Tiago
In the eightyears of searching for my brother, I'd very rarely lost it, but it was becoming a regular occurrence and I didn't like, especially because of the strain it put on Vítor. I knew it was because we were so close, but the wait made the last eight years feel like five minutes and the last three weeks feel like ten years.
After I'd left my meeting that afternoon, I'd received a text from Fred to meet in a local café. He'd told me they were going to coordinate the arrests of more than twenty people involved in the grooming ring at the same time as they rescued the kids. Some of them were people in positions of power in politics, so they'd needed to gather all the evidence to make sure that once they were arrested, they wouldn't be able to make bail.
I hadn't seen my brother through the surveillance cameras in a few days, but Fred reassured me he was okay and his bruises seemed to be fading.
Fred had also looked like he was ready for this whole thing to be over. The black circles around his eyes were a testament to the hours he was putting in, likely going through the plans and monitoring the surveillance cameras and bugs he'd planted in the house.
Vítor drove us home from the center since I'd taken the bus to work. I looked at the moving city outside the car. So many people, so many lives. Like them, I'd had to keep moving, hold a job, pay bills, be an adult even when all I'd wanted was to curl up in a ball and ask god or whoever was in fucking charge to bring my brother back to me.
At least now I wasn't on my own. I'd never realized how alone I'd felt before. Not only had Vítor given me a safe space to open up and talk about what I'd gone through, he also didn't judge me for any of my decisions. If anything, I was starting to realize I couldn't have done anything else but move away at the earliest opportunity. I'd been a child when my stepdad abused me, and I couldn't have guessed that he'd do the same to his own son, and I still didn't know the extent of it.
Vítor was the sturdy pillar I could lean on and hold on to when things got tough, but he wasn't made of stone. I could tell that watching me go through this was hurting him, too, so I decided I'd wait until tomorrow to tell him about the text I'd received from Fred just after we'd left the center.
48 hours.
It was enough time to call on everyone who was on standby to help.
Tonight, it was just about Vítor and me.
The center was a hub of quiet activity. Everyone was ready to go as soon as the first children came in. We knew the childrens’ ages ranged from ten to fifteen and that there were eight of them in total, so even though they would probably be scared to death, they could also understand that we were trying to help.
Our largest meeting room was filled with food and drinks for all the people supporting the rescue as well as the children, although we'd also left food in each of the accommodation rooms. Those would be used to interview the children. Fred had explained that since they hadn't been able to confirm the children's identities, they would have to stay at the center until the families were contacted.
"How are you holding up, sweetheart?" Vítor asked as he rubbed my arms. I was shaking like a leaf.
"My head is struggling to choose what to focus on, the kids, Afonso, or the possibility that he may not be with any of the officers that come in today."
As scheduled, the first child arrived at eight in the morning. He was holding on to the officer that had brought him in and tried to hide behind her when I greeted them. There was no one else around because we didn't want to overwhelm the kids.
I guided the officer to the first room upstairs. That was my only job, to show the officers where to take the kids. Everyone else then played their part in turns.
One by one, the kids arrived, each with an accompanying officer. By eleven, all eight kids were in the rooms. I'd caught up with two of the nurses that had assessed them for injuries, and they told me that none of them needed further medical care but would all need extensive therapy.
The fact that these children would likely carry this with them for the rest of their lives broke my heart. No one knew what the real impact would be on them as adults, and we could only hope therapy helped.
There was some consolation in the fact that all the kids were aware they had been rescued by the authorities and were asking for their families already.
Vítor had been my shadow all morning, so I didn't question that he'd been right behind me when I needed to escape to the garden for a moment to myself. In fact, I was sure he wasn't going to let me out of sight any time soon.
I heard him sit on the stool in front of the sofa where I sat down.
"Today is the day that eight families around the country will always remember as the day their children were found," I said as tears ran down my face. They were the only release I had available to me. I could cry for the families and the children that had survived god knew what and now had a chance of a new life.
"They're happy tears, I promise. I just needed a moment to myself."
"Okay, baby. Can I hold you, though?"
I nodded and felt the sofa dip on my side and then I was being pulled into Vítor's arms. We stayed that way for I don't know how long.
By midafternoon, a few of the parents had arrived and been reunited with their children. That brought on another wave of emotions, but I had to keep focused because those parents had left their homes in a rush and had nowhere to stay. I spent another couple of hours booking accommodations, which was a good distraction from wondering where Fred was because I hadn't heard anything from him since that last text almost two days ago.
"Sweetheart, we should go home," Vítor said.
"No. Fred isn't here. I have to wait for him."
"Tiago." He came closer and put his hands on either side of my face, stealing a kiss.
