You know, if you do like them, you can tell me. I’ll even keep it as our secret if you want.”

He shot me a frown, considering me. I decided to hit him with my famous pout.

“No one ever listens to musicals with me. I’m all alone in the fandom. I need a buddy.”

His lips twitched like he was fighting not to smile. I increased the look a little, widening my eyes. Gracie taught me how to make the pout perfect to get what I wanted. It didn’t always work, but it was surprisingly effective on Wyatt. I was teaching Zoey how to use it too, just to mess with him.

Finally, Xander relented, a shy smile ghosting over his face. “Yeah. I like them. I got to go to one for a field trip. I thought it was cool.”

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