Alvaro

I close Elias room door quietly. I know I need to be back in here before he wakes up but right now I need to talk with my brothers.

I pull out my phone and tell them to meet me in my office. It's on the third floor of our house. My mind is still reeling over everything that has happened today.

I walk into my office and go to the cabinet in the back. I grab some of my favorite tequila and poor a glass while I wait for my brothers to come.

Not too long later all of the boys come in one after the other. My gaze instantly goes to Santiago, he's got a black eye, a few bruises and he's clutching his side.

"First off Santiago are you okay?" I ask him as I take a seat at my desk.

"Yes I'm fine. He got me pretty good. We don't have to worry about him getting himself into a situation. I'm sure he can hold his own." Santiago tells me jokingly.

"Well I'm hoping that he won't ever get himself into a situation where he needs to fight by himself ever again. What are your injuries?" I ask him. I see him grimacing and clutching his side so either his ribcage is bruised or Elias broke a rib.

"Well besides a few bruises and a cracked rib I'm fine. I'm more concerned on how Elias is. Leo told us he popped his shoulder out of place and caused more damage to it." Santiago says

I look to Leo and wait for him to explain what Santiago means. I know he popped it back into socket but what other damage could've been caused?

"Well I can't be sure without an MRI but he might possibly have permanent damage to his shoulder now. We need to be extremely cautious with his arm now. One more wrong move and it could cause even more issues. He has a doctor's appointment tomorrow so after we can take him to our clinic and have it done."

I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose. Just what this kid needs, more doctors appointments...

"I also have some...very upsetting news. It's what caused such an altercation today." I tell them while shooting the rest of my tequila back. I stand and grab 4 more glasses. They're going to need it once everything's laid out for them.

"One of the causes for his freak outs was because he didn't read the note." I tell them.

"That's not a big issue though....right? He just didn't see it." Alexander says.

"Let me rephrase that. One of the causes for his big freak out was because he couldn't read the note. He's illiterate."

I look at their faces, gauging their reactions.

Leo looks pissed off, Santiago and Marco look surprised, and Alexander looks confused.

"What do you mean he's illiterate? He went to school, kindergarten through what sixth grade?" Alexander asks.

"I mean he can't read. We saw his school transcripts and they weren't very good. Teachers complained about lack of focus, he was always absent, never at school for more than 2 days a week, he never talked to anyone, and he wouldn't say a word to anyone. He had slipped through the cracks for his entire life, the school never saw a parent, one of his teachers tried to make a complaint to CPS but because his parents could never be found they dropped it. All the adults in his life have failed him. We will not allow this to happen any longer understood? He's been abused and neglected his entire life, that pattern will not continue here am I understood?" I ask them all.

Everyone gives me a nod of their heads, I look towards Leo and see how upset he is. I remember his reaction on the plane, how frustrated and upset he was.

"We need to be extremely careful with Elias. The physical scars we can fix, it's the mental scars we have to worry about. The doctors at the hospital warned us of possible mental disorders he might have or might come up. Right now our biggest focus is schizophrenia. He's not been diagnosed by a psychiatrist yet but the doctors saw some of the side effects of it. His irrationality, insomnia, he mutters to himself quite a lot, and his paranoia. It's all telltale markers of schizophrenia. It could also be bi-polar disorder but I'm more confident in is schizophrenia than bi-polar disorder." Leo tells us all.

"We are putting cameras in his room to watch his behaviors. Think of it as a baby monitor, me and Leo will be the only ones to have access to these cameras. Not even our security will be able to access them, we don't need to worry about a mole or snitch right now." I told them.

"Wait why don't we get access to them? We're also his brothers we should be able to see if something's wrong." Santiago argues.

"Yes while we are all his brothers I am his guardian, and Leo is a doctor. We mainly are having them installed is to monitor his behavior, see if he's having an episode, or if he's having trouble sleeping. Elias will not be aware of these cameras. So do not mention them, he has enough going on right now he doesn't need anymore problems. Understood?" I ask them all, waiting for a nod of all of their heads.

"You also need to understand that Elias has been through a lot, he will not trust all of you or feel comfortable around you. He's barely comfortable with me, and that's mainly because I've been there while he's been in an upset state." I understand how frustrating this is but we all need to be on the same page if we're going to help Elias out.

We sit for a few more minutes and discuss what expectations are expected out of them. No rough housing, no yelling, no fight near Elias, don't be to gentle to the point he questions it, and a few more things.

Elias might be illiterate but he's anything but stupid. This kid has found a way to serve by himself for 3 years, 3 of the hardest years of anyone's life. He's gone through so much more than any kid should have and I'm here to make sure he is taken care of.

After the boys left my office I walked back to Elias's room and see him in the same curled up state of when I left him. I run to my room quickly to change and get ready for bed. I walk back into Elias's room and lay down next to him. I make sure he's comfortable before I let sleep find me

To Prometheus cuidarte siempre Hermanito.

Todalmente

(I promise to always take care of you little brother, always)

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Elias

(What did you think that was the end?)

I wake up feeling warm. I slowly open my eyes and see I'm still in the same room as yesterday. I shift a little bit when I feel someone next to me. I immediately tense and slowly look over and see Alvaro. I relax a little bit, unsure of how I feel with him yet. He hasn't done anything to hurt me. He's actually been protecting me, speaking up for me. I'm unsure of how to feel about it. Nobody has ever tried to protect me, or even guide me I remember the teachers at school criticizing me, speaking bad about me, and never trying to help. I got bullied a lot because I was always dirty, I always smelled bad, I was smaller than everyone, even the girls in my class, and my clothes had holes in them. My parents never bothered to teach me how to wash myself, or my clothes so I rarely took showers. They never bought me any kind of clothes, I had to go to the net town over and get clothes from the church clothes drive if I needed new clothes. The winters in Nebraska were always freezing, I always needed a coat but so did other people. I would get to the church and ask for a coat but I was always too late. All the coats would be gone before I got there, but I would be able to find a hoodie or two. I didn't care if hey where to big, they were the only thing that kept me slightly warm.

I feel movement beside me, snapping me out of my thoughts. I look over and see Alvaro waking up. I turned back over and closed my eyes. Pretending I was asleep.

That didn't work.

"Elias wake up"

"Elias can you wake up for me Hermanito?"

He started gently rubbing my back. It didn't feel bad. It felt weird. Shivers going up and down my spine. I sat up and faced away from him.

"..what time is it?.." I ask him quietly while looking out the window.

"It's 9:30, we need to start getting ready for the day."

I look over my head at Alvaro as he gets up and walks to my bathroom. I hear the cabinets opening and closing before Alvarado calls for me.

I slowly walk over and see him holding a tooth brush and tooth paste.

"Here, you can use these to brush your teeth. I'll go and get you some clothes to change into. You can take a shower but you'll need help." He told me

"I know how to shower, I don't need help " I say as I grab the brush out of his hands.

"I know but you need help with your braces and taking your bandages off. Then you'll need help putting everything back on correctly. I say we save it for the end of the day, before you go to bed." He tells me.

"Okay..." I tell him before I start brushing my teeth.

He watches me as I brush my teeth, not like it takes long. You just run the brush over the front of your teeth and then you spit.

"Elias can I show you something?" He asks me while rustling in the cabinets again.

He pulls out another toothbrush and puts some toothpaste on it.

I blush and advert my eyes once I realize I was apparently brushing my teeth wrong and he was trying to show me.

I watch as he does a circular motion over his teeth, he doesn't just brush the front of his teeth, he brushes the back, the tops and is basically scrubbing them to death.

I try to copy what he's doing but it feels weird. We do this for what feels like forever before he brushes his tongue.

I never knew you had to brush your tongue...

I copy what he does but immediately gag. I hate mint flavored shit. It tastes disgusting.

I immediately spit the toothpaste out and rinse my mouth out.

"I hate mint flavored crap, it's disgusting." I tell him while shuddering...

He chuckles and rinses his mouth out as well.

"I know it's not my favorite flavor either but doesn't your mouth feel refreshed now?" He asks me.

I run my tongue over my teeth and feel how smooth they are,my mouth does feel nice...

I'm lost in my thoughts before I notice Alvaro left and came back with some clothes in his hands.

He leaves and closes the door behind him.

I pull the sweatpants over my legs and huff. The legs are way too long... I just end up shoving the rest of the fabric up my legs before putting the hoodie on. Again, it's too big it goes to like middle of my thigh, and the sleeves are too long. I again, shove the extra fabric up my arms. My shoulder hurts like a bitch so I don't even try to take my shirt or brace off, I just put my one arm through the sleeve and think it's good enough.

I walk out and see Alvaro and Leo on my bed, talking. They both turn to me before chuckling.

"You want some help with your shoulder Hermanito?" Leo asks me.

I grumble and start to walk away before a hand gently turns my body towards them.

"We're not making fun of you, we want to help you out. I know you'll be more comfortable out of that nasty long sleeve shirt and in something more breezy. Are you okay with that?" Leo asks me.

"..I guess.." I saw with a shrug of my one shoulder.

Leo walks out of the room, literally within a minute he's holding up a muscle shirt. It's like a tank top with the sleeves cut out. They're very loose and I won't have to take my brace off every time I put it on.

Leo helps me take the hoodie off and gently takes my braces off. He checks my stomach and ribs and makes sure the incision isn't infected before helping me take my shirt off. I hiss in pain but it quickly goes away once the shirt is off.

Alvaro holds my arm up so it doesn't move much before Leo slips the shirt on over it. The holes are big enough that I don't have to move my shoulder much. Leo puts my braces back on correctly before slipping the hoodie over everything.

"Alright before we go down for breakfast I'm going to tell you our plans for the week." Leo tells me.

Plans? What plans do they have?

"Now you have a dentist appointment at 11, it's just a cleaning, making sure everything is okay and seeing if you need braces."

I honestly don't think I've ever been to a dentist before, I remember loosing my teeth and freaking out because I thought I would be toothless. I remember going to the nurse at school and panicking before she told me it was just my baby teeth and I have grown up teeth under them that will grow. My baby teeth just needed to move before my grown up teeth could come down.

Maybe it will be good? I mean especially if I haven't been brushing my teeth correctly...

I just nod my head, ready for breakfast.

"You also have a doctor's appointment at 2 with a pediatrician. It's to get caught up on your vaccinations that you've missed these past few years." Leo tells me before walking me out of my room.

Dentist and a doctor. I haven't been to any of those for... like ever... the only medical professional I remember seeing is the nurse at school...

I look around and notice how clean everything is. There's like not a speck of dirt anywhere....

We walk for a while before reaching the kitchen.

Thank God, my stomach and ribs are killing me...

Alvaro sits me down in one of the chair and I notice it's just me, Alvaro, and Leo.

"Don't I have other brothers?" I ask them.

"Yes but they're giving you space for today, we have a busy day ahead of us. They also have work so you'll get to meet them properly tomorrow." Alvaro tells me while grabbing a plate.

"I mean I think I already met Santiago.... I beat the shit out of him..." I tell them.

Do I regret it? No

Do I feel bad? No

"Yeah you did, but we understand why. You didn't know where you were and you couldn't read the note I left. Santiago also understands so don't worry about him being mad." Alvaro tells me while placing a plate of a few different fruits and soggy toast?..

I see the boys start to dig in and I pick at my plate. The red fruit is sour, I don't like it. The black one is a little sweeter, I like that one a lot. The blue one is also kind of sour but it's not bad.

"Do you not like French toast?" Leo asks me.

"I don't know what French toast is but I doubt it's this. This is soggy toast. Nothing French about it" I tell them while shoveling the black fruit down my throat.

I look up and see Leo looking at me with surprise.

"Well French toast is bread dipped in an egg, milk, and a cinnamon mix. It's then heated up on the stove and sprinkled with powdered sugar and maybe syrup. You also have some berries on your plate. The red one is called a raspberry, the black one is a blackberry, and the blue one is a blue berry. I like them all but Alvaro only likes the blackberries and blueberries."

So that's what their name is...

I grab the toast with my hand and take a bite

It's warm

And sugary

And absolutely-fucking-lately amazing.

I quickly eat all my toast and start licking the sugar off my hands.

"Do you want more Hermanito?" Alvaro asks me.

"I can have more?"

"You can have as much as you like. Do you want some more berries? I see you also don't like the raspberries." Alvaro says while smiling and winking at me.

I chuckle a little bit, I don't know why, he didn't make a joke but it was funny...

I end up eating a shit ton of blackberries and blueberries and 6 slices of French toast, I would've eaten more but Alvaro said if I eat anymore I'd get sick.

Fucking bastard... I think to myself. He said I could have as much as I want but now he won't let me have anymore...

I sit in my chair slouching. My nose is scrunched up in annoyance.

"Hey stop pouting, you can have more tomorrow. All that sugar can make you sick, especially if you haven't had it before." Leo tells me while touching my nose with his finger.

"Get your finger out of my face." I tell him while sitting up.

Leo chuckles before handing me a few pills and a cup of water.

"These are your pain killers, antibiotics, and anti nausea meds. You need to eat before taking any of them if you don't then you'll probably feel sick and throw it up."

I take all of my medicine, reaching for more blackberries before Leo grabs my hand and pulls me out of my chair and into the kitchen. He turns me to the sink and helps me to start washing my hand.

I can wash my own hands... or hand...

He grabs a towel and wets the tip before trying to wipe my face.

"Hey I can wipe my own face thank you." I tell him as I snatch the towel out of his hands and rub it all over my mouth.

"Hey we need to go if we're going to be making it in time." Alvaro says.

We walk outside and towards the garage. My side doesn't hurt that bad since I took all those medicines.

We walk to a black SUV and get in, me in the back, Leo in the passenger seat, and Alvaro driving.

"Put your seatbelt on Elias." Alvaro tells me while looking at me through the rear view mirror.

I grab the buckle and pull it over me. Making it click.

Alvaro starts to drive out of the absolutely massive driveway and that's when I see the house in its entirety...

Sorry did I say house? No I meant mansion...

Who the hell are my brothers?.....

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Another chapter down it has like 3,200 wordsssss

Don't forget to comment/vote/ interact.

I've seen the amount of views and I'm pleasantly surprised. Over 100 people have read this story 🥳

Did y'all like my joke?

I was gonna make this two chapters but one would've been super short and the other kinda short so I merged them together.

Poor Elias he's never had French toast or berries😔

Anyways what do we think? I'm loving this chapter.

Also I'm thinking of adding chapter names? What do we think?