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Hello World
Matt wasn’t sure what he expected.
He’d been in hospitals before—visiting, mostly. Sitting around while Uncle Brian talked to doctors about things he didn’t understand. But this was different. The hallways were too bright, the air too clean, and everyone walked like they belonged.
“You don’t have to be nervous,” Uncle Brian said.
“I’m not,” Matt said automatically. He was fourteen, not a kid. And he wasn’t nervous, even though his stomach was twisting.
Uncle Brian let out a quick laugh and kept going.
Around the corner, a sign read NURSERY. Uncle Brian slowed beside a wide window into the ward. Several bassinets stood under the lights, but somehow Matt could tell which one was theirs before his uncle said a word.
Tiny. Red-faced. Wrapped tight in a blanket, small enough to slip right out of someone’s hold.
He couldn’t look away.
“You coming in?”
Matt nodded and followed as the door opened. The room smelled of antiseptic and baby powder. A nurse glanced up, but Uncle Brian was already lifting the bundle that barely filled his hands.
Then he turned to Matt, offering the baby.
“Go on,” Uncle Brian said.
Matt hesitated, his heart pounding. Then he reached out. His arms were stiff at first, but once the baby settled against him, everything else faded.
His brother—technically his cousin, but that wasn’t the point.
The baby cried, then went quiet again.
“Still working on a name.“
“Doesn’t matter,” he whispered.
Uncle Brian ruffled his hair. “Think you can keep an eye on him for me?”
“Yeah.”
“Figured.” Uncle Brian patted his shoulder. “Looks like he’s in good hands.”
The baby shifted, pressing lightly against Matt’s chest. He waited, keeping still until nothing else moved.
Matt didn’t know much about babies—what they needed or what kind of kid he’d be.
But he knew this.
This was his brother, and he wouldn’t let anything happen to him.
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The Matchmaker