Page 11 of The MC's Little Brother

Mel nudged my plate, giving me an encouraging look. “Eat. It’s okay.”

I did because, despite Tank giving me lunch and dinner, I was still hungry. I was used to it, there wasn’t always food in the house when I lived with Jorge, but that didn't make it hurt any less. And I wasn’t going to let the food go to waste.

While I inhaled my food, Mel leaned back in her chair, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Would it make you more comfortable to see a male doctor? I work at the hospital, so I know all the nice ones.”

Not really. I didn't want to see a doctor. I just wanted a few days to rest. Jorge kicked me out four days ago. It took me that long to figure out what to do and where to go. I didn’t want to end up in foster care. I heard awful things happen to kids like me in the foster care system. Mattias was my only option. But how long would he let me stay if I didn't answer his questions? He said he was going for custody before he even knew me, but if he knew why Jorge kicked me out, would he keep me? Or would he think the same way Jorge did? Was I just making things worse for myself by coming here?

“Hey…” Mel reached out, putting her hand gently on mine. “I know this is scary, but you did the right thing coming here. This is a safe place. We’re going to help you.”

It was hard to believe. After everything that had happened, I didn’t know if I could trust her or anyone else. I just wished I had some other option. I didn’t know where else to go.

7

Melissa

Xander looked close to tears. Seeing that little boy struggling so much to look brave broke my heart. Wraith was right, there was no way he was fourteen. I wished I didn’t have to push him and could just let him be like Wraith planned on doing, but I couldn’t ignore the little flinches I saw when he moved too much. If I had to guess based on the bruising, it’d been a few days since he was last hurt, so there probably wasn’t anything life-threatening going on, but I wanted to be sure. With kids like him who aren’t as healthy as they should be, they might not be healing the way they should.

“I…” His voice cracked, and he swallowed hard before forcing himself to speak again. “I’m twelve. Almost thirteen.”

Well, that was progress. And I didn’t think he was lying. But twelve… God, he was so young. Too young to be dealing with all of this. I forced the sadness off my face and squeezed his hand gently.

“Thank you for telling me. It’s important to know, so we can help you. Is there anyone looking for you, do you think? Your mom maybe?”

He shook his head quickly. “She left when I was a baby. I don’t even know what she looks like.”

That was something I could understand on a personal level. Wyatt and I, our mom walked away when we were just kids too. She didn’t feel like being a mom anymore and took off without warning. I was really lucky to have a wonderful dad to take care of me. Xander didn’t get that lucky. I didn't want to upset him more by bringing up things like that, so I moved on to things I needed to know.

“Do you have any allergies? Do you take any medication? If you’re diabetic, we really need to get you seen so we can get you the medicine you need.”

“No. I’m fine,” he murmured, frowning down at his empty plate. He’d inhaled the food Wraith had made him. That didn’t surprise me, since he looked like he was starved. I’d have to warn Wraith not to overfeed him until we knew more about how malnourished he was. We didn’t want to send his body into shock by letting him overindulge. Frequent smaller meals were best if that was the case.

Wraith came back inside, his mask back up and his expression blank. “Prez said we need a medical eval for him. It’ll help with the custody thing. Can you get him in tomorrow?”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. He was being too pushy. It was only going to make Xander defensive. Sure enough, the boy straightened in his seat and glared at his brother.

“I said I’m fine.”

Wraith flicked his gaze to Xander. “Your face tells another story. We need proof he was abusing you if you don’t want CPS to send you back.”

The threat of being sent back to his dad quieted Xander’s complaints. He hunched in his chair, frowning at his lap. I could tell it was going to take a lot to get this kid to trust us.

Deciding to spare him a little, I clapped my hands gently. “Okay. How about this? It’s late. Let’s let everyone get some sleep. We can tackle medical appointments in the morning.”

Since my dad refused to downsize, despite both me and my brother moving out, he had two spare rooms for guests. I brought Xander upstairs and put him in Wyatt’s old room, grabbing some extra blankets from the hall closet while he looked around. It didn’t get too chilly this far south, but nights had a bite to them and Xander didn't weigh enough to have any body weight to keep him warm.

When I came back into the room, I found him frowning at a picture on the nightstand. He dropped it trying to put it back quickly, and flinched hard when it hit the ground. My heart ached for him, and when I came over to him, I was gentle when I touched his shoulder.

“It’s okay. It was an accident.” I leaned over, picked up the frame, and turned it to face us again. “See? Not even a crack.”

He looked visibly shaken, though he did his best to hide it. To help him settle a little, I tipped the picture so he could see it better.

“This is the crew. Well, the original one. Half of the ones in the picture are retired and have been replaced with younger guys.” I pointed to Wyatt, who stood directly in front of our dad. “That’s my brother. He’s the current president of the crew. He’s a lawyer. He’s probably already getting everything in order so he can help you and Wraith.”

Reaching out with a shaky finger, he pointed at Wraith. “Is that…”

“Yep. It’s a little creepy how he never ages, right? He’s almost like a vampire,” I teased.

That made him snort and for a split second, he looked like a kid, not like a hardened preteen who’d been through too much at such a young age. I smiled at him, handing him the picture.

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