AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No,” he says roughly. “He doesn’t need to hear about that. He’s just a little guy, you know?”
I nod because I do know. I nod because I think the same thing. I nod because I feel a guilty relief that Dominic has not shared his darkness with my little brother, and it’s the only thing I can do without actually saying those hurtful words out loud.
Suddenly, Dominic looks panicked. “You aren’t going to take him away, are you?” he asks in a croak, his voice louder than I’ve ever heard it.
“You aren’t going to tell him he can’t see me?” His looks down at his hands, playing with a hole on the thigh of his jeans. He bounces a leg up and down, his hair falling into his face.
“No,” Otter says, “but we are going to want to get to know you, Dominic. I’m sure Ty’s told you at least part of what’s going on, what with custody petitions and all, and we can’t take any chances. With anything. I like you, I really do, but Ty’s the most important thing here. He comes first.
Always.”
Dominic nods as we pull into the parking lot of the high school, the rain falling harder now. We get in line behind other cars, waiting until we’re at the drop-off point to let him out. “And that’s how it should be,” he says. He hesitates but then says, “Can she take him away?”
“She could,” I say, knowing there’s no question as to the “she” he’s referring to. “But not without one hell of a fight. You may not know us real well, Dominic, but you have to know that I’ve cared for Tyson long before you came into the picture. He’s mine, and I won’t let anyone take him from me.” I’m speaking about more than my mother, and I think he knows it.
Dominic looks back out the window. “I told him that he has to go to therapy. I told him I’d gone, though I didn’t really tell him why. I made up some stuff about it, about why I live with fosters. But I told him that the therapy will help him and you in the long run, not because he’s crazy or weird, but because he has to do it if you’re going to
get him.”
“Has therapy helped you?” I ask before I can stop myself.
He looks at me sharply. “I’d like to think so. But then, it’s only been six years. Things like that don’t just go away because we want them to.”
I don’t even know how to respond to that, so I choose not to. “We’re going to need to meet your fosters,” I tell him. “If you’re going to be hanging around our house, then they need to know who we are, and why you’re over there. I don’t want to create any issues for you, but I especially don’t want any problems with Ty. We’re in a position where everything we do is going to be catalogued and scrutinized, and I can’t have any mistakes being made.”
He looks resigned at this. “Yeah,” he sighs. “I’ll do it for Tyson. Just don’t expect much.”
“What do you mean?” Otter asks as he moves the Jeep forward. We’re almost to the front of the line.
“Patty and Bert are nice people,” he says. “But they’re not the most open-minded when it comes to… certain things.”
“What things?” I ask, honestly baffled.
“He means us,” Otter tells me, his eyebrows scrunched together.
“Right?”
“Yeah. They’re not… vocal about it, but you can tell it makes them uncomfortable. There was another foster kid with us last year. His name was Jared. He was angry, like most of the kids that come to their house are. He came out with a chip on his shoulder, thought he could just blast the closet door down or something, I guess. Patty and Bert just didn’t get it, and Jared left.” He shrugs. “Just one of those things.”
“Georgia says you don’t talk a lot,” I say suddenly. He looks surprised.
“But you seem to talk to us and Ty just fine.”
He looks down at his hands, and if I didn’t know any better, I would say he’s blushing. “Yeah, well,” he mumbles. “I talk. Tyson was just the first person to listen. And he said you two do as well, and I’ve learned if Tyson says something, it’s true. So….” He trails off. I know he thinks he said too much, but I think he’s said exactly the right thing.
I make a decision. “We’ll pick you and Tyson up this afternoon at three.
We’ll take you home and meet Patty and Bert. Will they be home?”
He nods slowly. “Patty will be. Bert will be getting up as he goes to work at six.”
“Good. We’ll talk to them, introduce ourselves, make sure everything is cool. Then, no one can say that there was any sneaking around behind other’s backs. Agreed?”
Dominic looks like he thinks it’s the worst idea in the world, but he nods.
“Don’t be so freaked out,” Otter admonishes him lightly. “Bear may not sound like it all the time, but he can actually be quite charming. You’ll see.”
I roll my eyes. “A lot of the time, I don’t think you’re very funny.”
