Page 21 of The MC's Little Brother

“And his brother?” She raised her eyebrows significantly. “He didn’t seem like the social type yesterday.”

I snorted. “He’s not. I’ll work on that too. He cares, he just doesn’t know how to show it.”

It’d be a challenge getting Wraith to open up, but I got the feeling he’d do it for Xander. All the guys were the same. When a new kid came into their lives, they bent over backward to make them more comfortable. I didn’t doubt for a second that Wraith would do the same.

Janelle was called away to deal with a patient, so I waved goodbye and headed out, stopping at home to clean up before heading for Wraith’s. I got the message from Skylar that we were all going to the clubhouse for dinner, but I wasn’t sure if Wraith was heading straight there or not. His bike was in the driveway when I got there, but he could’ve gotten a ride for all I knew. It didn’t hurt to check. I knocked on the door, breathing a sigh of relief when Wraith opened the door. He put a finger to his lips and tipped his head toward the couch, where Xander was asleep hugging Thor.

“Aw…” I murmured, melting a little. “They’re so cute.”

He grunted in response, stepping back to let me in. “I was going to wake him soon, but I don’t want to startle him. He had a rough day.”

I frowned at him. “Did something not go well?”

He shook his head. “It went fine so far, but he got bad news. He has to meet with the judge if we want me to have full custody. He’s not going to be able to keep lying anymore.”

13

Wraith

The look on Xander’s face said it all when we left the courthouse. He didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t either when it was me in his place. I held out long enough to escape Jorge’s grasp before I had to face the courts. Xander was too young. They needed the whole story, and they needed it directly from him. When Prez told him that, he shut down and wouldn’t speak for the rest of the day. I didn’t know what to say to make things better for him. It wasn’t going to be right away, we were granted temporary emergency custody after the judge saw the medical eval, but that was only step one. To get full custody, we’d need to go to court. And Xander had to come with.

Melissa’s face fell, and she sighed heavily. “Damn. I was hoping they’d keep him out of it because of his age.”

A few years younger and they might’ve. But he was old enough to be able to talk to the judge, and they needed to hear it from him. The only bright side was after he told his story, he’d have a say in where he went after Jorge’s parental rights were terminated. It’d help if he said he wanted to stay with me.

I looked over at him again. He’d crashed when we got home, either fromthe reality of what was to come or just general exhaustion from running errands afterward. I got his phone set up and picked him up some necessities, but he wouldn’t even look at the clothes or anything like that. I figured it was too much for him and let it go. Maybe Mel would have more luck.

“How’d the rest of it go?”

I raised an eyebrow at her and got an eye roll in return. “You spent all day together, Wraith. Did you chat? Get to know each other a little better? Do anything to get him to warm up to you?”

Pressing my lips together, I didn’t reply. She knew the answer to that already. I was banking on the guys warming Xander to living here. They’d have more luck than me.

The look she gave me said she wasn’t happy, but what the hell else did she expect? I was going to give him a roof over his head and anything he might need. That had to be enough for right now, at least until I figured everything else out.

“I’m gonna wake him so we can get going. Can you bring Thor? I think he helps.”

She stopped me before I could walk away, her brow furrowed. “Look. Why don’t I stick around for a while? At least until you two warm up to each other. I don’t have the same communication issues you do, and I don’t want you making Xander feel like you don’t want him here just because you’re not the chatty type.”

My lip twitched against a scowl. I wasn’t going to drive him away. He came out here needing help, and I was going to help him. If he needed more from me, all he had to do was tell me. I’d take care of it.

She must’ve seen the refusal in my eyes, because she sighed and shook her head. “Just think about it, okay? I can tell you want to help him, but he doesn’t know you that well. He can’t read your face like I can. It might be worth a shot to have someone more outgoing around to ease the awkward tension a little.”

I was all prepared to prove to her that I didn’t need her help, but when I walked away and shook Xander’s shoulder to wake him and he flipped out, I kind of proved the opposite. He woke up swinging, eyes wide and terrified, and he full blown panicked when he saw me standing over him. It was a little shocking to watch him throw himself over the back of the couch to get away from me.

“Woah, woah! Xander! It’s okay! You’re okay!” Mel soothed. She didn’t approach him, she stayed where she was, but she had her hands up in a calming gesture and she kept her voice low to not startle him more.

Xander looked around wildly, like he didn't understand what was going on, but when he finally locked eyes with Mel, he faltered a little. Her presence reminded him of where he was. When his gaze flicked to me, he grimaced and wrapped his arms around his middle.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to–”

Shaking my head, I took a step back. “No. You’re fine. We’re heading out soon if you want to clean up.”

I didn’t want to let him dwell on it or think he was in some kind of trouble, so I acted like nothing happened until I was out of sight. It was when I was alone in my room that I let myself react. I grabbed a pillow and chucked it at the wall. It wasn’t at all satisfying, but it was better than letting Xander think I was mad at him. I wasn’t. I just hated knowing why he reacted that way.

I knew why he did it. I looked like our old man. Just like he did. He didn’t see me when his eyes opened. He saw Jorge. And he was so damn terrified, he ignored all his injuries and ran.

By the timeI was calm enough to come out, Mel had worked her magic on Xander and he was more relaxed than before. He still looked guilty when I headed for the door, but I wasn’t sure how to reassure him, aside from acting like everything was fine.

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