My phone dinged, so I took it out and saw a text from Fred.
"Fred is meeting us at the apartment," I said.
I hugged Vítor and took a deep breath to gather strength for whatever was coming next.
"Let's go then."
I tried to quell my disappointment when we arrived at the apartment and Fred wasn't there waiting for us.
"Let's grab a shower before he gets here okay? You'll feel better for it," Vítor said.
"You only want to get me naked," I teased, more to convince myself everything was okay than any desire to have sex.
"Baby, I always want to get you naked, but this time, we're only having a shower, okay?"
I took his hand and followed him to the bedroom where he undressed me and led me to the shower. He hadn't exactly kept his hands off me, or his lips, but he'd kept them so tame I wanted to cry for feeling so loved.
Vítor left me a little longer in the shower to go and prepare something for us to eat. I stood there under the spray, thinking about what might happen tonight and how I felt about it. I wanted to see and hold my brother in my arms so badly it was like a living thing bubbling under my skin, but I also needed to consider that eight years was a long time. I had no idea what he'd gone through in that time. He'd had to somehow find his place in that horrid world so he could help other kids.
That took strength. Even if he wasn't ready to see me, I was still so proud of him. Maybe Fred could tell him that for me.
I turned the water off and grabbed a towel to dry myself. I noticed I'd lost weight, and I'd seen the bags under my eyes, but I knew I was strong. I smiled at my reflection in the mirror and then went back to the bedroom to get dressed.
When I turned into the living room, I didn't get a chance to think about the voices I heard before a body slammed into me and tightened his arms around my waist.
Both Vítor and Fred were too tall and bulky, which could only mean one thing.
"Afonso," I cried as I tightened my arms around him. My eyes were shut tight as I processed the feeling of his small body against mine. He was warm, breathing, hugging back. He was here.
Vítor's touch on my arm made me finally open my eyes and look up. I had no idea how long I'd been locked in the embrace with my brother, but clearly, it had been long enough that Vítor thought we might be more comfortable on the sofa.
I nodded but didn't move because Afonso hadn't either. I ran my hands through his short hair and over his back. Afonso had always been a small child, so I wasn't surprised to see he hadn't grown as tall as me. He was also very slight, but I didn't know if that was his natural constitution or if he was undernourished.
"Hey, Flea."
He chuckled at the old nickname I used to call him when we were young.
"Let's sit on the sofa," I said.
He stood straight, and I had the chance to look at his face properly for the first time in eight years. There was a little bit of bruising still, but it was nearly gone. Fred was right, Afonso looked so much like me we could pass for twins if it wasn't for the clear age difference.
I put my arm around his shoulders and guided him to the sofa. We both sat sideways so we could face each other, and I had to hold his hand because I still didn't believe this was real. I felt Vítor's hand on my back, soothing me and reminding me he was here. I looked at Vítor, and his eyes were slightly red, as were Fred's, who was sitting next to my brother looking like he wanted to be closer but was holding himself back.
"Are you okay?" I asked Afonso.
"Yes, I think I am." He looked behind himself to Fred who smiled and nodded as though he was guaranteeing Afonso's safety.
"I don't know where to start," I admitted. "I have so many questions… so much to tell you."
"Me too," he said.
"Fred, what happened today? Is Afonso really safe?" That was my first and most important question. The answer would dictate what we did next.
"He's safe. Everything went according to plan, and we made the necessary arrests. The reason we weren't able to get to you earlier was because we had to take Afonso's statement. He's our best witness, but he was living at the property, so I needed to make sure he wasn't going to be arrested."
"Will anyone come for him now?"
"It's unlikely because the man who owned the house Afonso lived in was very good at keeping him a secret, and when we orchestrated the rescue, we made it look like he was coming against his will. They also know him by another name."
