Warning: Mentions of Abuse
Third Person POV
With Bullet and Blade

"That couldn't have been him." Bullet mutters, his arms crossed and his eyebrows furrowed as he paced.

Blade, Rock, Spade, and Haste were sitting on a bed watching him pace.

Blade gets up.

"He looked like you two, minus the fact that he had bright blue eyes." Haste points out, tapping his fingers against his leg.

Blade grabs his twin to stop him from pacing and to calm him down.

Bullet's pacing was making him nervous as well.

Or it was their twin connection.

That was a possibility, too.

"Antonio had gotten our madre's eyes, bright blue," Blade explains. "while we had gotten our padre's, green and hazel." He informs them, trying to remember what his younger brother looked like.

Bullet was lost in thought in his arms, though he was slightly older than him and about a centimeter taller than Blade.

"Maybe that was him?" Spade asks, taking the thought into consideration.

"Maybe he ran from Queens to Manhattan." Rock adds.

"We need to get our brother back." Bullet and Blade decide at the same time, sharing a look.

"And we'll help you." Haste assures the twins. "We all miss Antonio, or Anthony as your dad called him." He tells them.

Rock, Spade, and Haste knew how much Anthony/Antonio meant to the twins, and that was a lot.

With Race, Spot, Jack, and Davey
In Manhattan

"Specs says you should be good tomorrow. Davey informs Race, sitting on a bunk across from Race's.

Race was sitting on Albert's bottom bunk, Spot sitting next to him.

"I'm fine though!" Race argues, trying to get up, only to have Spot pull him back down onto the bed to where he was before.

"Nuh uh, you ain't not doing this, not right now." Spot tells him, the sternness in his voice clear as day.

Race huffs, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes.

Albert and Jack stood on opposite sides of Davey, both standing.

Albert was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and his eyes stern.

Race wasn't used to that from him.

"Now that we have a minute alone," Jack starts, sitting down on the bunk next to Davey. "how about you tell us about your past?" He suggests.

Race's eyes widen.

"We won't tell anyone, Race." Davey assures the younger boy, seeing his reaction.

"Spot, you see, the reason Race looks horrible," Jack starts, ignoring the "rude" from Race. "is he got no sleep last night. He told me it was a nightmare, but he was babying one of his scars. A burn mark to be exact." He informs them.

Spot and Davey's eyes widen.

They both turn to look  at Race, who looks down at his lap.

Davey hadn't known that Race had babied a scar, especially not a burn mark.

Pictures of scars on Race's back flashed through Spot's mind. "Racer, take off your shirt." He instructs him.

"No." Race disagrees, snapping slightly.

He's a little defensive about this. Jack notices silently. He has to be hiding something. He's never Thai defensive and secretive over nothing..

"Do it or I will myself." Spot responds sternly.

Race had heard Spot's icy and angry tone, but Spot had never used it with Race.

"Fine." Race mutters, rolling his eyes and giving in.

He takes off his shirt to reveal that he has an undershirt on.

Spot groans and Jack facepalms.

Albert rolls his eyes and Davey sighs a bit.

Race cheekily smiles.

"Both of them." Spot tells him, rubbing the temples of his forehead.

"Nope, I took off my shirt." Race responds in a smart-aleck sort of way.

Jack mentally groans. Why is he being this defensive about this and more stubborn than usual?

"Racetrack Higgins, I will take it off if you don't." Spot threatens.

Race turns a little pink.

Jack snickers a bit, causing Race to shoot him a look.

Race sighs to himself, before carefully pulling the shoe over his head.

Under his shirt were a lot of burn marks, belt marks, and bruises that hadn't faded. They were most on his back, but some are on his stomach and arms too.

All of them from his dad or Oscar and Morris.

Jack, Spot, Albert, and Davey gasp.

"Race," Albert whispers, his voice gentle as he studies the scars on Race's back.

"I know, it's bad." Race whispers. "It hurts like heck too." He admits, though he hated to admit it.

"You didn't get them properly taken care of, that's why." Davey informs Race.

Race shrugs a bit, before winding slightly.

"Who did this to you?" Jack asks, the fact that he was angry being more obvious than he wanted it to be.

Hearing this, Davey puts his arm around Jack, knowing that Race hated propel getting angry.

Race's eyes found his lap again, as Jack took a deep breath.

He knew getting angry wouldn't help anything.

"Oscar and Morris, and my father." Race answers.
"The burn marks and belt marks are from my father, the bruises are from Oscar and Morris." He informs them, rubbing his arm lightly.

"That's probably why you didn't want to go to Queens today." Jack states. "You were scared to go back to where you came from." He finally connected the pieces.

Albert's mouth fell open slightly in an 'o' shape.

Jack was a little proud of himself for figuring it out, Race kept many secrets, but he hated Race even went through it.

Race's eyes widen as he looks up at Jack. "How do you know I came from Queens and was scared to go there today?" He questions.

"Racer, buddy, you don't hide your emotions well." Jack shoots him a small smile/smirk. "The fake smile you gave us looked nothing like your real smile, and you told me that you came from Queens a few years ago." He explains.

Race mentally slaps himself again.

"That's what Specs and Blink said, that my fake smile looked super fake..." Race mumbles, recalling his conversation with the two boys earlier, from when they were walking to Queens...

"It's cause we know you." Spot tells Race softly. "We know when you're sad or scared or hurt, you don't hide your emotions well." He rubs his back lightly.

"You've never been good at hiding your emotions, or faking them for that matter." Albert tells Race with a small chuckle.

Race shrugs a bit.

"Anyway, I'll help you with your back Race." Davey decides, getting up. "Jack, could you please go get cream, bandages, and a wet cloth?" He asks.

Jack nods, getting up to grab the stuff.

"No, no, no." Race starts, getting up. "Not happening. I did not show you this so you could put me in more pain." He shakes his head.

Spot grabs Race's wrist and pulls him back onto the bed.

Race shoots him a glare.

Albert stands in front of them to stop Race if he tried to get up again.

"It's gonna help, and you can't leave it untreated for that long." Davey responds. "It's probably infected."

"Still, ain't happening," Race argues, getting up again, and trying to put his shirts back on.

Albert takes the shirts from him, throwing them onto Race's top bunk.

"Racer, I will hold you." Spot threatens, deadly serious.

Race turns bright red.

Albert snickers.

"Got it." Jack states, coming back in.

"No, you aren't doing this." Race argues, trying to get Spot's hands off of him.

"Race, stop acting like it's torture." Spot mutters, getting annoyed with Race.

"Racer, it'll be okay. This will help, I promise," Jack promises the frightened looking boy.

"Fine, Jack." Race gives in, knowing that either way he'll lose this argument.

Race turns around so Davey can see his scars.

Spot holds his hand to provide some sort of comfort.

Davey starts putting cream on the burns.

Davey puts cream on the first burn, causing Race to let out a cry of pain, grabbing onto Spot, who holds him, while Jack holds his hands.

Jack was holding Race's hands so he didn't do something and so that Race would know that it's okay, and Spot was holding Race, who was crying into Spot's chest.

Albert was just watching, his eyes filled with sadness.

Race got flashbacks every time Davey touches one of the scars and kept trying to pull away.

Davey looked pitiful that he had to be the one to do this.

When Davey finished with the cream, he took the wet cloth, and cleaned Race's cuts.

This didn't help with the pain or the flashbacks for Race.

When he finished with everything, he bandaged Race's back and arms.

Then, Jack and Spot helped Race put his shirts back on as Race couldn't really do much because of his scars and the pain he was in.

When they finally got Race to calm down, they headed downstairs.

Race immediately went to play Poker with Finch, Romeo, Henry, and Elmer.

Albert joined them.

He started acting like his happy self again, despite the fact that he couldn't really use his arms and back.

Of course, there were people who notice the bandages and dry tear marks on his face, and went to go ask Jack, Davey, and Spot.

(Though, Spot had to leave a bit later.)

Mush and Blink had even heard Race crying.

Jack, Davey, and Spot, when he was there, explained that Race had a "few" scars from his past that they needed to clean, and that if Race wanted to tell them about his past, they could ask him, but they knew that they couldn't explain Race's past without his consent.

1612 Words