Lost and Found (Twist of Fate #1)(29)

“Lucky, can you talk to me?” I asked as I carefully leaned over him enough to run my fingers through his hair. He finally turned to look at me before sitting up. I managed to stifle a gasp at the sight of a small gash next to his left eye.

“Here,” I heard Xander say behind me and I turned enough to see him hand me a dampened piece of cloth. I took it, but instead of handing it to Lucky, I went to work cleaning the blood and dust off his face myself. Bear had plopped his big head down on Lucky’s lap.

“What happened?” I asked.

But Lucky just shook his head.

“You know you can tell me anything.”

Lucky’s eyes darted to a spot just behind me, and I glanced over my shoulder to see Aiden talking to both Calvin and Frankie, a kid who practically worshiped the ground Calvin walked on. The two of them together weren’t the best combination.

“He started saying some stuff while we were cleaning the dinner dishes,” Lucky murmured.

“What kind of stuff?” I asked. I wanted to get him off the ground, but he seemed more content to have Bear draped across his lap. I let him be and settled myself down into a more comfortable position.

“Nothing,” Lucky said with a shake of his head.

I sighed. I’d made a lot of progress with Lucky in the year since I’d found. I’d spotted him outside a club where I’d gone to meet my then-boyfriend. I’d noticed Lucky lingering by the alley next to the club, but it hadn’t been until I’d seen an older man approach and try to lure the boy into the alley that I’d realized what was happening. As soon as I’d started walking towards them, the man had taken off, the cash he’d been waving in Lucky’s face disappearing back into his pocket. Thankfully, the alley Lucky had darted into had been blocked off on one end because the boy had moved a lot faster than me. It had taken me several long minutes to convince Lucky to let me take him to a nearby restaurant to get something to eat and talk.

The guy I’d gone to meet at the club had dumped me the very next day, despite my explanation that I’d stood him up because of a family emergency. But I’d ended up with something so much better.

“Remember what I told you the night we met?” I asked.

Lucky was silent for a moment before nodding. “Secrets are shit.” A small smile tugged at his mouth. “That’s when I knew you were a dweeb.”

I chuckled and said, “I never claimed to be good with the words.” I resisted the urge to ruffle his hair. “Tell me what happened.”

He sucked in a breath and said, “He was saying shit all night.”

“Calvin?” I asked.

A nod and then, “And Frankie. Started while we were fishing… he kept calling me names and stuff. Like usual.”

Yeah, I knew what that meant. I’d had the conversation with Calvin twice already about his treatment of Lucky since we’d arrived in Colorado. I just wished I’d seen the behavior before we’d left New York so I could’ve pulled Calvin from the trip.

“While we were cleaning the dishes, he started saying you and me… that he knew how I’d paid for the trip.”

Since my company’s foundation had paid for the trip, I knew Lucky was talking about the things that hadn’t been covered. While the cost of the gear had been taken care of, each kid’s family had been responsible for making sure they had the right clothes and personal items for the trip. Since Lucky’s foster family hadn’t been able to afford any of that, I’d paid for it all. I’d even bought him a camera so he could take higher quality pictures than his phone would allow.

“What did he say?” I asked.

Lucky chewed on his lip for a moment and then said, “He asked if you were fucking me or if you preferred taking it.”

I sighed because I’d figured it was something that crass. I’d never hidden my sexuality from the kids and I’d sensed Calvin had an issue with sexuality, but hadn’t had the balls to say anything to Aiden’s or my face.

“I pushed him and told him to shut the fuck up. Then Frankie stepped in and hit me. When I fell, he started kicking me. That’s when Toby got involved and then some other guys joined in.”

“You know guys like him say that shit because they’re afraid, right?”

When Lucky’s eyes lifted to mine, I said, “They’re afraid of people who aren’t like them. And they hide that fear by lashing out… by trying to make others feel like less.”

“I couldn’t just let him say that about you,” he murmured.

I sighed and stifled my need to ruffle his hair. No need in giving Calvin more ammunition to use against Lucky. “I know,” I responded. I had no doubt Lucky would have been able to ignore the taunts if they’d just been directed at him. I stood up and held out my hand to help him to his feet. “Why don’t you try to get some sleep? We’ll talk more in the morning.”

Lucky’s fingers toyed with Bear’s head. “Can… can Bear sleep in my tent?” he asked hesitantly, but I realized he wasn’t talking to me.

I looked behind me to see Xander standing less than a dozen feet away. He’d likely heard everything Lucky and I had said.

“Sure,” Xander said with a smile. “But be warned, he snores… and farts.”

The comment made Lucky smile. He nodded and then he patted the dog. “Come on, Bear.” Thankfully, the dog followed him without any kind of hesitation.