Blaise arrived home to an unexpected sight. There was a little boy with dark brown skin in the foyer, petting Blaise’s dog. The kid couldn’t be older than 10, probably not even that old. Blaise’s parents were both there too.
He cleared his throat and his parents both looked at him, disdain clear on their faces. Then the boy looked up.
“Hello, Blaise,” his father said. “This is Jacob, your new brother.”
His mother’s expression sent a chill down Blaise’s spine. Her smile was cold, almost threatening. He preferred her disappointed frowns over this.
“Just call me Jay,” the boy said, lisping slightly as he spoke, turning his S’s into Th’s.
Blaise felt nauseous. He had a bad feeling about this. His parents were manipulative, and he knew they weren’t above harming innocent people. That included children.
“Hello, Jay,” Blaise said, smiling to hide his worry. “I see you’ve already met Caldera.”
“Callie’s a good dog!” Jay exclaimed.
Blaise chuckled, already charmed by his new brother. “I know, right?”
“Hey, Mr. Butler,” Jay said suddenly, “what’s your name again? Sorry I forgot again.”
“It is not a problem, Master Jay. My name is Gerard. You may call me Mr. Butler if that’s easier for you.”
“Thanks!” Jay said, and grinned so wide that his brown eyes were forced shut. He was missing a tooth, which Blaise thought made him look even more adorable.
Out of the corner of his eye, Blaise noticed his mother frowning. She always hated even minor imperfections.
“Have you gotten to see the whole house yet?” Blaise asked, hoping to get away from his parents.
“Master Blaise, if I may,” Gerard interjected.
“Yeah?”
“I thought it best to await your return before giving Master Jay a tour of the manor. I believe it would be a good bonding activity for the two of you.”
Blaise nodded his approval. Gerard looked like he was just as worried as Blaise was about the intentions of his parents.
“I trust that would be acceptable, Master Marcel,” Gerard added.
“I have no issue with that,” Blaise’s father said.
“Blaise,” his mother didn’t need to say anything more. Blaise’s name on her tongue got across that this was a warning.
A threat.
“We’ll be fine, mother,” Blaise replied.
“Yeah, we’ll be fine, mom!” Jay echoed.
Blaise didn’t show Jay his bedroom. It wasn’t exactly child-friendly. His cigarettes were too easy to reach, not to mention the pin-ups of actors and actresses on the walls, some of which were a bit too risque for a child’s eyes. He’d have to deal with that later.
As they passed his bedroom door, Jay realized exactly what Blaise was avoiding.
“Awwww,” he pouted. “I wanted to see your room.”
For a split second, Blaise wondered how Jay knew it was his room, but who else would have a colorful splattering of paint across their door?
“It’s a total mess right now,” Blaise lied. “I’ll clean it later, and you can see it then.”
Jay narrowed his eyes and frowned. He was smarter than Blaise had expected.
“I promise, I’ll show you later.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Yeah. Pinky swear.”
“You can’t break a pinky swear promise,” Jay said as he hooked his pinky around Blaise’s, and Blaise noted just how different their skin tones were.
“I won’t break my promise,” Blaise promised. “There’s a cooler place in the house than my room anyway.”
Blaise hadn’t gone to the place he had in mind in over a decade. Not since his sister ran away.
Jay furrowed his brow and put his hands on his hips. “You can’t distract me that easy.”
“No. It’s super cool. Come on.”
He took Jay by the hand again and led him to the library— well, the smaller of the two libraries in the house.
“I’m not so good at reading yet,” Jay said, frowning at the books.
“I’m not good at reading either,” Blaise admitted, “but that’s not why we’re here.”
Blaise stopped at one of the bookshelves. He was pretty sure it was this one. He pushed one of the books in a bit, and the shelf swung open.
Jay gasped. “A hideout!”
Blaise nodded. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to it. I think my old Wii is in here.”
Jay’s eyes widened as he looked around the dusty room, marveling at a pile of video game cases. “There’s so many video games!”
Blaise smiled warmly. “It’s all a bit outdated, but I think we can have some fun with it.”
Jay beamed from ear to ear. “I never got to play games like these before!”
“N-never?”
“Nope. The orphanage didn’t have video games. Just board games and stuff.”
Blaise had never really met anyone who didn’t have at least enough money for a few luxuries. Until now, he’d never even considered that video games were a luxury that not everyone could afford.
“Then we’ll start with a game I never got the chance to play either,” he said, turning on the Wii.
He opened the case on top of the pile and inserted the game into the Wii.
Jay watched the TV monitor in awe as the game loaded up. When the title screen appeared, he squealed excitedly.
“It’s a Mario game!!! I sometimes see commercials for these!”
“It’s Mario Kart Wii. It’s a racing game that we can play together. Not the newest in the series, but let’s try it.
Blaise handed Jay the player 2 controller. To his surprise, Jay wrapped him in a hug.
“You’re the best brother ever,” Jay said.
Blaise had no idea how to react. He hadn’t been hugged since his sister left. He hadn’t realized how badly he needed one.
“Thanks, Jay,” he mumbled under his breath. He didn’t feel like he’d earned Jay’s adoration, but he swore to himself that he would become worthy of it.
In the first few races, Blaise and Jay both ended up in last place. By the fourth one, they were both a bit more accustomed to the controls, but they still didn’t do very well.
“We lost again…” Jay said, resting his head on Blaise’s side for a moment.
“We’re still learning to play. Wanna try the next set of races?”
Jay nodded. “Uh-huh.”
They kept playing, learning the controls. Jay seemed to be picking up how to play really fast. He managed to secure third place at the end of the four races.
“Again! Again!”
In the next set of races, Jay utterly crushed Blaise.
“Holy shi— I mean, wow. You learned fast.”
Jay wiggled in his seat on the couch, doing a little happy dance. “This is the best day I’ve ever had!” he declared.
Blaise laughed. “Me too, Jay. Me too.”
Blaise glanced at his phone. It was almost 8 o’clock.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
Jay nodded. “A little bit.”
Blaise turned off the Wii. “Let’s go eat something.”
Having a little brother wasn’t something he would have ever thought to prepare for. This kid had already wormed his way into Blaise’s heart, faster than anyone had done in Blaise’s entire life.
He was worried about what his parents might have been planning, but he would protect his new brother.