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Chapter Seven

I had spent roughly eleven months under Joe’s tutelage and after that night in the boxing ring he started me on a grueling training program. I still cleaned his gym, and we still ate dinner together every night. It was one of those nights that he surprised me with a cupcake and one lit candle.

It had been my birthday and somehow, he’d known. He didn’t sing or anything like that, but that gesture, as I sat at that small kitchen table and him placing the cupcake in front of me and telling me to make a wish, that made me love him.

I spoke to Joe twice a week and we texted every day. I could tell him things and he had also gone beyond the scope of our relationship and done his homework on Alexander. Joe said he was a good man and that I should give this family thing a chance. I trusted Joe, so that’s what I did.

Alexander had rules, not many, but they were there. We were responsible for cleaning our own rooms and even though he had a live-in cook, on weekends we had to cook and clean the kitchen. All our meals were eaten in the dining room as a family, except for Saturdays. It was the one day we could eat junk food.

During the summer holidays I met with a tutor after breakfast. He was preparing me for senior year since I’d skipped so much school in New York they had almost failed me. The other boys were busy with their respective talents, practicing and honing them. It was also the first time that I started seeing a therapist, but it didn’t last long. I refused to open myself up to anyone.

Alexander also believed in exercise, and we all jogged every morning. He believed in ten miles a day and at first, I thought I’d die but it didn’t take long before I looked forward to those morning jogs, clearing my head from that one mindless dream I got every single night.

We always jogged the same route and soon Alexander left us to jog on our own and we only deviated from our route to stop at the little corner shop and buy water before jogging back to the farm. Curious eyes always followed us, and although I noticed, it didn’t bother me.

We had enough to keep us busy on the farm and we hadn’t really explored the town at all. We spent so much time together as brothers that we really became a family. I had yet to share my story with them but where you found one Hawthorne boy, the rest were never far behind.

After our jog, we’d shower and have breakfast. I’d work with Mr. Billings, my tutor, until lunch time and after that we’d all head out to the barn. Alexander had transformed it into a workout room, and we’d spar in the boxing ring with him, swim laps in the indoor pool and Alexander taught us martial arts.

I felt a protectiveness over my new brothers that I’d never felt before, and I knew that our bond was for life. Not once did Alexander raise his hands or voice in anger or frustration, and I could honestly say that he was breaking down my walls.

Loud banging on my bedroom door woke me up. “Kage!” Sloan yelled my name.

“I’m up!”

“Come on, it’s pancake day!”

We all loved pancake day. “If you let Castiel eat them all, I’m kicking your ass!” I yelled as I finally got out of bed, and I heard Sloan’s laughter as he descended the stairs.

Alexander was a stickler for manners. We didn’t mind and, in the beginning, it felt militaristic, the way he liked things done, but the structure brought familiarity and safety, especially for me. I’d never been part of a family where people treated each other with respect.

I made it to the dining room just in time and Sloan grinned as Alexander walked in a few seconds later and stood behind his chair. “Good morning, boys.”

“Good morning, Alexander,” we all said and pulled out chairs out.

Alexander watched us intently and interlaced his fingers together. His plate remained empty as we dished up for ourselves. I lowered my fork back to the table as Castiel stuffed his mouth.

“I’m very proud of you boys,” Alexander began. “Especially you, Kage.”

My shoulders stiffened but my expression remained the same. “I haven’t done anything remarkable.”

“Your tutor tells me that you’ve advanced quite far into the senior year curriculum already.” Alexander looked proudly at me and for a split second I was taken aback. He was proud of me. It was a new sensation that I liked.

“It wasn’t hard. School work’s always been easy,” I said.

Alexander smiled, like he’d been expecting me to say that. “With that said, have you thought about college?”

I shook my head. “What would be the point?”

He didn’t answer me and instead turned his attention to the breakfast dishes and dished up his own food. We made small talk, and I listened as he spoke to each boy individually about what they were busy with and the attention he showed was something I always noticed.

After breakfast Alexander cornered me in the foyer. “I would like you to come with me somewhere.”

“Okay,” I said with a slight frown.

Alexander and I set out in his car, and I wondered what he had planned. Alexander never did anything for nothing. He had high aspirations for all of us, even I knew that. My brothers all had their paths set out for them, they knew what they wanted from life and what they excelled at, but I was clueless.

“Where are we going?” I asked him as we drove past Jamestown.

“To the University.” My frown deepened at his answer.

I really didn’t feel up to a lecture today, especially a college lecture. I looked out of the window until Alexander parked his car in the parking lot and climbed out. He removed an overly large bag from the trunk, and I followed him inside.

I stopped short as I looked at the skating rink.

“You said you liked hockey, right? Can you skate?” Alexander asked me with a grin.

“Yeah, I can skate.”

“Good, your skates are in my bag,” he said.

I unzipped the large bag he had taken from the car and pulled my skates out. As I put them on it felt like coming home. A sense of calm filled me, and I couldn’t help but smile when my skates touched the ice and I took a lap around the empty rink.

“This is a puck, and this is a hockey stick,” Alexander said when I stopped in front of him.

“I know what a biscuit and a lumber is,” I said to him as he smiled again.

“Let’s see what you can do with it, smart-ass,” he said.

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