Angel of Redemption (11 page)

“
Yes. Okay, that
’
s fantastic. Thank you, sir. Yes, I
appreciate it. Okay. Good night.
”
My dad hangs up the phone and motions
for me to come the rest of the way in.
“
Hi.
Hey, I
’
m
going to need the house financials for the month.
”

Right.
Business first, family pleasantries later.

“
I know. They
’
re almost ready. I had two new kids
come in on Wednesday night, so I had to make some adjustments.
”

“
Two? You
’
re
maxed out, then?
”
My dad raises his eyebrows. He ran
Wyatt House for too long not to know the dynamics. He knows that being at
capacity is a risk. For some reason, the seventh kid seems to throw off the
balance.

“
Yeah. They
’
re brothers
—
package deal.
”

My
father looks at me skeptically.
“
How are they adjusting?
”

“
So far, so good. I honestly haven
’
t spent a lot of time around them yet.
Matty seems pretty quiet, keeps to himself. Logan
’
s much more verbose.
”

My
dad chuckles.
“
Which one are you more concerned
about?
”

“
Both,
”
I admit.
“
Logan
’
s putting up a front, I guarantee it.
But I
’
m not sure about Matty. He
’
s hard to read. He seems able to relate to Kayla, though,
so there is hope.
”

“
Kayla?
”
He cocks his head to the side.

“
Social worker.
”
I shrug, trying to ignore the fact that just her name has
me on edge. My dad is studying me, and I
’
m positive that he can hear my heart beating in my chest. I
look away, refusing his eye contact.

“
Dean,
”
he finally says, his voice sounding odd.
“
Your mother is worrying herself sick over you.
”

“
Dad, I could call her every day and
she
’
d
still find a reason to worry. I
’
m fine.
”

He
lets out a deep throaty laugh; he knows I
’
m right. Even after all this time, she still wants to treat
me like I
’
m
her little boy. Unfortunately, that ship sailed a long time ago. My dad stands
up.

“
Come on. I
’
m sure dinner is almost ready.
”

We
walk out together and head back to the kitchen.

“
Are you planning on staying awhile?
”
My mom asks, sparing me a sideways glance.

“
Uh, yeah, I guess. Why?
”

“
Then take off your coat and make
yourself comfortable.
”

Oh.
Right. I probably should have thought about what I was wearing when I got
dressed this morning. Or I should have remembered to change before I came over.
But I guess there
’
s
nothing I can do about it now. I pull off my coat and toss it over one of the
stools. I
’
m
wearing a short-sleeved shirt, my arms on display, and my collar is low enough
that she can see the tip of the words printed across my chest. My dad purses
his lips together and shakes his head. I know exactly what
’
s coming.

“
Oh, Dean,
”
my mother sighs.
“
Why
don
’
t
you just get those things removed? You look like such a hoodlum.
”

“
Thanks, Mom,
”
I mutter sarcastically. I refuse to argue. Arguing only
encourages her to continue. I like my ink. And it covers the scars. The ink is
much easier to look at than the scars. I don
’
t think she
’
s thought about that.

“
You do realize the quality of women
you attract, looking like you do?
”

“
Maria, please stop,
”
my dad groans. He
’
s not a fan of my ink, but for some reason he
’
s defending me.

“
I just think
—”

“
He knows what you think, honey. You
tell him every time we see him.
”

I
gape at my father. This is fucking weird. He has always been of the mind that I
should take responsibility for myself; fight my own battles. The day I was
arrested, when I thought he was coming to bail me out, he just stood in front
of me, emotionless.

“
You deserve to be in prison if you
’
re going to make such stupid
decisions, Dean. I will not feel sorry for you.
”
Then he walked out, leaving me in lockup with the drunks
and prostitutes. It sounds harsh, but he was right. I had every opportunity in
the world and I flushed them all down the fucking toilet
—
twice.

My
mom is not happy. She pours herself a very full glass of red wine and drinks
half of it down in two gulps. I excuse myself, grabbing a few plates out of the
cabinet and some silverware from the drawer to set the dining room table. She
’
s about to lay the smack down, and I
don
’
t
want to be here for it in case I get caught in the middle.

I
can hear them bickering, but the words aren
’
t clear. They
’
re intentionally keeping their voices
down. A few minutes later, my dad comes through the doorway with water glasses.
I wait for him to lecture me, but he doesn
’
t. We finish setting the table in silence. When my mom
joins us, she doesn
’
t harp on about the way that I live or the fact that I don
’
t have a woman or that my apartment is
too old, too small, and in a horrible part of the city. These are the things I
usually hear about every time I
’
m here. I love my mother, but she
’
s a fucking busybody.

I
stay a couple more hours. At least I
’
m
not sitting on my ass at home alone.

Dean

By the end of the weekend, I
’
m going fucking crazy. I show up at
Wyatt House six hours earlier than I
’
m technically supposed to be there. I can hear the kids
playing video games in the den, and I smile. I
’
ve missed the chaos.

“
Dean!
”
someone shouts as I walk into the room. There are teenagers
everywhere. Not only are all seven of my boys in here, but at least four other
boys and three girls have been added to the mix.

I
recognize two of the visiting boys as regular friends and one of the girls as
Jax
’
s
girlfriend, Tia. That chick is something else. She
’
s sitting on his lap, wearing a pair
of skintight black shorts. She has on thigh high socks with that little cartoon
cat that seems to be popular again all over them, and a pair of black Chucks on
her feet. Her shirt has the same little cat dressed up like a vampire and it
says
“
BITE ME
.
”
I frown when I notice Jax
’
s hand is hidden underneath. It
’
s just barely moving, but I know what
that little shit
’
s
up to. He meets my eyes and smirks, but then removes his hand before I have to
get on his case. I know there are much worse things he could be doing, but if I
gave him an inch, he
’
d take a mile.

One
of the other girls appears to be Brayden
’
s flavor of the month. She
’
s sitting next to him wearing his
sweatshirt, his arm casually draped over her shoulders. She and the third girl
are whispering and giggling.

I’m surprised and happy to see that Matty is here,
too. He’s hiding in the corner reading a book, but he’s here.

My
brother is in the middle of a heated game of Halo with Edgar. Chips, popcorn,
and soda cans are everywhere. I am not cleaning up this shit.

“
Hey, you
’
re here early,
”
Aiden calls out without looking at me.
“
You get bored?
”

“
Yeah,
”
I respond stepping my way over teenage bodies in order to
get to an empty chair. Brayden throws me a can of Coke, and I tap the top. I
don
’
t
trust these jokers not to try and give me a bath.

“
Oh, come on, Dean. I wouldn
’
t do that to you,
”
Brayden laughs.

“
Sure you wouldn
’
t.
”
I pop the top and lean back. It
’
s good to be back.

Later,
Aiden and I head back to my office to chat. It
’
s about time to clear the air. I
’
m barely seated when he starts
talking.

“
Look, Dean. I
’
m sorry. I didn
’
t mean to bring it all up again. It
’
s just really fucking frustrating to
watch you isolate yourself.
”

“
I don
’
t isolate myself,
”
I say defensively.

“
Yes, you do. You
’
re twenty-nine years old and single.
You should be fucking the shit out of anything with tits. Instead, you
’
re like a married old dude, except
your wife is this house and she doesn
’
t put out. It
’
s sad, man.
”

“
I can get laid whenever I want to.
”

“
I know you can. So why don
’
t you?
”

“
For fuck
’
s
sake. It
’
s been, like, a few months. And I got
a blow job about six weeks ago.
”

“
Really? From who?
”
he asks curiously.

I
roll my eyes.
“
Doesn
’
t
matter. Look, I know you
’
re concerned, but if I want to be a
bachelor or a hermit or whatever for the rest of my life, then it
’
s my fucking business.
”
Aiden watches me for a moment. I know he wants to argue,
but he doesn
’
t.

“
Okay, I
’
ll drop it. So, how was dinner with
Mom and Dad?
”
He waggles his eyebrows at me as he
changes the subject, and I laugh. Just like that, we
’
re back to normal.

“
Actually, it wasn
’
t so bad.
”

“
Really?
”

“
Yeah, Mom wants us to help her with
the Spring Gala.
”

“
Are you kidding?
”
he snorts. I shake my head, grinning.
“
What did you tell her?
”

“
I told her no. Seriously? If it were
up to me, we
’
d
have chicken wings and beer.
”

“
Dude.
”
Aiden lifts his hand up, and I slap it.

“
You might want to warn Emily. I think
she
’
s
next on the hit list.
”

“
Will do,
”
he agrees.

We
continue to talk for a little while until we
’
re
interrupted by a loud
bang
followed
by shouting.

“
What the hell was that?
”
I ask, standing. Aiden
’
s already out the door and making his way down the hallway.
I jog to catch up and can hear yelling.

As
we get closer to the den, the voices get clearer. Some sort of fight
’
s broken out. Aiden and I start running. When we get there,
we find a mass of boys crowded together. They
’
re pushing, shoving, and yelling.
Brayden
’
s
girl and her friend have pressed themselves against the wall, and Tia is
standing on the coffee table trying to get a better look.

“
What the hell is going on?
”
I yell. They either don
’
t hear me, or they don
’
t give a shit. Aiden and I storm in
and start peeling kids away. When I get to the center, I find Brayden and Jax
holding Logan back while Edgar is trying to pull Matty off of one of the
visiting boys.

This
is the last thing I expected to see. Matty is throwing punches like there
’
s no tomorrow while Logan screams
profanities. I tap Edgar
’
s arm and motion for him to step back as Aiden and I grab
onto Matty.

“
You fucking freak!
”
the kid wails. Matty
’
s not letting go, so we tug a little harder. All of a
sudden, he turns and lands a punch square on my jaw. I
’
m startled, but not hurt. His eyes go
wide as he realizes exactly what he
’
s
just done, and I watch his internal downward spiral. His face pales, his
breathing accelerates, and his body goes limp. This is not good. I don
’
t have a good enough hold on him and
he slips to the ground and curls up into a ball. Not good at all.

“
Fuck! You fucking asshole, I
’
m gonna beat the shit outta you!
”
Logan howls. The kid he
’
s talking to looks like he
’
s about to be sick, but there
’
s still an air of defiance in his
stance. Aiden takes control, gathering him and all the other non-Wyatt House
kids and ushering them out while sending the rest of our boys to their rooms. I
bend down and reach out to Matty.

“
No!
”
Logan shouts.
“
Don
’
t fucking touch him.
”

“
Why not?
”
I ask.

“
He
—
he
doesn
’
t
like to be touched
… Get Kayla. She
knows what to do.
”

I
turn and nod at Aiden, who has just returned to the room.
“
Go call Kayla,
”
I direct. My brother nods and I turn my focus back to the
boys.
“
Logan, what happened?
”

“
That kid, Rusty or whatever the fuck
his name is, started making fun of Matty, calling him names and shit. I told him
to shut the fuck up, but he wouldn
’
t. He just kept it up. Matty tried to ignore him, but then
he just fucking hit him.
”

I
sit back and stare at Matty. I feel so fucking helpless as he rocks back and
forth on the floor. I tell Logan three times I
’
m calling the paramedics, but he begs
me not to. He says it
’
ll only make things worse because Matty won
’
t let them touch him, and they
’
ll have to sedate him. This has
apparently happened before.

Matty
doesn
’
t
look good. He
’
s
almost catatonic, but he
’
s still panting. I
’
m about two seconds from calling the paramedics despite
Logan
’
s
protests when the doorbell rings. Aiden runs to get it.

“
Jesus Christ, what happened?
”
Kayla gasps when she enters the room. She doesn
’
t wait for an answer. Instead, she
runs to Matty, kneeling down in front of him. She grabs his head between her
hands, leans in, and begins speaking quietly.

“
Matthew. It
’
s Kayla. You
’
re safe. No one is going to hurt you.
Open your eyes and look at me, sweetie.
”

He
doesn
’
t
respond and she tries again.
“
Matty, honey, look at me.
”

His
hands reach up to grab her wrists, but he doesn
’
t try to push her away. They sit there
like that for several long minutes while she continues to talk to him in a low
voice. I watch as his breathing begins to regulate. His eyes open and he blinks
slowly. Kayla still has her hands on his head.

“
That
’
s right, Matty. Good job. You
’
re doing a great job, honey. Take deep
breaths. Can you sit up?
”
she asks softly. He starts to move his
body slowly until he
’
s in a seated position. Kayla continues to work on him.
“
Do you know where you are?
”

He
nods. His eyes flicker to mine, but immediately dart back to Kayla. His mouth
moves minutely, but I can
’
t hear what he
’
s saying. Kayla glances toward me.

“
It
’
s okay, honey. It
’
ll be okay. We
’
ll figure it out. Right now I want you
to close your eyes and breathe, okay?
”

Matty
does what she says. Kayla stands, resting her hand on the back of his head.
Logan must see this as some sort of a sign because he reaches out his hand and
Matty takes it, letting his brother pull him into a standing position. Logan
towers over his little brother in a protective manner as Kayla rubs his back. I
feel left out of the process, and I don
’
t like it.

Matty is shaking as he approaches me timidly.

“
I
-
I
’
m sorry, Dean. I didn
’
t mean to hit you. I
-
I wasn
’
t thinking.
”
The look on his face rips me up. He
looks scared and sad. I
’
m not used to this. Matty is a different breed of child,
and I
’
m
not quite sure how to proceed with him.