Chapter 28
28
Wraith
I ’d never slept next to someone before. I didn’t invite people to my home, and I left at the end of the night when I was dating because I was afraid I’d wake up in the middle of the night shouting and scare the hell out of whoever I was with. I considered sleeping on the couch to spare Mel from whatever might happen, but after we got cleaned up, she dragged me back to bed and settled my head on her chest, combing her fingers through my hair until I was helpless to do anything but close my eyes. I fell asleep with her holding me, and for the first time in years, slept all night without waking once.
It was a little disconcerting, to say the very least, and I was groggy when I finally managed to drag myself out of bed. The only reason I did was because I heard Xander and Thor coming downstairs, and I knew I needed to make him breakfast. I dragged on a pair of jeans, but that was about as far as I was willing to go.
“Woah. Nice tattoo,” Xander murmured.
I blinked a few times, looking around for him. He was standing by the back door and I assumed he just let Thor out to do his business because the dog wasn’t by his feet like usual .
“Thanks. Hungry?”
He lifted a scrawny shoulder, but his stomach answered for him with a loud growl. He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously. I didn’t draw more attention to it, heading for the fridge to see what options we had. Mel bought him cereal and stuff like that, but I wanted him to eat healthy until he put more weight on.
“Want a breakfast burrito?”
He shrugged when I looked over my shoulder at him. I got the feeling he wouldn’t say no to much. He was probably used to giving in to stay safe. I’d need to fish a little to see what he actually preferred to eat.
I wasn’t going to push that right now. Mel suggested we go to therapy together. Maybe while we were there, we could figure out a way to get Xander more confident to tell me what he wanted.
While I prepared breakfast, Xander fed Thor, squatting beside him and petting his head while he ate. It was a good thing to do for Thor’s training, since I never wanted him to get possessive of food, but I kept an eye on them, just in case. Thor needed training when I first got him, he was used as a guard dog for some asshole and was mean as hell. With a lot of training and a stress-free life, he was past most of the issues he had. I just didn’t want to test that with my little brother.
I was finishing up when the doorbell rang. I frowned at the clock on the stove. It was early, and I didn't get visitors much in the first place. Xander turned toward the door, but I stopped him before he could answer it.
“Watch the food for me. Thor gets sneaky and tries to steal some if I’m not watching him.”
Turning off the heat, I gave Thor a suspicious look. It was the one habit I hadn’t broken yet. He was a little thief. Xander huffed a small laugh and nodded, pushing out of his chair to stand by the stove while I went to answer the door. I wiped my hands off with a towel and tossed it over my shoulder, heading for the door. When I opened it, I didn’t recognize the person on the other side.
“Are you Mattias Ruiz?”
I frowned at her. “Yeah? Who are you?”
She lifted her chin, her eyes narrowed. “I’m Rachel Packman. I’m from Child Protective Services. I’m here for a wellness visit for Xander Ruiz. ”
Wyatt mentioned they’d be stopping by soon, but I didn't know they’d show up without notice first. I considered her suspiciously.
“Do you have identification?”
She looked surprised that I would ask, but obligingly showed me her official ID from her office. Once I was sure she was who she said she was, I took a step back and let her into the house. She was just here to make sure Xander was okay. I knew better than to get in her way.
“Thank you. I’m here to make sure Xander is in the best place for him to be. We prefer it if displaced children end up with immediate family, but we don’t want to make assumptions. I’m sure you understand.”
Something about the way she said that put my hackles up. It was almost like she was trying to prepare me for him getting taken away. She hadn’t even spoken to me yet.
“What do you need to know?”
“Well, I’ll need to see his sleeping conditions, take a look around the house to make sure it's safe, that kind of thing. I’d also like to talk to him and get his point of view on the matter. Is he here?”
I almost asked why the hell he wouldn’t be because it still sounded like she was expecting the worst every time she said something to me. Before I could question her, Xander stood from where he’d been rubbing Thor’s belly. He’d been partially hidden by the table, which was why the woman hadn’t noticed him before.
“Oh! There you are. Hello, Xander. I’m Rachel Packman, your new caseworker. Care to join us?”
Xander looked behind him at the food, then down at Thor, before finally settling on me. He looked like he wasn’t sure what to do, so I jerked my head towards the back door. “Let him out first. That way, he won’t get into anything.”
He relaxed and nodded, ushering Thor out the door. The mangy animal didn’t want to go, so I joined Xander and tossed out a treat to keep Thor distracted long enough to close the door behind us. The backyard was fenced. He wasn’t going anywhere.
We came back together to the living room where Rachel waited, eyeing me like she thought I was going to do something insane without warning. My suspicions rose the longer I was around her. Were CPS workers supposed to come in with such a heavy bias? We’d barely said a few words to each other, but she already looked like she hated me.
“Do you have a pet?” she asked, smiling at Xander.
He made a face. “Obviously.”
I bit back a snort, shooting him a look. “Dude.”
He looked a little sheepish, but honestly, I liked that he was feeling more confident about speaking out. It was a little rude, but she asked a stupid question. The living room was a straight shot to the kitchen. She watched us while we let Thor outside.
Rachel’s smile faltered for a second before it cleared again. “Xander, do you know why I’m here?”
He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. His clothes were still too big and stained. We’d need to fix that today.
“I’m here to make sure you’re put into the best place possible going forward. I–”
“I don’t want to go back to my dad. He was an abusive asshole. If you send me back, I’ll–”
She put a hand up to stop him, her expression softening into something more reassuring. “I promise, that’s not what I’m here for. I got a copy of your medical file when I was given your case. No judge is going to hand you back to the person responsible for your injuries. I just want to make sure that this is the best place for you.”
She was trying to help, but she was only making him more defensive. I could understand that since I felt the same way.
“Oh! I didn’t know we had company already.”
We all swung around to where Mel was watching us from the kitchen. Her hair was a mess, and she was wearing my shirt from last night, along with her pajama bottoms. She looked cute as hell and I wanted to say something about it, but now was not the time.
“Good morning?” Rachel said uncertainly. “I’m Rachel Packman, with CPS. And you are?”
Mel’s surprise was short-lived, and she smiled brightly at the woman. “Good morning! I thought you’d come by soon. I’m sorry, no one told me you were coming, otherwise I’d be more presentable.” She gestured to her outfit with a playful grimace.
It was hard to resist Mel’s sunshine personality, but Rachel was doing her damnedest. She frowned hard at Mel and didn’t immediately reply, raising an eyebrow instead to her unanswered question.
“She’s my girlfriend,” I said, my voice harder than probably necessary. I didn’t like this chick. She didn’t come in here looking to make sure Xander was okay. She came in here to prove he wasn’t.
She proved my point when she said, “And she lives here with you?”
Mel stepped in, her voice calmer and more understanding than mine. “No. Not currently. I’m a nurse and when Xander first showed up, we thought it was better for him to be checked out before rushing him into the ER while he was already scared and overwhelmed. Xander and I connected pretty well, and he felt comfortable with me, so I volunteered to hang out for a bit while the brothers got to know each other. Yesterday was a real bonding moment, wasn’t it?”
She winked at Xander, and he gave her an uneasy smile back. He was slowly edging closer to me, and I could tell this whole thing was freaking him out.
“What happened yesterday?” Rachel asked, though her tone was more demanding than necessary. I let Mel answer her, since my annoyance would be in my tone if I spoke up.
“Laser tag!” Mel said brightly. “I figured it’d be a fun way to ease the awkward tension, since they were both a little unsure of each other. I think it helped. Right?”
She shot a questioning look at me and I nodded to back her up.
“I see…” Rachel said, her brows furrowed a little. She almost looked confused, though I couldn’t even guess why. “Well, that sounds nice. How about you show me around, Xander? Then we can talk a little more.”
The refusal was written all over Xander’s face, and I wasn’t going to force him, but Mel came to join us, putting her arm around his shoulder and rubbing supportively.
“She’s here to help, I promise. A social worker’s whole job is to make sure kids are safe and as happy as possible. You can talk to her. And we’ll be right down here if you need us, okay?”
He hesitated for a moment longer before relenting. He trusted Mel and took her at her word. With a decidedly uncomfortable frown on his face, he gestured to the stairs. “My room is upstairs. ”
After they trooped off, Mel raised an eyebrow at me. “Doing okay? You look like you’re ready to blow your lid.”
“She’s biased,” I murmured, leaning in so the social worker wouldn’t overhear us. “She’s looking for reasons to take him away.”
Mel’s expression softened, and she touched my arm gently. “I know it can feel that way, but I promise she’s not. She just wants to make sure he’s in a good place. After everything he’s been through, it’s good that someone is checking to be sure that he didn’t go from one bad situation to another, right?”
Maybe. But my first impression of her wasn’t good. And if she tried to take my brother from me, I wouldn’t stop until I got him back. It was my job to protect him. I wasn’t letting anyone take him away from me.