"...no, if I went there they wouldn't let me come back with you," Ciaran said quietly, shrinking back a bit. "I'm not trying to make you mad, Reed, I'm sorry."
Still holding his brother's hand, he stopped protesting, looking down at the ground as he waited for Lydia to open the door. He didn't want to make Reed so mad that he wouldn't want to come back, or that he'd put him in a home. Charlie had said that a lot, planted the seed deep in his brain. If he went running to his parents or Reed, he'd put him in a home. Ciaran didn't believe it, he trusted Reed, but that didn't extend to their parents as much any more.
Charlie had done a lot of damage in more ways than one.