Chapter 49
49
Wraith
M y temper got the best of me and I admit, I shouldn’t have challenged her like that. Not only did I piss her off, but I was loud enough that Xander heard me, too. He came thundering up the stairs, trying to put himself between me and the CPS worker. I pulled him away and kept him at my side instead. He glared at her like she was already planning on taking him. Which, after the way I reacted, she probably was.
“Mr. Ruiz, I don’t know–”
“Leave my brother alone!” Xander shouted, cutting her off. “He’s the best brother I could ever ask for and you aren’t taking me away from him! I’ll run away if you do!” His voice cracked with his threat and big tears streamed down his face. Mel came up last and watched with a frown as me and my brother faced off with the woman determined to hate us.
Ms. Packman sighed, putting the hand not holding her notebook up in a soothing gesture. “I’m not taking you away from your brother, Xander. Honestly, after the reports I got the last few days, I doubt I could find a better place for you. ”
“What reports?” I demanded.
She reached into her big purse, pulling out a manilla file. Flipping it open, she gestured inside. “Xander’s doctors tell me he’s one hundred percent healthy and being well cared for at home. His family therapist says he’s making good progress on recovering and connecting well with his new family. The school says he is bright and polite, and his grades have done a complete one-eighty from what they had been in Chicago.”
Well, shit. I hadn’t realized she was here to give us good news. A final check was nothing if she was just tying up a few loose ends.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have–”
She shook her head. “I’m the one who needs to apologize, Mr. Ruiz. You’re right. I came in here expecting the worst. My soon-to-be ex-husband is a cop, you see. I do my best not to let his views taint my objectivity, but he was vehement that anyone connected to your club was dangerous, and that Xander was in danger. My first priority is the safety of the kids under my care. It was wrong of me to assume that your club is dangerous just because my ex is unhappy about the recent lawsuit against his department.”
She offered Xander a small smile. “If you can tell me right now, with one hundred percent certainty, that this is where you want to be, then I’ll sign off tonight and hand everything in first thing tomorrow.”
Xander didn’t even hesitate. “I want to stay with my brother. I’m happy here.”
She nodded. “Okay, then. Mattias Ruiz, you are now officially the guardian of Xander Ruiz. A copy of the paperwork will be sent to you and your lawyer. I wish the three of you all the best.”
And then she left. I stood stunned for a minute, staring at where she’d stood. It was Xander who moved first, doing a little fist pump as he hissed, “Yes!”
A smile spread across Mel’s face and she closed the space between us, pulling us both into a group hug. “I’m so happy for you two. I knew it’d happen eventually.”
“Not just us,” Xander said with a shake of his head. “She said the three of us. That means you too!”
While the paperwork only named me, Xander was right. We were raising him together. I let out a slow breath and felt a smile stretch across my lips. When I looked down at her, Mel had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling just as much.
“He’s right. Guess we better move you in already.”
“Really? Yes!” Xander shouted, punching his fist into the air again. Mel laughed out loud, hugging my side while listening to Xander talk about having the entire second floor to himself. Mel mentioned making a teen space for Xander on the landing since it was plenty big enough. I didn’t mind the idea and just listened as they made plans. Things would change around here, and it was definitely not quiet anymore, but I was okay with that. It was all worth it to have my family with me.
I didn’t want Mel wasting her day off moving, so I grabbed the crew and Xander to move all her stuff in while she was at work. Thankfully, she didn’t have a ton, but it’d take some work to fit it all in my place.
“Ew, gross,” Xander muttered. “She forgot to clean out her fridge before she came to stay with us.”
I peered over his shoulder, wrinkling my nose at the moldy food in the fridge. She liked to say we matched when it came to our slob-like natures, but Mel took the cake in that department. My mess never went farther than my bedroom.
“Just toss it all. You can’t trust Mel’s cooking anyway,” Prez said as he packed the dishes. It was a little awkward at first when he showed up, but we pushed past it eventually.
Xander snorted and did as asked, grabbing the trash in the corner so he could start dumping it all in there.
“So, is she selling the house?” Vegas asked as he wandered through with a big box in his arms. It was labeled books, but blankets were spilling out of the top of it. I got the feeling asking them to help was only going to hinder me in the end.
“Why would she keep it?” Xander shot back.
Vegas snorted. “Chill, little Wraith. I’m only asking because I’m looking for a new place. If I have to spend one more night listening to Rooster’s caterwauling when he babysits, my ears will start bleeding.”
Xander cracked up, following him outside to hear more stories while he took out the already full trash. Prez shook his head as he watched them go.
“Think he’ll join the crew?”
I shrugged. “Better our crew than someone else’s.” I pushed to my feet, wiping my hands on my jeans. I’d asked Xander permission to share his secret with Prez. He said I could, and asked me to tell the others so he wouldn’t have to. He was still afraid of their reactions. After that discussion, I made a plan with Mel, but I needed to talk to Prez about it first.
“Hey, can I talk to you outside for a second?”
Setting down the dishes he’d just pulled out of the cabinet, he frowned at me. “Is everything okay?”
I tipped my head toward the door. The guys who showed up to help were all over the house, and Xander didn't want to be around when they all found out. I wasn’t talking about this in front of all of them.
Prez followed me outside and onto the sidewalk, well away from the hustle of the crew. Rooster and Vegas were keeping Xander busy, racing in and out of the house to see who was fastest. I ignored them, shoving my hands into my pockets.
“What is it, Mattias?”
We only used each other’s names when it was important. He knew I had something important to say.
“Xander came out to me a few days ago. That’s why Jorge beat the hell out of him and kicked him out. It scared the ever-loving shit out of him to tell me, and he’s too scared to tell the crew. He asked me to do it instead.”
His eyebrows came up slowly, but Prez didn’t have any judgments. He was an ally, same as his sister.
“Okay. What did you need from me? Do you want me to call a club meeting?”
I wrinkled my nose. “Maybe, at first. But I had a different plan in mind. For Xander, words are just words. I had to show him he could trust me and that he was safe. I don’t just want to tell him everyone is fine with it.”
“You want to show him,” Prez nodded. “I like that. What did you have in mind?”
The first part of it was simple. I was going to get our club logo printed into a sticker, but add in a pride flag or rainbow colors or something. I’d put that on my bike, so Xander knew I’d always have his back. For the rest of the crew, I wanted to go bigger. He deserved the kind of support he might’ve gotten in the city if he’d been with the right people. In this tiny ass town, it wasn’t that easy.
“How about a club run?”
Melissa
I got a message from Mattias that the plan was approved by Wyatt while I was in the middle of my shift. Which was perfect, because it meant I could get a lot of support from the people here and get them to join in. Maggie had mentioned a time or two doing something bigger to show the town the crew wasn’t that bad. Something like this would definitely help with that.
Poking my head into Doctor O’Malley’s office, I smiled at him. If anyone could get word out around the hospital, it was him.
“Good morning, Doctor O’Malley. Can I talk to you about something?”
An hour later, because the man never stopped talking, I had him on board and rushed to do my rounds so I could talk to my friends, too. Most of the people who worked at the hospital were allies and happy to join in.
Janelle leaned over the desk, frowning at me. “Wait. Has he come out yet? Won’t you be outing him in front of the whole town?”
I shook my head rapidly, eyes wide. “No! God, no. Xander gave me permission to tell one to two people. That’s it. No, this is just to show where we stand. He’ll have the option to ride along, but he won’t be announced or anything. It’ll be like any kid joining a parade. He’ll be there for the fun of it.”
“Ah.” She nodded. “That makes more sense. Sounds like fun. Count me in. And don’t forget to point me in the direction of the single hotties that are good with kids.”
I snorted and waved her off, sending a quick text to Mattias that I was handling things here on my end. It took a lot of discussion to come up with something to show Xander the kind of support he deserved. And while no one but us would know it was for him, we still thought it’d help him see he was safe with the crew. He didn’t have to pretend to be someone else. Not with his family. We had his back.