Noah looked ready to tear his hair out when Michael nodded again. “Why?”
Michael began a series of hand gestures and sign language. At least, that’s what Drew thought it was. It wasn’t traditional sign language, that he understood thanks to a deaf neighbor growing up. “He doesn’t speak?”
Max nodded and talked quietly to Drew as he watched Michael’s explanation. “He can but it gets mixed up. It’s a condition from an operation that he had. He’s not deaf and he understands everything perfectly so do not treat him like he’s dumb.”
It was obvious to Drew that Max felt protective of their older brother because of his disability. “Wasn’t going to. What’s he saying?”
“That he had reasons for not telling us,” Max shook his head in wonder. “Like trying to protect the two of us.”
“From what?” Drew questioned.
“From the disappointment of our father. Plus, according to Michael, some of our newfound relatives might not be the best of people,” Max shrugged. “I guess it’s not like some of them wouldn’t try to take advantage of the situation. Just how many new siblings do we have?”
Michael looked at Max a little guiltily.
“You mean there’s more than just him?” Noah pointed.
“Well, I’ve got a sister and brother,” Drew said dryly.
“More than that?” Max asked.
Michael gave another short nod.
“How many?” Noah wanted to know. “Just how many other kids does Dad have? How many affairs did he have? This is going to devastate Mom.”
Michael immediately put a finger to his lips in a universal ‘shush’ gesture.
“She has to know,” Max said reasonably. “It’s not like we can hide this.”
“Why not?” Noah threw his hands in the air. “Michael’s been hiding it for… how long?”
Michael grimaced.
“I managed to get Morgan to sleep despite all the noise,” a woman came into the room. She paused in surprise looking at Drew. “Oh wow! You do look so much alike.”
“So I’ve been told,” Drew said dryly.
“This is my wife, Piaget,” Max introduced her. “Piaget this is Drew. He’s the guy that saved my life.”
“Thank you so much for doing that,” Piaget shook his hand in greeting. “If you ever need anything, please let us know.”
“What I need is Kelly’s phone number,” Drew hauled out the bag of prescription drugs and set it on the table. “She’s a nurse and I want a second opinion on all these medications that have been prescribed for Bethany. Especially the ones that have been issued in the last three days. I understand that you know her.”
“That’s a lot of pills,” Piaget said faintly as Noah picked a few containers out of the bag and started looking at them.
Max searched through his phone, coming up with the contact information. “Here.”
A cellphone trilled, and Bethany automatically reached in her coat pocket, pulling it out. She clicked off the alarm. She grabbed the bag of drugs in confusion. “I don’t know which ones I’m supposed to take.”
“None of them,” Drew pulled the bag away from her.
“No,” Bethany protested. She furrowed her brows together. “The alarm went off. It’s time to take my pills. They were on the kitchen table but now they aren’t. I don’t know where I am. Where am I?”
“Bethany,” Drew pulled out a chair and sat in front of her. “You don’t need to take any pills.”
“I have to!” she began to be agitated. She bit her lip as her body trembled. “I need to take my pills on time.”
“Why?” he asked softly. “What happens if you don’t take them?”
