Page 67 of Serpentine

Blanket? White noise?

Yes.

Fuck, I hate when I’m right. Need me to come down?

No. That’ll make it worse. Tell me what to do.

Hug him tightly from behind. He’s going to make noises if he’s distraught, but don’t let them deter you from holding on as tightly as you can.

Okay…

Keep me posted.

Stuffing my phone into my pocket, I silently move behind him, getting on my knees and preparing to do whatever I can to help. I know he’s different, and seeing him like this doesn’t scare me or make me think less of him. If anything, I understand him more. It makes me want to protect his peace at all costs.

I slowly wrap my arms around him from behind, clasping my hands in front of his chest as tightly as I can. He’s massive, and the blanket doesn’t make him any more minor, but I manage. The rocking seems slow, but he sounds like he’s crying. Strangled sobs come from him, and I rest my head on his back as I tighten my arms as much as I can manage. My arms shake, and I don’t know if I’m even helping.

For a while, we sit together. His rocking and the sounds cease, but he still hasn’t spoken. The white noise cleared my head the longer I sat with him, so much so that my arms and body grew lax as I melted into Brax.

When I finally can’t take the pain in my knees and my feet being asleep any longer, I stand and shake my body out. Blood circulates again, causing tingles in my feet. Brax opens the front of his blanket and looks up at me, saying nothing.

I drop into his lap, letting my legs stretch out behind him, and he closes the surrounding blanket around us. I put my head under his chin, and he drops it against my hair. We still don’t speak, but I feel useful. Like I’ve helped him. He’s in much better shape than he was when I came in.

I snake my arms behind his back and hug him tighter than I could on the outside of his blanket.

“You’re so much like her,” he finally says, and while we’ve been in our little cocoon, I’m unsure of how long we’ve been here.

I know he means his mom, so I saved the question.

“Tell me about her,” I say, knowing that his talking might take his mind off everything else. It’s what I try to do when I feel anxious enough that my breathing feels labored. It helps me to focus on something else, to tug my brain away from the dark place it likes to wander sometimes.

“She was beautiful. She had dark hair like you and warm brown eyes. I always remember thinking it was because she was so warm. Of course, now I know that’s a child’s way of thinking, but she was the kindest person I ever knew. She took me in like I was her own. She never once thought I was as strange as my real dad did. Never once did she lose her temper with me. She said I was made as God intended. Even when I said I didn’t know if I believed a God existed, she said I may see the world through my own eyes and beliefs. She was a beautiful soul.”

Was.

I hate that they have no closure to her disappearance, and it just solidifies my decision to go into my dad’s company and find out what happened to her once and for all.

I don’t mention I know he’s adopted. He doesn’t seem to care that I don’t ask further.

I don’t want to say the wrong thing.

“Well, it’s a high compliment you’ve paid me, then,” I say, sitting straight and looking at him head-on.

“That bike was…”

I silence his words when I feel him rocking again. I shake my head. “We will fix it.”

He stops, pinning me with his gorgeous eyes. “You know about bikes?”

I burst into laughter, and the Brax I know surfaces, and he rolls his eyes. “No. But I can learn. I’ll hand you tools.”

He smirks. “Do you know about tools?”

I hold back another laugh as I fight a smile. “No.”

“Well, you’re going to be in the way.” He closes his eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. Sometimes, I can’t filter things before they just come out. I try. But after having a spell, it’s hard.”

I cup his face. “Hey, Braxton, you don’t have to mince words with me. You don’t have to mince them with anyone. You be who you are. Fuck everyone else and what they think. If they can’t handle you, they’re not meant to be in your fucking life.”