“We were in Florida,” Gray answered. “The bad men brought us there.”
Jayden glanced away and slipped a hand under his jacket to scratch his shoulder.
“I want you to know you don’t have to be alone, Jayden,” Gray murmured. “I promised Jonas I would be there for you. He loved you so much…”
He couldn’t shake the memory of Jonas’s last moment in life. It’d been dark underneath that lifeboat, but Gray had seen the panic. The absolute fear for his little brother. It was as if the gunshot wound in his neck had been an afterthought. He’d spluttered and choked. Jayden. Brother. J-Jayden. And Gray had stammered and promised he’d help. He’d vowed to find Jayden and be there for him. And after that… Jonas had calmed down and stopped shaking. He’d exhaled and squeezed Gray’s hand. He’d drawn a few more shallow breaths before fading away.
“I don’t need help,” Jayden muttered, eyes downcast. “I’m fine. Jonas taught me everything I gotta know. I’m a big boy.”
Except, he wasn’t. He was a child who should be able to take stability and safety for granted.
“I’m sure you’re doing a great job all on your own,” Gray said patiently. “Can I ask where you live?”
Jayden shrugged. “Here and there. Pat gives me money for every night I stay with Sister Margaret. He doesn’t like it when I’m out too much.”
“Who’s Pat?”
“A friend,” he replied vaguely. “He’s better than Finn—that’s his brother. Cuz when I see him, he always tries to get me adopted, and I don’t wanna be adopted. Foster families are the worst. Finn says he would find the best family for me, but that’s just shit. Families want babies.”
Gray flicked a glance over at Father O’Malley. The old man was talking to someone, though he looked over at Gray and Jayden frequently.
It hit Gray that even though Jayden didn’t have a family, he’d built up a network of sorts of people he could rely on for certain things.
“What’s your name?” Jayden asked.
Gray smiled carefully. “Gray.”
Jayden nodded and looked down, fidgeting with his scarf and swinging his legs lightly. His anger had taken a break.
“Not all families want babies,” Gray murmured. “A couple years ago, my mom met someone who has an adult daughter. Now she’s my sister, and my mother views her as a daughter of her own. And my best friend and his brother were adopted when they were older.” Well, Abel had been very young, but his big brother, Jesse, had been around nine or ten, if Gray wasn’t mistaken. “Their mom is awesome. She runs a shelter too—like the one you go to for meals.”
“I can’t stay at the shelter,” Jayden said. “The lady from CPS comes all the fucking time.”
Gray lifted his brows, mildly entertained by the kid’s language.
“So, you’re gonna hide forever?”
Jayden shot him a look that basically asked if he was stupid. “No. Just till I turn eighteen.”
“Ah. What about school?”
“Sister Margaret is a teacher. She taught me to read and write, and I’m good at math.”
The boy had an answer for everything, it seemed.
It was time to bring Jonas into the discussion. “Jonas had plans for you, didn’t he? He spoke about getting an apartment for the two of you. A fresh start with a proper home.”
“Yeah, but he’s dead, so that’s not gonna happen.” Some of the anger returned, and Jayden threw his scarf next to him and folded his arms over his chest. “I’ll be fine. I need nine dollars a day, and that’s easy. I get breakfast for free at the bakery. They give me yesterday’s bread and hot chocolate—and they’re only a little annoying because they want me to listen to Finn. And I get lunch at the shelter. The money is for dinner and sometimes the bus.” He paused and played with the zipper on his coat. “Malley gives me clothes when I need them, and I help Sister Margaret with laundry and stuff. I like sleeping on her couch because her cat visits me lots and naps at my feet.”
Gray would give anything to be able to let Jonas know that his little brother was a trooper who’d managed to find his way in a tight-knit community.
It just wasn’t enough. Gray’s heart ached for Jayden. Had he ever experienced real peace? Jonas wouldn’t have left Jayden without being certain that his brother was okay for the time being, but beyond that? An eight-year-old shouldn’t have to settle for uncertainty and barely “okay.”
The big house back home in Washington that Abel’s mom used for her shelter darted past in Gray’s mind, and he found himself wanting to show Jayden more than what he had here. The people here were probably great, but when push came to shove, a kid living on the streets was a goddamn tragedy.
“What does Father O’Malley want you to do?” Gray asked curiously.