I put him at arm’s length so he can see my face, I want to be honest with him, but I want him to see my face when I speak. "Look, Mase, I won't lie to you, she might not feel better to begin with, and she might be upset for a little while, but when she realises that we are here to help, she will start to feel better. You both will." I grab hold of his hand and walk him over to my chair. I take a seat and lift him into my lap. The kid might be nine, but he's all fucking skin and bones, they both are, and it pisses me off.
Nobody in the room says anything, we're all waiting to see if the kid says anything or completely shuts down. I nod up to Marissa, and she smiles then gives Wrath a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.
"Mase, do you want anything to drink, some water or some soda?" Nitro asks, trying to ease his nerves, but the kid just shakes his head, then drops his eyes, fixed on a spot on the floor.
"Mason?" We all turn to see Tongue watching the kid. "What if I said that I think I might understand how you feel?"
We all look at him, confused. Tongue doesn’t really give much away, he's never told anyone about his past, except for Nitro’s dad. He's guarded about where he comes from and how he ended up here. We don't push him, he'll tell us if he wants to.
"How about you just tell us the one thing you told Marissa, and then I can tell you if I understand or not?" he tries again.
"But Marissa already told you what I said," he says, looking at Tongue. Kid isn’t stupid.
"Fair point," Tongue concedes. "So, you know that I do understand. I promise my brothers will help. All you have to do is tell them."
"But—"
"No buts, buddy. Tongue is right, we'll help you. You trust me, don't you?" I ask.
"Yes."
"And you trust Wrath and Marissa?" I say.
"Yes."
"Then I promise you can trust the rest of my brothers." I watch his face, his eyes flicking back and forth between mine, before moving to the rest of my brothers. He looks at Nitro last, then drops his hands, twisting them around one another.
He lets out a huge sigh, like he’s building up the courage to speak. Another minute of silence passes before he looks up at me. "Nova was washing up. My aunt and uncle came home and slammed the door, it gave Nova a fright and she dropped a plate, and it smashed."
He takes another deep breath but doesn’t take his eyes off mine. "They were really mad at her; Aunt June yelled at her and slapped her across the face, and then Uncle Roger broke four of her fingers."
"Thank you for telling us, buddy. I know that was hard, but you know you had to tell us, don't you?" I ask him. My insides are fucking boiling but I'm doing my best to stay calm for him, I don't want to stress him out any more than he already is, but I'm ready to blow. And judging by the atmosphere in the room, the rest of the brothers feel the same.
"Are you going to send us away?" he asks in a small voice.
"What?"
"No."
"Never."
Brothers around me yell in unison before I've even had a chance to process what he’s just asked.
"Why would you think that?" Nitro asks him.
Mason looks to Prez then back over to me and the back to Prez again. "Because Uncle Roger said that if we tried to run away again, or if we told anyone, that they would send us back to them. I don't want to go back, they really hurt Nova. Please don't make us go back," he begs.
Nitro leans forward. "You're going nowhere, kid. You and your sister are staying put. We'll take care of you, okay?"
Mason blinks several times, then tears begin to roll down his face. I wipe them away and then pull him into a hug. I rub my hands up and down his back, trying to soothe him, but his body begins to shake as he's suddenly racked with sobs. "Buddy, please don't cry, it's going to be okay," I tell him. I don't think he heard me though, he's way too stressed out right now.
"Ice." I look up to see Tongue standing next to me. "Let me take him."
I shake my head. "Nah, I got him, brother. Just give him a minute."
"He doesn’t need a minute, he needs air. I'm asking you to trust me and let me take him.” His eyes plead with mine, and I nod, letting him take the kid, despite me not wanting to let him go.
"Take my woman with you, Tongue," Wrath tells him as Tongue lifts Mason from my knee and carries him toward the door. He stops and rounds on Wrath, anger flashing across his face putting us all on edge. He doesn’t lose his shit very often, but when he does, he really does.
