I meet Rafael’s amused gaze, then scoff. This kid is going to drive me insane.
“Get some ice, Freckles.”
I blush, throwing a pointed glare at Rafael.Not in front of my brother, it says, but I doubt he even notices. After my expedition to the kitchen, I come back with ice in a cloth. Ethan holds it over his eye, and Rafael steps back. Now that he’s cleaned off the blood, it feels like I can breathe again. He’s hurt, but he’s going to be fine.
“Okay. Come out with it, Ethan. I want to know what happened and who did this. Right now.”
Ethan rolls his one good eye, then winces. “I don’t want to talk about it, Scarlett.”
“Well, you will anyway.”
Ethan looks away, as if that’s going to magically change my mind. “I said forget about it.”
Shoulders hunching, I try as hard as I can not to cry. How am I supposed to make this work? How can I hope to convince a judge he’s better-off staying with me than with my grandparents when I can’t even get him to open up?
As he handles a piece of gauze, Rafael shoots a look my way. “I get it. He doesn’t feel like opening up to hissisterand some guy she’s dating. He’s not wrong.”
Ethan bobs his head up and down in firm agreement. Whose side is Rafael on? And why did he say “sister” like that?
“You know who would know about it, though?” He snaps his fingers. “His friends.”
Ethan shifts on the couch, throat working hard.
Oh, sothat’swhat Rafael is doing. Of course, no teenager wants their sister to meddle in their life publicly.
“Right.” I pretend to be deep in thought. “Jace—that’s his best friend. My grandma must have his number.”
“Jace, huh?” Rafael’s eyes focus on mine as if Ethan isn’t even in the room. “Not that common. I bet if I run his name through the system, I’ll find only one Jace who lives in the area and is about, what, sixteen? Seventeen?”
System? What system?
I shrug. “Let’s just do that, then.”
“You can’t!” Ethan stands, sweat accumulating on his forehead. “Seriously, man? I thought we were friends.”
“Wearefriends,” Rafael says. “And friends tell each other the truth.”
“It was just a stupid fight, okay? No big deal. I’m not lying.”
“Friends,” Rafael insists as he grips his shoulder, “stand up for each other. We’re friends, Ethan. Would you let this go if you were in my place? If your sister was?”
When Ethan looks back at me, I say, “Tell us who did this. And I promise, Ethan, today’s the last time they lay hands on you. I’ll make sure of it.”
“You’ll make it worse,” he pleads, his voice breaking.
It feels like my heart is ripping open. Someone’s terrorizing him into silence, and I don’t know what to say to make him feel safe. To make him trust me.
“Okay. Forget about it,” Rafael says as he slumps back on the couch. “Wanna play someGTA?”
“S-sure.”
Ethan watches me warily as Rafael stands and turns on the console. He must think it’s weird we’d just let it go, and so do I, but I assume this is all part of Rafael’s plan.
“You know, I was bullied, too, when I was your age.”
Ethan wipes his face with the sleeve of his shirt. “Yeah, right. I know about you—bad boy Rafael Gray. Nobody would have everdaredbully you.”
Rafael makes his way over with the controllers. “No, nobody at school would bully me. At home, however…”
