Page 60 of The MC's Little Brother

“Cool,” Xander breathed, staring at his brother in awe.

Mattias snorted, beckoning Thor to follow us. I had his leash, but I didn't actually use it. He wasn’t going to run.

Thankfully, despite the rough night, I’d made the time to wash Xander’s new clothes, so he had something decent to wear when we headed back to the hospital. It seemed to make him feel better, though he sometimes self-consciously ran his hands over his shirt, like he wasn’t used to wearing something so nice. Little did he know, the holidays were just around the corner and I now knew what he liked. More clothes were coming in his future.

When we pulled up in front of the hospital, I had to force myself not to autopilot to work. I had never been away from work for such a long period of time before. If it wasn’t for a good cause, I would’ve been put out about it. But I think my taking some time off to help things along with the brothers was worth it. They were more relaxed around each other now, and Mattias was slowly opening up and making Xander feel morecomfortable. It was still a work in progress, but it was definitely better than before.

We went upstairs and checked in for their appointment, and while Mattias and Xander sat down in one of the chairs to fill out paperwork together, I stepped away to make a phone call.

“Hey. Is everything okay?” Wyatt asked the second he picked up.

“We’re okay. Xander was understandably clingy, but we spent most of the day yesterday watching movies and relaxing. They’re starting family therapy today. I think that will help.”

He hummed, his mood a lot calmer than it was a few days ago. “And how about you? That asshole pointed a gun at you. I’d understand if you weren’t okay.”

Pressing my lips together, I thought about it. “Honestly, I was more worried about Xander and Mattias. Knowing they were safe and close by helped a lot.”

“... Mattias, huh?”

I grimaced. I’d picked up on the habit after we started seeing each other. He didn’t seem to mind, but I never intended to use it when we were around the crew. I never called Wyatt ‘Prez’ because he was my older brother and that sounded dumb, but it wasn’t the same for Mattias.

“So you guys are serious, then?”

He didn’t sound happy about it, but at least he wasn’t screaming at me.

“Yeah, Wyatt. We didn’t jump into this for the fun of it. I’ve had a crush on him since we were kids.”

He sighed slowly, like he couldn’t wrap his head around it yet. Being level-headed enough to listen was only step one, and I didn’t feel the need to rush him. Still, he was my brother, and I had to push a little.

“Listen, I’m arranging meetings with a few of the crew at a time. How about we come up with a plan for you and Maggie to join us sometime? I’ve been planning some fun excursions to ease the tension a little.”

“I’ve heard. I would’ve paid good money to watch Wraith play laser tag,” he chuckled. He went quiet for a minute before finally agreeing. “Alright. Not laser tag, though. Zoey’s too little for that.”

“How about bowling? They have those little ramps she can push the ball down and they put the bumpers up for littles. We can get Skylar and Butch to come with their kids, too. It’ll be fun.”

He hummed, and I could practically hear the smirk in his voice when he said, “Think you can handle it? You’ve always sucked at bowling. Whenever we went with Dad, you had a tantrum because you couldn’t win.”

I gasped, outraged. “I was smaller than both of you and you wouldn’t let me have the bumpers up! It wasn’t fair!”

He laughed, and it felt a little like I had my brother back with the way he was teasing me. Hopefully, with a little time, Mattias could have his best friend back, too.

Wraith

Mel didn’t join us when the doctor called for us to join her. She said she was going downstairs to see if we could get Xander checked out today. Since I wanted that too after he was manhandled by the cops, I let her go, despite wishing she could come with us. She understood me better than most and knew what I meant, even when I didn't say much.

The room we went into wasn’t huge, big enough for a desk with a bunch of overstuffed bookshelves behind it and a comfortable couch and some chairs on the other side. Xander sat beside me on the couch, though he looked just as uncomfortable as I was. The doctor sat on the chair closer to me, her smile pleasant. At least she didn’t immediately come into this assuming I was the worst thing for Xander. It was a point in her favor.

“So, let’s start with introductions,” she began. “I’m Addison Torres. I’ve been a psychiatrist for about five years now. Mel said the two of you are brothers?”

Xander didn’t look inclined to answer, so I spoke up first. “Right. I’m Mattias Ruiz, and this is my little brother, Xander.”

Addison tipped her head at Xander, waiting for him to glance at her before prompting him to join in on the conversation. “And how old are you, Xander?”

“Twelve,” he murmured, his brows drawn together tightly. “Almost thirteen.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “That’s an exciting birthday coming up. Can you tell me why we’re here?”

Xander shut down hard, refusing to give an inch to the woman. It was fair, he didn't know her, and from his experience adults weren’t always to be trusted. I answered for us both.

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