Chapter 36
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
MOJAVE
I should’ve known they’d show up. Killian wasn’t happy that I’d insisted on finishing the shelf with him and kept giving me these looks as we got ready to bring Frankie back home.
He probably called Mel to check on me, knowing Prez would get involved if he heard one of his crew was hurt in an altercation.
My friend was going to get a boot in the ass for calling them.
Pushing to my feet, I came to the door behind Rachel, handing cash to the delivery guy and giving Prez a sour look. “I’m fine.”
“Mel will be the authority on that,” he said plainly. “Going to invite us in?”
Like I had any other choice. They’d keep pestering me until I gave in.
Unlike Frankie, my crew could be plenty annoying when they wanted to be.
And Mel was a nurse. She’d do something insane like call the paramedics back to check on me if I didn’t agree to let her do it or go to the hospital.
I’d rather deal with her than face the consequences of ignoring her.
Since it wasn’t my house, I sent a questioning look Rachel’s way. I kind of hoped she’d refuse, but she stepped back and allowed the two to pass, taking the pizza box from the delivery guy and sending him on his way. “Come on in.”
Irritated and resigned, I returned to the living room and sat next to Frankie again. She scooted closer, handing me her origami with a frustrated frown. “It won’t fold right.”
I turned my attention to her, helping her fix the fold she was trying to do and ignoring the siblings who’d come to visit. Not that I thought I could get away with it for very long.
“If you think ignoring me will make me go away, you’re going to be disappointed,” Mel sing-songed. “Let me do my job and check on you, and I’ll leave you alone.”
Frankie shot her a curious look, leaning around me to get a better look at her. “Who’re you?”
Mel was a favorite with the kids, so she didn't even blink at the suspicious question, beaming at Frankie. “I’m Mel. I’m a nurse here to check on Mojave.”
That made Frankie sit a little straighter, determination overtaking her face in a way that made me think I wasn’t going to get out of this check up. I might be able to ignore Mel, but I couldn’t do that to Frankie.
“He got hit,” she said firmly. “In his head. The people who checked him before said he had a conkunksion.”
“Concussion,” Mel corrected with a nod. “That happens if someone gets a head injury. Which is why I’m here.
I want to check on Mojave, make sure things aren’t getting worse and that he doesn’t have to see a doctor right away.
” She tipped her head toward me, a mischievous smirk on her face.
“Think you can help me? These bikers hate when I start pokin’ ‘em. Maybe if you play nurse too, he’ll let me do my job. ”
I flashed her an irritated look, but sighed when Frankie leaned forward, intrigued. “Are you gonna give him a shot?”
Mel shook her head. “Nope. That’s not necessary. But I gotta check his eyes and where he was hit, and use some of my fun tools to check his heart and blood pressure. Wanna help?”
“Sure!”
Resigned, I scooted back from the coffee table to give them room to work. My eyes cast around in search of Rachel, but she’d gone into the kitchen and I couldn’t hear more than a low murmur from the kitchen to hear what they were talking about.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” Frankie demanded when Mel shown a light in my eyes. It still made me wince a little, and Frankie didn’t seem to like it when I made any expression of pain.
“Not if I’m fast,” Mel reassured her. “If you watch, I’m checking his pupils. When I move the light back and forth, they get bigger and smaller.”
“Is that good?”
“Yep. If they weren’t changing, then there’d be a problem. But they’re doing what they’re supposed to do, which is good. It means the hit probably wasn’t so bad that Mojave needs to see a doctor.”
Frankie nodded seriously. “Hits hurt, but I never had to go to the doctor either.”
That made Mel do a doubletake, so I explained, “Frankie was being bullied. Rachel is working with the school on it, and I walk her to and from school so she’s safe.”
Mel grimaced. “Yikes. That sounds scary. I got lucky that my big brother walked me to school. No one was going to bully me with him around.”
“I was more worried about you fighting than people picking on you,” Prez said as he returned to the room. “You were determined to stand up to bullies, even if they weren’t picking on you personally. Dad had to sit you down and have a talk to get you to stop.”
I eyed her a little closer. The only other person I met who had similar spunk to Frankie was Battle’s little sister.
I didn’t want Frankie turning out like her.
She was too ballsy and got herself into trouble because of it.
But Mel was a nurse. She didn’t get herself into trouble if she could help it.
If Frankie turned out like her, I’d have nothing to complain about.
“How’d you handle bullies after that?” I queried, hoping she’d have some insight for Frankie.
While we dealt with the little shit who threatened her, there were still those older kids who bullied Frankie on her walks to and from school.
They never approached while I was with her, but she shouldn’t be afraid of walking down the street either.
“I got loud,” Mel replied with a shrug.
Frankie and I frowned together, and Mel grinned in response.
“If I wasn’t allowed to hit them, then I was going to make sure everyone around us knew what they were doing, teachers included.
Shaming them worked better than hitting, honestly, because other kids didn’t want anything to do with them for fear of getting punished with them.
I’d yell as loud as I could about how they were hurting someone smaller than them and being mean, and not only did teachers come running, but other kids heard as well and stopped playing with them. ”
The response had its pitfalls, as Mel probably made some enemies doing that, but it was better than Frankie getting into fights.
And if she was out and about and called for help, most adults wouldn’t ignore her.
Not that I’d ever let her wander around alone anymore.
If she wanted to go out, I’d be with her so she’d stay safe.
“Is he cleared, Mel? They were just about to eat,” Prez asked.
“I just need to check his blood pressure and the spot where he got hit, then I’m done,” she reported.
Giving my attention to Prez, I told him, “I didn’t hit him first. I was protecting Rachel.”
“I know,” he said calmly. “Killian sent me the video and I spoke to Hernandez as well. You’re the victim in this, not a suspect. I’m going to keep an eye on it, make sure it gets dealt with properly, but you don’t need to worry about it.”
My eyes narrowed. “Then why are you here?”
My response made him roll his eyes. “Because you’re part of my crew? You’re my friend and I care about you? And Killian said you had a concussion. I figured I could give you a ride if you needed it, at least to Killian’s place for the night. You shouldn’t drive with a head injury.”
I appreciated that Prez never pushed about going to my place. If I was stressed, he always called Killian. And if I wasn’t currently planning on spending the night with Rachel, Killian’s place would be where I’d want to go under these circumstances.
“Thanks, but I’m good. I’m staying here tonight.”
He nodded, unbothered, then turned to Frankie. “Can I ask you a favor?”
Frankie looked bewildered that he was asking her, eyes wide. “What kinda favor?”
“Mojave’s bad at checking in with me. Can you poke him to call me tomorrow? Just so I know he’s alright.”
I would’ve rolled my eyes if the movement wouldn’t have made my head ache. “Don’t put that on her,” I grumbled. “I’ll check in tomorrow.”
Prez’s smug smile said he did it on purpose. If Frankie was involved, I’d have no other choice.
“Ready to eat?” Rachel asked as she came back into the room. Mel was just finishing up her exam, so I pushed to my feet to join her, shooting a questioning glance at Prez when he followed me and Frankie into the kitchen.
“You’re staying?”
“For a bit. There’s something we need to talk about.” He glanced at Frankie before adding, “We’ll wait until after dinner.”
Confused, I frowned at him, but Frankie pulled me to the table and scooted her chair up against mine, chattering happily about pizza and movies after dinner and keeping the attention on her.
I ate because I knew Frankie would be upset if I didn’t, but my attention was on Prez even while he talked calmly with Rachel or answered Frankie’s questions on whether he knew anything about frogs or origami.
He had a kid of his own close to Frankie’s age, so he knew how to talk to her.
It wasn’t until Frankie was distracted in the living room, showing Mel how to do origami that he finally pulled me aside to talk. What was even more surprising was that Rachel joined us. I looked between the two of them, my brow furrowed tightly, and demanded, “What’s going on?”
“Nothing bad,” Prez began, like he knew I needed to hear it before starting the conversation. “You’re not in any trouble and you haven’t done anything wrong. But we need to talk about Frankie.”
My spine stiffened. “What about her?”
Rachel raised her hands in a placating gesture.
“Again, it’s nothing bad. Not technically anyway.
It’s just… After tonight, I can’t ignore Frankie’s parents’ behavior any longer.
My supervisors were already discussing taking Frankie out of their house before this weekend happened, and after tonight, I’m going to recommend the case be marked urgent.
That means Frankie would be removed from the home right away. ”
I nodded slowly. “Yeah? That’s good.”
“It is,” she agreed. “But… Frankie’s going to need somewhere to go. None of the fosters in town have openings right now, and the closest one available is in the city, which would pull Frankie out of her current school and away from those she feels safe with.” She gave me a significant look.
My stomach dropped at the thought of Frankie being sent away. I wanted her out of that house, sure, but I didn’t want her gone. “Can’t you take her?” I argued, keeping my voice low so Frankie wouldn’t overhear. I understood now why they waited. She shouldn’t be part of this conversation.
Rachel shook her head. “As her case manager, that’s a conflict of interest. At most, I could keep her overnight in cases of emergency, but the situation with Frankie’s parents won’t be fixed overnight.
She needs somewhere to stay until they can get their act together.
I don’t think that’ll happen for at least a few months. ”
My chest tightened. “So there’s no other option?”
“There’s one,” Prez interjected. He raised his eyebrows at me. “You.”
Blinking rapidly, I stepped back automatically. “What? Me?”
Rachel pressed her lips together in a small understanding smile.
“I know it’s asking a lot, you didn’t sign up to become her guardian, but she feels safe with you and you obviously care about her.
Staying with you would give her security and keep her routines as uninterrupted as possible while we work things out with her parents. ”
“It’s only temporary,” Prez added. “The goal is for Frankie’s parents to step up and take responsibility. Rachel mentioned parenting classes and supervised visitations. You’d just be a temporary guardian until they can get their acts together.”
My heart hammered in my chest at even the implication of being Frankie’s guardian, temporary or not.
But… I didn’t want her to go either. And Rachel was right.
If she got sent away to another town or to the city, she’d be ripped away from everything that mattered to her.
It wouldn’t just be time away from her parents, she’d be leaving her school, her town, the routines we established since she started showing up in my life.
That felt… messed up. I’d been trying to protect her from the start.
Letting her get sent to a foster family and away from everything important to her wasn’t protecting her.
I promised her I’d be there. I couldn’t do that if she was taken away from here.
“Mojave…” Rachel murmured, putting her hand on my arm.
I shifted to take her hand instead, squeezing it gently because I needed grounding right then.
This felt way too big. A hell of a lot bigger than just walking a kid to school and hanging out with her afterward.
“You won’t be doing this alone. I’m still going to be there. ”
“She’s right,” Prez agreed. “You’ve got the crew too.
Believe me, at this point, we know how to handle a surprise kid in the mix.
” He gripped my shoulder tightly, leveling me with a look.
“You’re not doing this alone. You’ve got your crew.
And if you really don’t want to, that’s alright, no one is going to judge you for that.
But I think it might hurt you just as much as it would hurt Frankie if she got taken away. ”
He had a point. I hadn’t seen it coming, but I’d gotten used to having her around. Having her get sent away for months would hurt.
I shot a helpless look at Rachel. “I don’t even have a bed for her. I’d need to clear out storage, get her the things she needs…”
A slow smile spread across her face. “Now that, I can definitely help with. So you’ll do it?”
I hesitated, I still didn’t feel like the right guy for the job, but when my eyes drifted over to where Frankie sat and she glanced over her shoulder, holding up an origami figure that was more crumpled paper than crisp lines with that big grin on her face, I knew I couldn’t turn my back on her.
I promised her I’d keep showing up. I wasn’t going to break that promise.
“Okay… I’ll do it.”