Bloody and Wild

Purpose and Family

The next day at breakfast Robin handed Wade a mobile phone.

"It's untraceable, phone your mum and stop her worrying." Robin instructed gruffly, returning to the stove to flip some pancakes. Wade had to swallow a couple of times before his mouth was moist enough for speech.

"Those men haven't spoken to her have they?"

"No," Robin's deep voice sent a shiver through Wade's bones, "Ryder reckons they're still unsure if you survived the blast at the garage. They don't want to draw attention to your disappearance. If you don't call your mum, they'll think that your dead and stop looking for you. But don't put your mother through that."

Wade was surprised firstly that Robin had replied so fully to his question but mostly at what Robin's answer revealed about himself. Wade eyed Robin's back warily as he dialled his mother's number. She took a long time to answer the phone and Wade pictured her, hair messy, soil under her finger nails, wide awake and running through lists of what she had to do today.

"Hello."

"Hey mum."

"Wade, where have you been? Do you need a lift home?"

"No actually something's come up. A job opportunity, kind of a rush I know and I don't know where I'll be settling yet. But I'm staying with some friends."

"What about your stuff?" Wade hit his forehead with him palm, really wishing he had thought up the details of this phone call before making it.

"I don't have a place yet so I can't take it now, but when everything settles down I'll come back for it. Until then my friends are helping me out."

"Well what's this job, tell me all about it." Wade panicked, sweat building up on his brow.

"Actually I have to go now, but I'll call you again soon and tell you all about it."

"Okay darling, love you."

"Love you too, bye." He thought he saw a tremor pass through Robin's shoulder blades but he couldn't be certain. He hung up and put the phone down on the table. Wade gnawed on the corner of his lip, debating the idea's that were spinning through his disorganised brain. "Where's your mother?" Robin tensed.

"She's dead, cancer three years ago." Robin's voice was softer than usual and he looked smaller. Wade frowned.

"I'm sorry," almost sincere but distrust still guarded his eyes.

"She died thinking I was missing, presumed dead. That's my one big regret." Wade mulled this over, musing that this was the most intense conversation with a set of humungous shoulder blades that he had ever had. Working to make his expression unreadable Wade moved forward and pushing up on his hands, was able to sit on the kitchen surface top giving him a view of Robin's troubled expression.

"Were you being trained by Ryder when she died?" Robin sighed and bowed his head. "How can you stand him now?" Wade questioned bitterly. Robin turned and gave him a flat look.

"Ryder saved me. It's not his fault my mum died." Wade narrowed his eyes, fear forgotten. Even at school with the bully's he had never known when to shut his mouth.  

"How did Ryder save you?" He demanded incredulously. Anger sparked in Robin's dark gaze.

"He showed me my mistakes and weaknesses and broke me out of them," he stepped menacingly toward Wade, "I now have strength, purpose and family. I will never be weak again. I will never be used again." Wade saw the torment in Robin's expression and paled, becoming engulfed by Robin's immense shadow. "You see Ryder as the darkness. Yet for us, he's the light."