The Bad Boy's Brothers

Chapter 13

When I wake up, a woman is standing over me with a kind smile on her face.

"Hi, Will," she says, "My name is Ivy and I'm here to check on you, okay?"

"Not okay," I reply, propping myself up against the headboard.

"That's fine, we can wait," She says, taking a seat near the bed.

"Where's Luca?" I ask, looking around the room.

"He should be right outside," She answers, "I can go grab him if you like, but I'd prefer if we can have a chat first."

"What do you want to talk about?" I ask. 

I know exactly what she wants to talk about.

I can feel her eyes digging into my torso which means either she, Vincent, his sons, or all of them have seen the scars that cover my body. As you might imagine, I'm not exactly thrilled at this prospect.

"Now, I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but we need to have a discussion about those injuries," she says, pity in her voice.

Bingo.

"I'll pass," I reply, keeping my voice monotone, slouching down into the mattress.

"I'm afraid I can't just let you 'pass' on this conversation, Will," She says, giving me a stern look. "Don't worry though, You just need to answer a couple of questions so I can treat you properly, okay?"

"Fine."

"Okay, my first question is about the scars and bruises on your stomach," She pauses, looking at me with a question in her eyes.

"What about them?" I ask, letting my annoyance creep into my tone.

"When was the most recent time you got one?" She questions.

"A couple days ago," I reply, deciding to go the truthful route.

"When would you say was the first time you were hurt like this?"

"I don't know, a long time ago, probably."

"Can I take a closer at them for you?" She asks, moving closer to the bed.

"No."

She sighs, stepping back again, "I know you don't trust me, Will, but I'm here to help you and make sure you're healthy. I spoke with Becky on the phone, and she said you might not be thrilled at the idea of a medical exam. I said that I respected that, but to make sure you actually are healthy, I do need to examine you."

Jesus Christ, is Becky spilling my entire life story to everyone she sees?

"Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, okay? The easy way is that you just let me do my exam, I promise not to judge you or tell your father anything but the essentials," At my disgusted face, she continues, "Or we can do it the hard way, which is where I call Vincent and Leo in and they hold you down while I do my exam."

It doesn't take an idiot to figure out that just letting her do the exam is the better option. That realization fails to make me any happier, especially because we probably have different ideas about what the "essentials" are. her definition probably includes every single thing she finds. My definition consists of telling Vincent absolutely nothing.

"Just do it," I say, looking away.

"All right, I'm just going to gently press on your stomach, let me know if you feel any pain, okay?" She starts rubbing small circles into my skin, starting at my belly button. Each touch shoots spears of pain throughout my body. When she reaches my shoulders, she removes her hands. "Did any of that hurt?" She asks to my silence.

"Yeah," I reply, looking back up at her.

"Where did it hurt?" 

"Everywhere," I say, reverting my eyes back to the side.

"Why didn't you say something?" 

I just shrug in reply.

"All right, well I have some more questions for you. Are any of your wounds open?" She asks.

"No."

"That's good, what injury currently hurts the most?"

"All the bumps from the gravel," I say, not wanting to talk about the actual bruises on my body that Adam had so recently and graciously gifted to me.

"Okay," she replies, scribbling a few things into a notebook. It's clear she can see right through my lies. "I'm going to step out for a second to talk to Vincent, but I'll send Luca in with some food."

The door opens a few minutes later as Luca pushes it open with a tray of food resting in his arms. He walks to my bed quietly and sets the tray down on my lap before climbing into the bed next to me.

"What's the matter, bud?" I ask, wrapping my arm around him as he sinks his head into my side.

"I was worried about you," he replies, his voice somber, "You never ask for help, even when you need it. I just wish you were all better."

"Listen to me Luca," I say, tilting his head up so he's looking in my eyes, "You do not need to be worried about me, okay? I'm going to be okay. I'm always going to be okay. No matter what happens, I promise you do not need to worry about me being okay."

"If you say so," he replies, "I just missed you while you were gone."

"What'd you do while I was out? Was everyone nice to you?" I ask. This is my chance to see how the brothers treat him.

"Everyone was nice, we just hung out and had more in-depth introductions. How was your probation meeting? Is he nicer than Brad?" Luca asks, diverting the attention back to me.

"It was fine, he's a lot nicer than Brad which is good," I reply.

"Were you nice to him, though?" Luca presses.

"I probably could've been a little nicer now that I think about it," I reply, messing up his hair, making him giggle.

"Have some of the food, Will, I know you're hungry," he says, pushing the tray closer to me. I take a few bites of the sandwich in front of me.

"They have so much food here, it's crazy! They let me eat as much as I wanted, so you don't have to steal any for me anymore, isn't that good?" He asks as more of his usual chipper tone comes back.

"That's really good, buddy," I reply. I was wondering if they were one of those families like Adam. The ones that clearly have plenty of food for themselves (and bio kids), but apparently don't have enough for the foster kids to be properly fed. It became a habit to occasionally slip a few items that wouldn't be noticed to stash under his bed in case someone decided he or Luca didn't need to eat.