Never let her go

Chapter 9

Ezra POV

Lucy’s quiet sob was like a knife through my heart.

My eyes snapped to her, and my protective older brother side came out. I almost ripped her out of Theo and Noah’s arms.

“Honey, no, he didn’t mean it like that.” I said, panicked that Liam’s words scared her.

I jabbed my elbow into his ribs. What the hell was he thinking, saying something like that in front of her?! That was her mother, for God’s sake.

Noah wiped the tears from her face while Theo tightened his grip on her. Her eyes never left Liam.

“I am sorry, Sunshine.” Liam said, reaching out and taking her hand.  “I should not have said that.”

“You knew that she was dead?” she asked quietly, her voice filled with pain.

“I didn’t know.” Liam answered. “I found out yesterday.”

“Oh.” she mumbled and looked down at the table.

She looked almost relieved, and my gut told me that her reaction didn’t have much to do with what Liam had said about hurting our mother. It was something else.

“If we knew, we would have come for you immediately.” I said.

She looked up at me and gave me a small, grateful smile. I was right. She thought we didn’t want her. My heart clenched painfully.

“You thought we knew and didn’t want to take you in?” Liam asked, catching on.

She looked down at the table and blushed.

“Oh, fuck, Sunshine.” Liam said and grabbed her hand again. “If we knew, we would have taken you in a heartbeat. We have been looking for you for 10 years. But our mother forged your birth certificate, stating that the father was unknown. When she died, the child services didn’t have anyone to call and inform them that you lost your mother.”

“Did she really do that?” she asked quietly, her voice breaking.

“Unfortunately.” Liam nodded. “My lawyer found out everything he could about you and your stepfather.”

I saw her tense up. “What about my stepfather?”

“He works part-time at the local elementary school.” I said. “And he is a well-known drunk.”

Lucy gulped. “Anything else?”

“No.” I shook my head. “Is there something we need to know about him?”

A thousand scenarios went through my mind, none of them good. What kind of a drunk is he? Fun kind, sleepy kind or abusive kind? Did he ever lay a hand on her? If he did, I would have to take my sweet time and cut it off for him.

“No.” Lucy said after a small pause. “Well, maybe you should know that he won’t give me up that easily.”

Theo’s head snapped up and his fists clenched. “That fucker has no rights to you.”

“Theo is right, Lucy.” Liam said in a much calmer tone than Theo. “We are your blood relatives and your family. Every judge will give custody to me. If we add Jack’s drinking problem into the mix, getting custody of you won’t be a problem.”

“Speaking of that, there is one thing we need to ask of you.” I added. “I hope you know that we trust you, and we personally don’t see the need to do this, but it will help our court case.”

“What do you need?” she asked.

“A sample for a DNA test.” I said.

“It is not that we don’t think that you are our Lucy.” Noah jumped in before she could say anything. “You definitely are. But proving that with a DNA test means that Liam will get custody faster.”

Noah sounded panicked. He was terrified that she would think that we didn’t believe her. We all were.

“It’s okay, Noah.” she smiled at him. “I’m not upset. I understand and I don’t mind taking the test.”

“Thank you.” Theo said and placed a kiss on top of her head.

“Does that mean you will take her away?” her friend spoke.

I almost forgot he was here. He was looking at her with a mixture of sadness and longing. Are they more than friends? Fuck no. If they are, it ends now.

“Yes.” Theo said, glaring at the boy.

“I will miss you, Lulu.” Mike said, ignoring Theo and staring at Lucy.

“We can always talk on the phone.” Lucy smiled at him.

One glance at my brothers and I knew we were all thinking the same thing. There will be no talking on the phone with him or any other man. I was a 16-year-old boy, and I know how they think and what they want. They are not getting that from my sister.

“Does Jack know about you taking custody of me?” she asked, looking at Liam.

“He will know by the end of the day or tomorrow.” Liam said.

Lucy took and deep breath and nodded. She gave him a small, fake smile. What was that about? Is she afraid of Jack?

“Ezra.” Liam called my name, before I could ask her. “Take her sample so we can send it to Nate.”

Nate is his friend who will make sure we get the results by tomorrow.

I took out a buccal swab that Nate provided, and Liam stood up so I could leave the booth.

“Come on, stand up, honey.” I said to her. “I need to swab the inside of your cheek.”

Theo stood up so she could leave the booth as well. Noah unwrapped his hands from her reluctantly. She stood in front of me, and before I did anything else, I wrapped her up in a hug, pressing her against my chest.

“I missed you so much, honey.” I said as I kissed the top of her head.

“I missed you too, Bear.” she said, wrapping her arms around me.

My heart grew double when I heard her old nickname for me. She called me Bear because she said I gave the best hugs.

I let go of her and smiled. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

I opened the small kit and gently brushed the swab along the inside of her cheek. When I finished, I carefully placed the swab in a tube, closed it and gave it to Liam. He will send it to Nate right away, and we will have the results by tomorrow. I already know it will be positive.

As soon as he put the sample into his pocket, Liam stood up and pulled Lucy to him.

“I can’t believe my baby is back.” he said as he kissed the top of her head. “I missed you so much. Nobody will ever take you away again. I promise.”

Lucy smiled. “I missed you too.”

He let her go, and she took a step back from him. Theo grabbed her arm and pulled her to sit down next to him.

“I should really get back to work.” she said.

“No.” Theo said stubbornly.

“You can stay here the whole day.” she told him, running her hand through his hair. “But I need to work.”

She used to always do that when they were kids, and it always calmed him down. It seems to be working now as well.

Theo looked down at her. “Fine. But every time you have a break, you will come sit with us.”

She smiled at him. “Deal.”

She stood up, and Theo reluctantly let her go.

“Would you like to eat something?” Mike asked us.

“Waffles sound good.” I said to him as I sat back down.

“You got it.” Mike said. “Come on, Lulu, let’s get back to work.”

Lucy smiled at us and followed Mike back to the kitchen.

I looked at my brothers, and all of us smiled at the same time.

We have our sister back.