I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to believe him, but I didn’t know how. I was still reeling at the fact that they were here, that they were real. I was being pulled in a thousand different directions, and I didn’t know which way was up. “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “I can’t think straight. My head, it’s….”
“I know,” Joe said quietly. “But for once in your life, just stop. Let us help you. You don’t have to be strong for us all the time. We need to be that for you now. We would do anything for you.” He sniffled. “You need to start remembering that you’re not alone. We need you just as much as you need us.”
I went to them then. I couldn’t not. They were ready for me, arms open wide. They surrounded me, my head against their shoulders, and they allowed me this moment. To break. To be tired. To wish that things could be different. Joe’s hand was in my hair, and Kelly was whispering in my ear, voice wet and cracked, saying he was still angry with me but that he was never going to let me go, that I was theirs, theirs, theirs, and it wasn’t just a matter of pack. “We’re brothers,” he said. “And no one will ever be able to take that away from us. Carter, don’t you see? We found you. We found you.”
They held me up as my knees gave out, and I knew no matter what happened next, I wasn’t going to be alone.
scar tissue/broken parts
Gordo stood in one corner of the cabin, Gavin in another.
They glared at each other, neither of them speaking.
They barely acknowledged us when Joe closed the door behind him. “Going well?” he asked.
“Heard every word you said,” Gordo grunted.
“Talking,” Gavin said. “Always talking.”
“It’s genetic,” Gordo said. “They never shut up.”
“Speaking of genetics,” Kelly muttered.
Gavin and Gordo turned their heads at the same time to look at him, eyes narrowed.
“We’re leaving,” Joe announced. “In the morning. All of us.”
Gavin snarled. Joe looked unaffected. He had the Zen Alpha bullshit going on, something he’d obviously learned from Ox. He repeated, “All of us.”
Gavin shook his head furiously. “Can’t. Stay here. Need to stay here.”
Joe said, “Do you know me?”
Gavin looked confused. “Joe. Alpha.”
Joe cocked his head. “Do you remember me from before? In Green Creek.”
“Yes.”
“And you remember the pack.”
He hesitated.
“Their names,” Joe said. “Tell me their names.”
He looked at me, but I didn’t speak.
Gavin said, “Joe. Kelly. Carter.” He sneered. “Gordo.”
Gordo rolled his eyes.
“Who else?” Joe asked.
“Stop.”
“Who else?”
Gavin backed away slowly, but he didn’t have far to go. His back hit the wall. He said, “Why?”