Closer

Ridger sighed and fixed his eyes on the road. The heavy feeling he had in his chest disappeared upon finding his brother. Though he still has many unanswered questions, his first action was to inform his parents that he had already located Michael in order to allay their concerns.

He has been looking for him the entire night, and it's already almost midnight. Michael's driver had been waiting for him at school earlier but didn't see any signs of him leaving. Several people were tasked with looking for him, but they could not find his whereabouts. They searched the entire school but didn't find him. His father even asked to look for him in other cities too.

Michael, in the meantime, made every effort to look down in order to avoid his brother's eyes out of fear. He is mentally rehearsing what he will say to him and their family.

"Can you tell me everything now?" Ridger uttered while his eyes were still focused on the road. "Tell me, how did you end up there?"

What Michael feared finally came. His brother is finally asking questions, and he knows that Ridger will get mad once he learns the truth. Michael also knows that he can't lie and must face the consequences of his actions.

Michael clasped his hands together as it started to get sweaty. "The truth is..."

"What? Did someone kidnap you?" Ridger asked because Michael was taking too long to complete his sentence. Of course, he is anxious and worried for his brother's life. This isn't the first time a crisis has happened in their lives. They are rich, but they have a lot of threats in their lives. At first, it was their mom, then his sister, and now his brother. This event will probably not make him sleep tonight, especially if Michael was actually kidnapped by someone.

Michael immediately shook his head and replied, "No! That's not what happened."

"Then tell me, Michael. Tell me everything," Ridger stated with a firm voice as he was trying not to yell.

Michael gulped and said, "There is something I haven't been telling you. The beginning of school was fine until some kids started to bully me for petty reasons. I thought it was a normal thing I needed to deal with on my own so I never told anyone. But of course, I wouldn't let them do anything they want. They would come to me when no one is around and beat me. But of course, I would always fight back. One time they told me that they will stop if I met them there. They said they wanted to be friends with me finally. Unfortunately, they were lying. They just wanted to do something bad. They knew I won't tell anyone so they kept doing that to me so everything is my fault. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to–"

Before Michael could finish his statement, Ridger stopped the car at the side of the road and instantly pulled his brother into a hug. He didn't know that his brother was experiencing this kind of thing in school. All this time, they all thought that he was doing well and having fun at Royale.

Michael, who was surprised by his brother's action, suddenly felt a lump in his throat. The tears that he was trying his best to keep hidden suddenly burst out as his brother tried to comfort him.

That was the moment Ridger realized that his brother was only 13 and was in need of emotional support. He felt so bad thinking that Michael was a tough boy and realized he had been neglecting him all this time.

"I'm sorry, Mike, for making you feel that way. I'm sorry if we made you feel like you couldn't rely on us," Ridger uttered. He wanted to see Michael's face, but Michael buried his face in Ridger's shoulder to hide his face. He was too embarrassed to let his brother see his tears.

Ridger smiled as he gently rubbed Michael's head. And when he stopped crying, Michael let go and looked away because his face and eyes were still red.

Ridger looked at the road and started the engine. "Later, when we get home, I want you to tell us everything in detail. Don't be afraid because I am sure they will understand," Ridger stated with a gentle tone.

"Is dad mad at me?" Michael asked while still staring outside the window.

"No, he's not," Ridger answered.

"But he will..."

Ridger glanced at Michael and said, "Did I get mad at you after you told me the truth?"

Michael shook his head in response, causing Ridger to smile. "That's right. I did not. I'm sure our father would understand. But of course, you must promise never to do this again. You don't want to worry us, especially mom, right?"

Michael nodded and wiped the tear that had escaped his eyes. Ridger reached for his head and rubbed it again.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure this will never happen again," Ridger uttered as his face slowly firmed as his grip on the steering wheel became tight.

—

The next day, Maxene went to school a little late because she had to report to headquarters earlier. Maxene had to report to her boss every update on her mission, including her research and everything she learned. That man wants to make sure that she's making progress.

But while she was on her way, she saw Ridger leaning on the wall close to her classroom. He's wearing his uniform while his hands are in his pockets. It seems like he was waiting for someone. When Ridger noticed her presence, he looked in her direction and stood up properly.

Maxene walked towards him and said, "Hey. What are you doing here?" despite having idea why he was there. "Don't you have class?" she added.

"I almost thought you wouldn't come to school today," Ridger uttered, ignoring her questions.

"I'm just five minutes late, though. But of course, if I stay here, I will be later," she answered while staring at her wristwatch. She then looked at him.

"This won't take long. I just want to say thank you for what you did for my brother last night," Ridger said, smiling at her. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to take him back home."

Maxene could sense the sincerity in his voice, which she hadn't expected. It was surprising enough to see him here this early when he could've waited for her after class.

"I didn't do anything for your brother. I just lent him my phone, which is what a normal human being would do," she answered casually. It's true, though, even though she didn't plan what happened last night. It made her job easier.

Ridger chuckled and replied, "Actually, you did more than that. I heard from Michael. He told me everything in detail."

The memory of her threatening the other kids popped into her mind. "They deserved that," she uttered monotonously, then looked at him and questioned, "If this is just what you were going to tell me, you should have just waited until the class was over. Don't you have any classes?"

"Oh, I don't have first class. And I won't be able to see you and Lianey later, so I took the chance of going here today to thank you. I have to stay late in school because of some things I need to work on. Lianey will be picked up by her driver again. I will instruct the driver to send you home too," he stated.

"You could thank me tomorrow, you know."

Ridger scratched his head because she was right, then smiled. "I just want to do it today. Anyway, you should go inside. I don't want to take any more of your time. Thanks again," he said with a soft smile.

Although she always sees him smile like this around others, this was the first time she saw him soften up towards her. It was like she was able to penetrate through his walls, which she thought were thick and strong, but it turns out they soften like metal when heated with flames, which are his family.

To Maxene, the moment his heart softened was the moment he became an open book she could read anytime. A book with fragile pages that she can easily flip and tear whenever or however she wants, so everything will go her way.

At that moment, she knew that she was closer to her goal. After all, Ridger is her ultimate key.

–

End of Chapter 22