“We have no choice, Sage. He isn’t ours.” Andrei whispers, defeated.
“He is. You found him. His uncle didn’t even know he was missing, please. We can run with him.” Andrei shakes his head.
“We have a pack, Sage, it’s not that simple,” Andrei says, placing his head in his hands.
“We will get him back, we just have to wait. It will just take time.” He breathes, rubbing his temples.
“How much time?” I ask as tears slowly fill my eyes. This is no time to break down, but I feel so close to that very verge, that I might.
“I don’t know,” he says, running his fingers through his hair. I am shaking in anger, and in fear for him. Andrei gets up, walking out of the room. I follow him, and he stops before walking into the living room. Despite how tired Jonah is, he instantly sits up, a big smile on his face when Andrei sits beside him.
“Jonah, do you know how to use a phone?” Andrei asks him. I lean on the doorframe, watching them with curiosity. Derrick jumps off the couch, walking away. He returns with his phone, it is an older button model which would be simple for a kid to use, with no passwords.
“No,” Jonah tells him.
“Give him mine,” Derrick says, going through it and erasing everything on it.
“He still needs to know the number in case he loses this,” Derrick tells Andrei, who nods.
“Jonah, I need you to listen, okay? We will show you how to use the phone so that you can call us.”
“Why do I need to call you? You are next to me.” Jonah laughs, and I look at the ceiling trying to swallow my emotion.
“Because tomorrow you are going to a new home, so you need to know how to use a phone, ok?” Andrei’s voice sounds strained, and I can feel a lump form in my throat too.
“A new home? But I want to stay here,” Jonah says, looking over the couch at me, and I can’t handle his tear-filled eyes, so I look away.
“It’s only for a short time, then you come back here, but you use the phone. Get me a pen and paper,” Andrei says, looking behind him, and Derrick rushes off before returning.
Andrei writes his mobile number on it. I have doubts about how a child of his age will remember a ten-digit number, when some adults can’t even.
“I don’t want to call you, I want to stay. I want to stay here,” Jonah says, crying and tossing the phone. Andrei grips his face.
“Stop, I need you to do this. I can’t be with you when you go.” Andrei whispers the words through gritted teeth. It’s clear the pain is taking over any ability he has to think clearly.
“Go where?” Jonah asks.
“With your Uncle Clive.” Andrei announces. Everyone in this room can hear how much he hates that name, and quite frankly, though we don’t know him, everyone feels the same as my mate. I hate that man with passion. He is taking away our boy. Our Jonah.
“Clive, Clive,” he whispers, his eyes going wide like he suddenly remembers the face that goes with the name. Jonah shakes his head, crying harder, and Andrei tries to calm him down.
“He made mom cry, he took our house. I want to stay here, please let me stay, I will be good,” Jonah says.
“He is coming to get you tomorrow.” Jonah starts shaking his head, smacking Andrei’s hands. “Listen, Jonah, stop and listen to me, I will get you back, I promise. But I need you to show me you can use this phone. That you can call us if you need us.” Andrei finally explains the importance of the phone Jonah just tossed away.
“You promise I can come back home?” Jonah says, as his tears spill on Andrei’s hands. He holds his shaking pinkie up, and Andrei looks at his tiny pinkie in the air before wrapping his around Jonah’s.
“I swear to you, I will bring you home. I won’t let him keep you, you are ours, but you need to go and behave until I can get you back. I will get you back,” Andrei tells him, and Jonah’s sobs turn hiccups, but he nods.
Jonah sniffles, tears staining his face as Andrei tries to show him how to use the phone before telling Jonah to do it. Once he has successfully used the phone by himself and called Andrei’s number ten times, Andrei tries to get him to memorize the number. It is impossible, Andrei tried for hours, until nearly midnight. Jonah yawns, and his eyes are fluttering, but Andrei keeps waking him up.
“Andrei, no more,” I tell him.
“He needs to remember the number,” Andrei snaps at me, frustrated. I know it is out of fear, but Jonah is falling asleep.
“Sage is right, he is exhausted, let him sleep. Try in the morning,” Derrick tells him.
Andrei nods, letting Jonah lay back down. He tucks the blanket back around him but remains by his side. Derrick pats my shoulder, pulling out the sofa bed, when I hear a soft knock on the door. My eyes are raw from so much crying, and I suck in a breath, walking over to the door and opening it.
Malik, Casen, Vince, Nora, Zane, and about twenty people are at the door with pillows and blankets. My heart clenches at the sight of their broken faces. I push the door open wider, letting them in, and they all file into the living room surrounding the couch, making themselves comfortable on the floor.
Derrick puts more logs on the fire, and as I go to close the door, my throat restricts when I see the entire pack lying on the ground out front. They know they can’t fit in the packhouse, but they want to guard their boy, Jonah. The little boy they all spent hours hunting for, chasing after, the little boy that took a broken pack and put them back together, reminding them how to smile and laugh.
I leave the door open before going back to the couch. Andrei moves over, and I climb in behind Jonah, tucking his body against mine. “We will bring you home, we won’t give up, you have a huge family here fighting for you, Jonah, you are pack, you are ours,” I whisper to him before pressing my lips to his forehead and closing my eyes.