BEHIND THEIR MIEN

CHAPTER 14- NATHAN

WHAT THE HELL? I snapped my head at Ms. Carson and she did the same. Brother? Did this kid just call Captain Wild to ask if I am his brother? We both looked over to a kid skating towards our end. He must be around the same age as the kid who yelled at him. He skated so easily like he was floating on the ice.

" Yo Captain , this guy says he is Luke's brother , you never told us about having brothers other than Luke " the kid said as the other kid who is supposedly a Wild and the team captain removed his helmet, his brunette strands falling over his forehead as he frowned, his eyes greenish brown I guess, looking all over me.

" Hello sir, how may I help you?" The captain asked.

" I am sorry there might have been some confusion. He called you Wild? What's your name kid?" I asked him but the kid looked at me with a stern look.

" I apologize but I am not supposed to give my name, for all I know you could be a kidnapper asking for confirmation!" He said and looked at his team mate at the kidnapping part, after which the kid moved away from me. This captain is smart for his age. Seeing how his jersey has the name Sanchez -Wild 11 has me thinking he is related somehow. How often do you find the name Sanchez and Wild together? Related to Luke , cherry on the top.

Upon detecting this Kid building his guard, Ms. Carson stepped in front of the kid and smiled.

" Hey. We are Luke's Family, not any kidnappers. This is Nathan Wild and my name is Natalie. " she said to him and as she introduced us , the kid's eyes went big. He knows me. seeing this as my opening I took a few steps in front of him

" So...little brother. I see you are the team captain. Did Luke ever mention that I too once was my ice hockey team captain in elementary?" I said , trying to ease the conversation and lower his guard. What a day, 31 years old trying to lower a kid's guard.

This kid is 10 or 11....there's a big chance he could be Luke's son....but that other kid called him his brother. What is Luke doing in this city?

The kid shook his head, walked over to a bag, took out a phone and called someone.

"Nathan is here at my practice....do you know? Ok.....hmmm...ok....you sure...what about Ally? Alright. Bye. Love ya too" he ended the call and glared at me. He walked on his skates and sat beside me.

" Luke says you don't know anything and you are trying to find things. Luke is coming here" the kid says. He is definitely smart. I simply nodded my head, " so you are his younger brother? how so?" I asked to know if he is really just a brother or his son, to which the kid simply shrugged.

" Well I'm 10 so I certainly can't be his elder brother." He said, and that got my attention even more. He is sharp. He didn't give any extra information yet answered me with wits. Luke is definitely raising a genius. I simply chuckled," Sarcasm was always one of Luke's biggest charms. I see he rubbed it off on you"

" You are not getting anything from me, if you may please excuse me, I gotta practice. Luke should be here soon. Have a nice day sir" and just like that he skated away and I just sat there and watched him, somehow feeling proud of this kid Luke is raising or whatever he is doing. I felt Ms. Carson sitting beside me.

" Luke definitely adopted that kid" She said and I nodded," His jersey name is Sanchez-Wild. Luke gave him that name, if the kid goes into NHL....papa Will's legacy is somehow continued.. dammit Luke! I know my brother is not a bad guy...but what could it be that he is doing it all alone, he was all cold to me at the station. He definitely doesn't want things to slip away from his side to ours. " I say to her and we spend the next half an hour watching that kid practice. He was really good. No wonder he is a captain. But seeing the arena, it was no doubt out of charity. If the kid was given better opportunities and gears in Connecticut, he would excel. If that kid's gonna use the Sanchez-Wild name, he better fly. I'm gonna make sure Luke doesn't waste away the kids' talent in a financial crisis because of whatever pride and thing he has going on.

" You shouldn't have come here! Coming after me is another thing but going after a kid is a cheap trick Nate" Luke's voice snapped as he came at me.

" Now wait a min! I didn't come here as a kid. Hell, I didn't even know there was a kid! Who is he? Your son or adopted ?" I asked to which he looked furious.

"Whatever that kid is is none of your business, leave him out of it!" He sneered which angered me.

" He carried the name Sanchez Wild! You should know none of us will leave any such name to waste or abandon! The kid's got potential which you are wasting in this small charity arena!"

"Everything alright Luke?" The kid suddenly came and said, looking concerned for Luke. The guard he was holding up earlier, the stern look, tough posture all gone, now he just looked like an innocent kid.

"Yes, everything alright bud. How was practice today?" Luke asked, going over him and ruffling the kid's hair and smiling, a soft smile that I last saw 10 years ago. He suddenly looked like the 18 year old Luke who disappeared from our life.

The kid smiled, leaning into his touch and nodded," It was great. I scored a lot of goals and also assisted. I think I'll make the team captain in school next year. Luke...what's going on? Is he going to take her away?" The kids said but then frowned and whispered the last part to Luke to which he became stiff.

" No one takes my family away from me. Why don't you go and pack your things. You must be starving. I'll drop you off at Hailey's. Not a word after this okay?" Luke said to the kid to which he simply nodded, the kid's eye once again falling over me and Ms. Carson.

Once the kid was out of sight, Luke turned to me," Not a word until I drop him off. Both of you." He said and soon the kid came back with a backpack and we all followed Luke into his police car. Damn...doesn't he have his own car aside from the work car? I took in the condition of my brother. He didn't smell of any expensive perfume or any cologne at all. The kid wore shabby shoes, too dirty and almost worn off. Luke's watch was a very old one. He wore a regular plain white shirt and jeans. His financial condition wasn't good.

He drove the car in a very questionable, almost dangerous location. He stopped it in front of a diner and honked 3 times. Soon 2 girls came out of the diner. The elder girl must be in high school and the younger one couldn't be older than 8.

"ZACH!" The younger girl yelled in delight as she spotted the car and the kid got out.

"Hey Bailey. I'm gonna eat with you" The kid said ... .Zach said. I looked at Luke. Emotions whirling in me.

"Hailey, can you let Ally know that ...umm. Nathan is here so pick Zach and stay at Jeremy's until I pick them." He said and the Girl's eye widened as she looked at me. Like she was seeing some kind of ghost.

"Does Allison know -" the girl-Hailey was saying but Luke stopped her.

"Just tell her ok...I'll contact you." Luke said and rolled over the window as Hailey took some steps back, frowning, looking at me, turned away and went inside the diner. That girl knew me. Everyone around Luke seems to know my name yet everyone's stranger to me. But there was something else that caught my attention. The names-Allison and Zach.

"Allison and Zach?" I asked him to which he clenched his jaws.

" My adopted younger siblings. You are to stay far far away from my family Nathan. I'm warning you, No one touches my family" he said, but it rather felt like a threat.

"You adopted a little girl and a little boy and named them after Isabella and Thomas's middle names? You are sick Luke! Your family!? Is that what you've been doing here all along? You couldn't deal with Bella and Tommy dead so you left your family, ran away, adopted some kids, named them after their middle names and started your own family? You're sick Luke "I spat out in fury to which Luke sharply took a turn and stopped the car.

" Get the hell away from me and this city! Get out, you are not getting any answers"