The MC’s Little Brother (Bikers and Babies #3)

Chapter 43

43

Wraith

S omething was up with Xander. Something he wasn’t telling me about. I wanted to push, but we had an audience and I didn’t think he was ready. He shut down when I found him singing to the girls. I should’ve waited in the hall, pretended I showed up after he was done. I didn't realize it’d freak him out so much for me to hear him. I wasn’t sure why, it wasn’t like he was a bad singer. Vegas was god awful and Ellie covered his mouth whenever he tried singing to her. Xander held a tune better than most of us could.

“What’s wrong with him?” Malcolm asked. He kept glancing toward the back door and up at me again.

“He’s had a long few weeks since moving here.”

I wasn’t sure how much Xander had told him, so I kept it vague. One of the boundaries he set up in therapy was not discussing his past with anyone unless absolutely necessary. I wasn’t going to disrespect that.

“Why’d you leave?”

Leading him away from the door, I headed for the living room again. It was messy since we’d left in a hurry and I still needed to clean up the dining room, too. “Zoey isn’t feeling well. Maggie decided to bring her to the doctor and Mel went with her. She’ll be alright.”

From what I’d overheard, she spiked a fever and it wouldn’t go down with meds. Mel was concerned, but not too worried. Kids got sick and sometimes they needed better meds than what they had over the counter. She promised to call with updates throughout the night.

“Do you think Xander would come to the clubhouse to play? I’m almost as old as him, and it could be fun.”

I noticed he was hovering around Xander a little. Since the only other boy in his age group was Ryder, he was latching on to my little brother. The age gap wasn’t much, but four, almost five years, was significant to kids Xander’s age. I’d have to check with him if he was willing to hang out with little kids.

“I’ll ask him. He’s busy with school right now. He fell behind a little because of the move, so we’re working on catching up.”

He screwed up his face, his tone sympathetic. “Yeah, it must suck moving in the middle of school. We moved right before school started, so it wasn’t bad.”

I hummed, gathering ice cream bowls to bring to the kitchen. Flash was kind enough to help, though helping was a nice word for it. He grabbed the blankets we’d been using and stuffed them into a basket without actually folding them and when he grabbed cups from the dining room, he spilled a bunch of water on the floor. Thankfully, it was only water. If he grabbed the plates and spilled spaghetti sauce, Skylar would’ve been pissed.

Xander stayed outside alone for the rest of the night. Malcolm asked several times to join him, but I redirected him every time. When Xander needed space, I always gave it to him. Forcing him to take care of three little kids without any notice must’ve freaked him out. I wasn’t going to make him put up with Malcolm’s energy while he was taking time for himself.

I had just started the dishwasher when my phone rang. Wiping my hands on a towel, I put the phone to my ear. “Hello?”

“Hey, you,” Mel murmured, her voice hushed like she didn’t want to wake someone.

“How’s it going?”

She hummed, and I heard her footsteps as she moved somewhere she could talk. “It’s okay. Looks like a double ear infection that got pretty bad. Zoey never complained, so Maggie didn’t notice until the fever wouldn’t come down. Some antibiotics and rest will do wonders. They’re keeping her here until the fever breaks, and I volunteered to stay. It means an extra long shift for me, but Maggie is distraught. I don’t want to leave her hanging.”

“I figured. You’re a saint, sweetheart.”

“No, I’m not,” she chuckled. “I’m just trying to beat Rooster on best godparent.”

I huffed out a laugh and rolled my eyes. No, she wasn’t. She did the same thing whenever anyone in the crew ended up in her hospital. She volunteered to stay and worked until they went home. Then she checked on them at home until they were back on their feet.

“How’d Xander do?”

Sobering, I glanced out the window toward the backyard. It was too dark to see much, but last I checked, he was sitting on one of the swings. Alone. I hated leaving him all alone.

“Mattias?”

Blinking a few times, I tuned back into the conversation. “What? Oh, he did fine. Ellie woke up at one point and I came home to him singing to her in the rocking chair. I think it freaked him out, leaving him here. He seems really upset.”

“Did he say that?” she asked.

“No. Just a feeling. He looked like he wanted to cry after we got out of the girls’ room, and he’s been in the backyard by himself ever since.”

She sighed. “I’ll talk to him. He told me he wasn’t comfortable with individual therapy, but he’s comfortable talking to me. Maybe he can tell me what’s bothering him.”

A part of me was jealous. I understood why Xander trusted her so much; she was a kind and friendly person. I just didn't know why he didn’t trust me. He knew both of us for the same length of time, but for some reason, he only felt comfortable talking to her. What the hell was I doing wrong?

“So, since you have my car, you’ll have to pick me up tomorrow. Be a good boyfriend and bring your bike. I haven’t gotten nearly enough time on the back of that beauty.”

My mouth ticked up and I let out a breath. She had this insane way of putting me at ease when I was stressed out. I’d need to do something special for her after such a long shift at work. Maybe cook her favorite dinner before she went to bed for a good twelve hours. She woke up early today and would be up all night and all day tomorrow. She deserved a little spoiling.

Butch and Skylar returned around nine, with all four kids asleep. Ryder had slept through the entire drive to and from the hospital and woke up for a little while for a bottle, but he was back down right before they got home. Skylar looked a little better, her smile more relaxed and happy. She looked around the house, her eyebrows going up.

“Wow. It looks great in here. Whenever Rooster babysits, it looks like a tornado passed through.”

“I had help. Flash was on clean up and Xander got the girls to sleep.” I relayed everything we’d done and all the information they needed about Ryder. He still didn’t sleep through the night, but he’d be out for a few hours at least since he just went down. They headed upstairs to check in on their kids after another round of thank you's, and I went looking for Xander outside. He was still on the swing, swinging lazily, his focus on his feet.

“Ready to go?”

He looked up at me, and his hands tightened around the chains for a second. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then closed it again with a defeated sigh.

“Yeah. Is Mel coming back?”

Whatever he wanted to talk about, it was obviously hard for him. I knew that feeling. Admitting to Wyatt that my dad was hurting me felt like a spiked ball in my throat that I couldn’t get out. It took months and him witnessing it for me to finally come clean. If Xander needed more time, I needed to respect that. Whatever he had to say, I’d back him up when he was ready.

I decided to let it go, answering his question as we headed around the house. I didn’t want to disturb the family crossing through again. “Not tonight. Zoey’s staying a while and Mel’s staying with her. She’s selfless like that. ”

He nodded, his hands stuffed into his pockets. “When is she moving back to her house?”

There was apprehension in his voice, and I got the feeling he wanted her to leave about as much as I did.

“If it were up to me, never. But it’s not up to me. Just like I let you have the time to think about things, I gotta do the same for Mel.” And because I didn't want to make any big decisions without talking to him first, I asked, “Do you want her to go?”

He shook his head vehemently. “No. I want her to stay.”

Throwing my arm around his shoulders, I led him to Mel’s car. “Me too.”

He went quiet again, and the whole drive home he stared out the window. When we got back home, Thor met us at the door, that big goofy grin on his face. Xander knelt down next to him, and the tension around his eyes eased a little as they said hello to each other. We headed to our separate rooms, and I put my phone on loud enough that if Mel got out early, I would hear it ringing and come get her.

I wasn’t sure if it was the way Xander was acting that mirrored how I acted as a kid or if it was because I was sleeping alone, but I had a nightmare for the first time in years, except this time I wasn’t alone when Jorge came after me. I was Xander’s age, maybe a little older, and I stood protectively in front of a toddler, no older than Ellie, who looked too much like Xander. It freaked me out, and I sat up with a shout when I finally managed to drag myself out of it.

My heart hammered in my chest and I felt my lungs burn like I’d been running a marathon. I thought I got past that shit. I wasn’t a little kid anymore and Jorge had no power over me. Honestly, if he showed up now, I’d pound his ass into the ground without a second thought. There was nothing to be afraid of. So why the hell couldn’t I sleep?

“Mattias?”

I heard Xander’s anxious voice from outside my door and fought to pull myself together. I was not freaking out my little brother on the first night we were together alone. Mel wouldn’t always be able to work the day shift. Her ER shifts weren’t set in stone. I’d need to be able to handle myself while she wasn’t in bed next to me.

Pushing out of my bed, I steadied my breathing and headed for the door. Xander stood just outside it, Thor at his feet, a worried frown on his face lit up by the stove light I still left on in case Xander woke up hungry and needed a snack.

“Yeah?”

“Are, uh… Are you okay? I heard shouting.”

I grimaced. Maybe I needed to soundproof my room. His room was right above mine.

“I’m fine. Sorry I woke you.”

His gaze flicked over my shoulder toward my room, then down to Thor at his feet. I knew he was thinking about giving Thor back, and before he could even suggest it, I shook my head.

“You need him more than me. It’s fine, Xander. Go get some sleep. You’ve got school in the morning.”

He took a step back and nodded, but before he could duck out of sight, he paused and turned back around, jerking his thumb over his shoulder toward the living room. “Wanna watch a movie?”

I paused. There wasn’t a chance in hell I was falling asleep anytime soon after that dream, and Xander looked freaked out.

“Sure. Let’s watch a movie.”