Line of Time

Growing Up Lost

The next day the twins found their now dry clothes and put them back on. They walked down stairs and then outside to find the bikers pulling their bikes out of the now drying earth that the rain had encased them in. 

Mathias was helping them too but he wasn't getting very far with his efforts. After a while he gave up. Kelly walked over and handed Tino a small wrapped candy, he looked at her for a moment before she told him to eat it. He popped into his mouth and stood there with a sour look on his face.

"It's a cough drop, it'll help with your sore throat, I found a few this morning and thought you should be the one to have them. Don't want ya getting any worse." She said as she patted his head. 

"You take care of him for the day alright, when it starts getting late, you both come back here." She said as the twins looked at each other as confusion was clear on their faces. 

"Why?" Gunnar asked as Tino played with the odd candy in his mouth. 

"Because I want you two to come with us when were ready to leave again. We'd all feel pretty bad if we left you here... Wouldn't you like to be one of us?" She said as their eyes went wide. 

"Like a family?..." Gunnar asked as his attention was grasped. 

"Yeah, like a really big family, you'd be with Mathias and Jack and me along with everyone else." She said with a smile. 

"Would you be our mommy? . . . " Tino asked shyly as he hit partly behind his brother. 

"But not like the mommy we had... she took medicine and it made her angry at us if she didn't get it... " Gunnar explained as he looked at her with a hint of fear in his eyes. Kelly's heart broke when she heard those words come from his lips. 

"Oh, sweethearts no, I wouldn't ever hurt or get mad at you two for no good reason. If we're a family we stick together no matter what. Come here, I'll be your mommy if you want." She said as she got on one knee and opened her arms. Mathias came over and joined them all in a hug. Some of the guys smiled over at them, other elbowed each other. 

"We got two new gang members, Kelly's new boys."

"Wonder who's getting to ride with them."

"I don't know, but they'll have to ease up on the gas when they got the smaller one. Poor kid's going ta fall of the damn bike."

There was a laugh from the guys and then a man with a graying brown bread and hair looked at them. 

"I got a side car, he can ride with me Kelly." He shouted as she looked over at him. She was still kneeling but had a hand on Tino's back as he looked over at the man. She smiled at them both and assured him that the man was nice. Mathias took his hand and dragged him along to go met him. 

"Tino this is--" Mathias started as Tino beat him to it. 

"Chase." He said as they were both surprised. 

"Good guesser." He said with a chuckle. 

"You're going to be riding in his side car, that way you don't fall off the back of the bike. Chase rides at the front with Jack, they lead the way. Me and Mom are in the middle so we don't get lost and Gunnar's going to be in the middle to. " He said as Tino nodded. 

Mathias ran off to see Gunnar and bring him to the person he was going to be riding with. 

"Any chance I can ask you how you guessed my name?" Chase asked as Tino tried to climb up onto the bike, Chase smiled as he picked up the small boy by the back of his collar to lift him onto the bike and in front of him. Tino faced him and smiled.