Brother Sharpens Brother

Skeptics

Jay

Jay awoke with a start, bolting strait up in his bed, his breathing ragged and shivering with fear. It's okay. He told himself it was just a dream. You're alone, you aren't there anymore, they can't get you. It was too bad he never listened to himself, maybe then he would have a lesser number of panic attacks every week. Oh, well. Hugging himself in an attempt to slow his racing heartbeat, Jay let out a silent sob. Who did those people think they were, abusing him for so long and ruining every chance he had at a good night's sleep?

The old alarm clock next to his bed glowed red in the dark, the numbers seeming to taunt him with the fact that it was 4:30 in the morning on a Saturday. How positively delightful. He let out a shuddering breath, rubbing his palms up and down his bare arms, feeling unnaturally cold in his room. He had to be quiet if he didn't want to wake anyone, he had no clue what Wu or Cole would do to him if he accidentally woke them up, and to be honest, he really didn't want to find out.

He sat curled up for awhile, just letting himself cry, before trying to go back to sleep. Wu and Cole hadn't tried to hurt him yet, but he couldn't shake the fear of them trying to from his mind. Wu carried around a huge stick wherever he went, and he gave Jay the feeling of a strict old man, who knew how to use his walking cane as a weapon if need be. It put him on edge whenever he was around him. However, the old timer never really gave Jay a reason to be afraid of him, and the auburn genuinely wanted to feel safe around him, but for some reason he couldn't shake the thought of being in another home like his last one. He didn't want to be treated like that again.

Jay squirmed around under the comforter, annoyed at the knot of sheets wrapped in rolls around his ankles. What he wouldn't give to instantly stop these nightmares and finally get some good rest. This was ridiculous. Part of him knew that his abusive family was far behind him, but a bigger voice seemed to say, "They'll do it. They'll hit you too." He didn't want to think that way about his new foster family, but it was like Jay was just waiting for it. Expecting them to snap. Expecting them to hurt him.

No!

You're safe here, Wu said so. You can believe him.

Right?

Jay rolled on his side, back to the doorway. He wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt, they weren't exactly mean to him. Well, Cole was kinda annoying some days, but that was different. Neither of them acted like they wanted to hurt him. Wu never seemed to get angry at anyone, and Cole never took his teasing too far. They both seemed like good people, but then again, so did his last family at first.

-----Timeskip-----

His head poked out from behind the comic book he was reading when the doorbell rang. Jay closed his comic and silently placed it on the coffee table beside the couch. "U-uhm," he muttered, suspiciously eyeing the two silhouettes standing on the other side of the front door. "Mister Wu?" He called a bit louder.

Instead of the old man, it was Cole who entered the room first, popping his head out of the pantry doorway and fumbling to hide a partially eaten protein bar in his sweatpants pocket. "Hwohs, hewr?" the mountain of a boy whispered, mouth full of his snack and his face etched with the same suspicion Jay's had. "Whu!" Cole whispered, staring up the stairway while trying to stay out of their visitor's line of sight. "Whuuu!"

"Yes?"

Both boys nearly choked when the old man silently appeared behind them with no other sound but him sipping from his tea cup. What, does he teleport now? Jay thought to himself before rising from the couch to follow Wu to the door. Cole leaned up against the wall, seemingly swallowing the last of the protein bar that had lodged itself down his throat. When Wu had passed him to unlock the door, the raven turned to Jay with exasperation. "How does he do that?" he hissed. Jay shrugged, equally befuddled.