“Trevor, help your brother reach the shower.”
“I don’t need help.” Daniel gave Trevor a warning look.
“Your brother did you wrong, and he will make it right. From now on, he's to ensure you are acclimating properly.”
In other words, Trevor would be keeping an extra eye on Daniel’s every move, making it the best punishment he had ever gotten.
He rose to his feet and offered Daniel his hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up. You’ll feel better in no time.”
Daniel reluctantly accepted the help. He grimaced and leaned against Trevor to avoid putting pressure on his wounded leg.
“Make sure he washes beneath his arms,” Kim calledwhen they were about to reach the stairs.
“I’ll sponge him myself!” When Daniel tensed, Trevor whispered, “Relax, I'm joking. I’ll only watch.”
*
Trevor was so goddamn bored. He had been sitting outside of Robert’s office for the last two hours, waiting for Daniel’s study session to finish. It had been a long time since Trevor had to sit through one of those unpleasant affairs, and Andy had never been invited because what was the point?
But things were noticeably different with Daniel, who was quickly turning into Robert’s dream pupil.
Trevor tried to focus on the horror book he was reading when Andy came over holding a silver box.
“What’s that?” He put the book down.
“I got it from Amazon.” Andy sat and handed Trevor the box.
He opened it and picked up one of the needles. “Do you really need so many?”
“They’re a bit different in size, see? I can pick whichever I want for different places.”
“Daniel might freak out.” Trevor returned the needle with the rest. To be honest, the last three months had made Daniel much less prone to freaking out over anything.
“I’ll tie him down before I start, silly.” Andy took backhis box and held it close like a treasure.
“Don’t push it, okay? He’s been stuck there with Robert for over two hours. He’ll likely be a wreck when they’re done.”
Right on cue, Daniel’s cry of pain sounded from inside the office. Trevor wondered if the reason was a belt, a paddle, or a slap.
“Yeah, maybe wait for tomorrow,” Trevor told Andy, picking up his horror book.
“Why do I always have to wait? He can sleep in my room tonight.”
“He’s sleeping inmyroom.”
“Then I can play with him there. Pleeeese.”
Trevor considered that. He had indeed been unfair to Andy about sharing their brother. He never expected to feel such ownership toward Daniel, but the feeling was undeniable. “Okay, fine.”
Andy hugged him tight, smelling like Doritos.
“Calm down. I didn’t invite you to move in with us.” But he didn’t push Andy away because the hug felt nice.
“Did you take your pills?”
Andy let go and made a face. “I hate them. They make me feel funny.”
“I know, but you promised.”
