Page 5

Jake

I have no idea what the hell happened the moment I moved from blocking Megan’s younger brother from view, but I’ve never seen Flash look like that before. I’ve seen dead bodies with more color in their faces than he did at that moment. Piston’s reaction wasn’t much better; he looked just as shocked as Flash. I know I’m missing something big with the way they’ve reacted; they wouldn’t have had such strange and strong reactions to him without a damn good reason. Though, I can’t even begin to guess what might have caused them to react like that. I’m sure they will fill me in later on what I’m missing here; there’s no way they’re going to do it now. Not when Megan’s little brother is standing here waiting to talk to someone. As much as I want to know what the hell just happened, I know it needs to wait until we’ve dealt with this. It’s not fair to make a kid wait any longer and give a chance for his nerves and worry to get any worse than they already are.

As Flash and Piston regain their composure and start heading towards us once more, I hit the release button to the gates so that Megan’s younger brother can step through. I don’t think we need to be keeping him on the outside even though he is Megan’s brother. He’s just a kid. Plus, it’s more than a little bit rude to have whatever conversation he feels is important enough to come here with a tall metal gate between us all.

He takes a couple of steps inside and then stops, standing there wringing his hands together once more. No doubt because of his nerves. Seeing him so nervous sets off my protective instincts strongly; I can’t help it. He might be Megan’s younger brother, but he’s still just a kid at the end of the day, and we’re three big men who are more than capable of causing damage if we need to. This kid has no idea that we’d never in a million years lay a finger on him, even with who his sister is. That’s just not who any of us are. With that in mind, I move closer to him, hoping I can reassure him somehow.

“I don’t know why you came here and what you need to talk to Wrath, Flame, or Shadow about, but you have nothing to worry about. Nobody here will hurt you or hold who your sister is against you.” I say reassuringly. I need to do something to try and elevate his nervous energy. It’s so strong I’m pretty sure I can feel it in the air.

“Thank you. Who are they?” He asks without taking his eyes off Flash and Piston.

“The one with long hair is Piston, and the other is Flash. What’s your name? I should have probably asked before now.”

“Micah. What’s yours?”

“I’m Jake.”

Before he gets a chance to say anything else back to me, Flash and Piston reach where we are currently standing. Both of them are carrying tension in their bodies, but I can tell they’re trying to hide it. Probably not wanting to make Micah any more uncomfortable than he already is. They can probably feel his nerves just as much as I can, and I know that despite whatever caused their reactions when they first saw him, they’d never want to make him feel any worse than he already does.

“Hey guys, this is Micah.” I say introducing him to them, making sure to keep my voice light and airy for Micah’s sake.

“It’s nice to meet you, Micah. I know you asked to speak to Wrath, Flame, or Shadow, but hopefully talking to us will be okay.” Flash says, keeping his voice soft and gentle.

I don’t miss the way he keeps swallowing hard and is hardly blinking as he looks at Micah. What is it about this young boy that’s causing him to act like this? This is seriously not normal behavior for Flash at all.

“I didn’t know who else to ask to speak to if I’m being honest. I figured they were the best to ask for because of what I needed to talk about.” He begins to ramble quickly. I think it’s clear to us all that he wants to get what he needs to say out as fast as possible.

“Well, if you tell us what you were going to tell them, we can hopefully help.” Piston tells him reassuringly.

“While Shadow was seeing Megan, I overheard enough stuff to know he has a nephew named Cam who looks a lot like him. So when a new kid started at school and I noticed the resemblance between them, I knew who he was immediately. The thing is, ever since Cam started at school, he’s been targeted by not only other students but staff too. I tried to talk to him about it, telling him he needed to tell someone, but he didn’t want to worry anyone. I didn’t like it, but I wanted him to trust me and know he had at least one friend there. But I heard some of the other students talking earlier and the plans they’re making. I can’t stay quiet anymore. It’s not safe.” He says, and there’s no missing the worry in his face and voice as he tells us just what brought him here.

I’m not the only one who feels shock, horror, worry, and anger at Micah’s words. I see each of those emotions pass over Flash’s and Piston’s faces too. Not one of us is remotely happy to learn Cam has been dealing with being targeted at school. Micah might not have said it in those words, but that’s exactly what it is: Cam is being bullied and targeted. That news is going to go down like a lead fucking balloon when everyone finds out. We’re all really protective of Cam after the life he lived before he came into Wrath and Flame’s care. The boy spent the first decade of his young life being abused by his own mother and those closest to her. Learning that he’s having issues at school isn’t something any of us ever wanted to hear. We all thought now that Claire and those who helped her were removed from the situation, Cam could start living his life like a kid, with no worries. Obviously, that was wishful thinking.

I can also tell there’s a lot Micah hasn’t said yet, information that would probably send us all into fits of rage. We’re already all ready to explode from the minimal details he’s just told us; I can’t even imagine just how bad our reactions and everyone else’s will be when we learn the rest. I’m guessing he’s either keeping it to himself because he didn’t want to totally break Cam’s trust or because he wanted to get the main point of him being here across as fast as possible and will tell the rest later. Either way, he’s achieved his goal. He has all of our attention now, and he’s going to get his meeting with Wrath, Flame, and Shadow. Not just one of them, all three. They’re all going to want to hear firsthand just what Micah has to say.

If there is ever going to be a good reason for us to interrupt the celebration currently going on, Cam and his safety and well-being are going to be up there at the top of the list. Actually, Cam is probably the only reason any of us would interrupt Wrath and Flame celebrating the news of their newest sons.

“Okay, Micah. Thank you for coming here to tell us what’s going on. Why don’t you follow Flash back to his bike, and he’ll take you to my office while I head over and get the guys? I think it’s better if you tell them what’s going on in case they have any questions. Does that sound okay to you?” Piston says taking control of the situation.

“Sure. That’s fine with me.” Micah says before looking towards Flash.

Flash gives the boy a reassuring smile before signaling for him to follow him. Which Micah does without a second thought. With them heading off, it leaves me alone with Piston, who, now that Micah and Flash are no longer around, looks a lot more pissed off and less under control than he did just moments ago. I can’t exactly blame him; I’m not impressed with anything we’ve just learned.

“I don’t know how much Flash told you when you were recovering, but once this issue Micah has brought to our attention has been dealt with, things are going to get fucking crazy and more than likely blow up.”

“I noticed the way you both acted when you saw Micah. What am I missing, Piston? I know Flash is your oldest friend, but I care about him too. I need to know what I’m dealing with so I can help somehow.”

“Micah looks exactly like Wyatt did at that age.” Piston says sharply.

I stare at Piston in shock. Of everything I was expecting him to say, that never even remotely crossed my mind. Why the hell would it? That is so far-fetched it’s insane. I can’t even imagine what must be going on in Flash’s mind right now. This has got to be a total head fuck. I know how much he misses Wyatt, and you can tell Wyatt is always there at the back of his mind, and now he’s just come face to face with a young boy who is the spitting image of him.

I have to hand it to Flash though; after his initial reaction, which makes so much more sense now that I know Micah looks like Wyatt, he managed to push whatever was going on inside his head down and focus on the task at hand. I know that will only last until Micah has disclosed all the information he has on what’s been happening with Cam at school. Once that’s done, Flash is going to have one focus and one focus only: finding out answers as to why Micah looks so much like Wyatt. He’s going to be like a dog with a bone, and God help anyone who stands in the way of him gaining answers.

“I’ll let you go and deal with why Micah is here, and then we can focus on figuring out why Micah looks like Wyatt. I might actually give Rex a call while you’re dealing with things inside. Maybe he knows something that could help.”

“That sounds like a plan, but Jake I don’t think the answers we find are going to be good. I have a feeling Flash’s entire world is about to be flipped on its head.”

“You’re not the only one, Piston, but we both know that he’s not going to let this go now he’s seen Micah. All we can do is help him find answers and be there for him through whatever he finds.”

Piston nods his head at me before rushing towards his bike and speeding off towards The Clubhouse. I don’t envy his position right now; not only has he got to go and interrupt Wrath and Flash’s celebration, but he’s also going to have his worry for Flash constantly playing on his mind.

There’s no way Piston isn’t worried about Flash; Piston had a front-row seat to just how badly Flash reacted when he lost Wyatt. He saw how close Flash came to losing himself; now there’s a young boy in the picture who looks just like the brother he lost. There are only a few reasons I can think of that would cause Micah to be the spitting image of Wyatt, and honestly, none of them are good. Each and every one of them will turn everything Flash thinks he knows about his family on its head.

I really need to speak to Rex and see what he might know about Megan and Micah; if there’s anyone I know who might just hold the answers, it’s my brother. Surely Megan spoke to him about family over the years? God, I can only hope. I really want to have some answers for Flash by the time he’s finished up inside.