Jack grinned. “But then you spent a bit of time with them and realized they were the least dangerous people you’d ever met?”
I giggled. “Something like that for sure. I mean they’re fierce when they’re protecting someone. I should know.”
“Of course they are, they’re good people.”
“But now…I guess everyone’s shown me that they can be trusted and that we are family even though we’re not related by blood.”
“You do know that the old saying ‘blood is thicker than water’ is incomplete?” he asked when we got to a corner I hadn’t gone around before.
I leaned into the wall and Bucky leaned into me. “It is?”
“Yeah. See, they use it incomplete to say that blood family comes first, right?” At my nod, he continued, “But it’s actually ‘blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb.’”
I thought for a moment, liking that he let me figure it out for myself. “So what they’reactuallysaying is the exact opposite?”
Jack grinned. “Yes. Even if you’d sort of modernize the wording, the meaning still remains. Basically it says that who you choose is more important than who you’re related to.”
“Huh.” I pushed away from the wall and rounded the corner.
It made sense to me. Everyone who had an ounce of honesty in themselves knew that sometimes the families you were born in were shitty as fuck. The idea of suffering in silence because they were your family had never sat right with me.
We got around the house this time. From the back door to the front.
I turned to Jack and looked at him. “My father’s name is Silas Ryker.” Then I opened the front door and went inside, my heart beating in my chest like crazy.
I knew Jack would look him up and I knew what he’d find. Part of that made me feel terrified, but mostly I felt only relief. It was still a secret he wouldn’t tell anyone else, but I wanted someone here to know.
* * * *
When Jack didn’t mention my past in the next few days, I relaxed again. He might have the knowledge, but he’d keep it close to his vest and I was pretty sure he didn’t want to upset me.
Then, one night, River got one of his work calls.
See, River’s boss, Dr. Toby Cobb, had this super-inclusive awesome clinic about twenty-five minutes from the rescue. What most people, even those who worked there, didn’t know was that during the night time, there were what River called “night visitors.” They had put out word that they would treat street kids and especially LGBTQ youth without asking questions.
Only in situations where they couldn’t help, where the injuries were too bad, would they be taken to a hospital. Most of the time, River and Toby patched the people up and sent them on their way.
When River got a call in the night, he left the house and went to help. It didn’t happen too often, but when it did, he was always ready.
But that night, the call was pretty bad, because it was about two siblings who lived on the streets together and this was their third visit to the clinic.
It all led into our new roommate, Mona. She was something like six years old, and her big brother Madden was my age. They’d been living on the streets since their mom died few years ago, and I was in awe of Madden for having managed to keep them together and safe.
Until that night. There’d been close calls before, but that night one of Madden’s, erm, clients—yes, he was hustling, but we don’t condemn sex work in this house—beat him up pretty badly.
When I woke up the next morning, there was a little girl sleeping on the couch in the living room.
Jack quietly told me that her brother was and would be in the hospital for at least several days while they waited for him to get better.
At least Toby had connections to the social services and somehow he managed to use his magic to make sure nobody would hassle the kids. Their worst fear was to be separated, and that had been the first question from Mona when River had told him Toby had to take her brother to the hospital.
I hated that a six-year-old had to have more street smarts than I ever would have, but the world was a fucked-up place. Again, I was reminded of how fortunate I was, despite everything that had happened.
* * * *
Mona became Theo’s little sidekick. She got riding lessons for helping at the stable, which was kind of adorable. During the nights, she bounced between the couch, Lake and Theo’s bed, or the couch in the cabin River and Ben shared.
When she chose the couch, Jack normally slept on the other one so she’d feel safer. When she went to Lake’s bedroom, either him or Theo ended up on the couch instead, because she was a kicker. And whenever she slept in the cabin, Sofia, one of the pit bulls, wanted to sleep on the floor next to her, despite not really being an indoors dog otherwise.
