Page 49 of Saving Tracey
"You might want to come downstairs, honey. There's something Dale and I need to show you."
I frowned. “Alright."
I hung up and slid out of bed, leaving a note on my pillow for Tracey to find when she woke up. I slid on my sweats and slipped my phone into my pocket, jogging down the stairs to find out what Glenda needed to tell me.
Glenda and Dale were walking through the front door with a small boy standing behind Dale when I reached the bottom of the staircase. "Did you guys adopt another kid?" I asked them, honestly not surprised. I knew they had been thinking about it for a couple of months now.
Glenda and Dale exchanged a worried glance, and Dale finally stepped forward, sighing softly, almost like he was a bit afraid to tell me about the little kid they had brought home. "Trevor, this little boy was brought to the hospital, and I was his doctor while he was there. Child services came, giving us information about what had happened to him, and his name." He swallowed hard and ran a hand through his balding hair. "Trevor, meet your little brother, Lucas Varner."
I felt like I had been punched in the stomach. I never knew my parents had a second kid. Hell, they never even fuckingdeservedto have a second one. They couldn’t even do right by the first one: me.
"Fuck,” I muttered, barely restraining myself from throwing something. I looked at Dale. "How in the hell did they slip this past me?!" I roared, not able to contain it any longer.
The guilt crushed me. I hadn't ever made sure that they weren't hurting another kid. I could have saved this kid from the same fate I had suffered.
Glenda sighed, holding Lucas's hand. I swallowed hard when his petrified eyes met mine. "Your mother was only a few weeks pregnant with him when child services came and got you,” she informed me. "She apparently didn't even know she was pregnant at the time."
I cursed loudly, running my fingers through my hair roughly. I wanted to yank my hair out. No kid deserved to go through that bullshit. I knew what my parents were like, and I knew what they were capable of. I knew without a doubt that they had already fucked his life up, and he couldn't have been no older than five or six.
I looked at the kid that looked almost just like me. We had the same dark, wavy hair, dark eyes, and tall build. The only difference between me and him was that he looked absolutelyterrified, and I was ready to murder the bastards that had hurt him.
I walked forward, my steps cautious. I didn't want to scare him. I wanted him to trust me.
I knew all too well how hard his trust may be to gain.
I knelt in front of him, my eyes catching how he clutched Glenda's hand tighter. "Hey, little man," I murmured, giving him a small, encouraging smile. "I'm your big brother, Trevor."
"T-Trevor?" he asked me, his bottom lip quivering, almost like he was terrified to speak to me.
I remembered that shit way better than I would like.
I nodded, holding my hand out to him. "Are you hungry?"
He looked up at Dale, and I knew why. He wasn't allowed to eat unless he was told to. It took me almost an entire year living with Dale and Glenda to understand that I could eat whenever I wanted, whatever I wanted.
"Hey," I said gently, bringing his attention back to me. "You can eat whenever and however much you want, okay? Come on, let's go see what there's to eat."
He slowly placed his hand in mine, and I squeezed it lightly, giving him a smile. When I stood up, my eyes landed on Tracey, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring at Lucas. Sadness rang in her eyes as she looked at the little boy clutching my hand with a death grip. Lucas tugged on my hand, and I looked down at him, ripping my attention from my beautiful girlfriend, whose hair was still tousled from sex. "Who's that?"
I squeezed his hand again. "That's Tracey, my girlfriend," I told him. "She's really nice. Ask her to come eat breakfast with us."
He looked down, obviously unsure. I didn't blame him. I remembered that age all too well, terrified to speak to others, not knowing if it was really okay or not, even if someone told you that it was.
I shook his hand a little, making him look back up at me. "Go on; ask her.”
He drew in a deep breath, his wide, terrified eyes meeting Tracey's. She flinched at the fear she saw in his eyes, and I knew why. She could see herself reflected in those eyes, the years of pain and violence.
"D-Do y-you want to eat b-breakfast w-with us?" Lucas asked her timidly.
She gave him a small smile, and I felt my chest warm at the sight of her smiling. I was so damn glad that she was still okay after this morning, and I was fucking ecstatic that she was so open to Lucas already.
She stepped down toward us, holding her hand out for Lucas's other hand. I was shocked, to say the least, considering it always took her so long to touch other people.
Lucas put his hand in hers instantly, and she closed her hand around his small one, sending me a smile that brightened my whole day. "Yeah, kiddo," she told him, turning her attention to him, sending him another smile, "let's go eat. I'm starved."
I couldn't help but chuckle.
Oh, I'm sure she was.
