Rafael had two loving parents until he was orphaned at the age of 10. Then, he was bounced around foster homes--most of them fine--until about 14, when he was taken in by a nice couple with a daughter and another foster son. Landon, only a handful of months younger than him, quickly became his best friend. His brother. The person that Rafael would do absolutely anything for. He couldn't explain the immediate, primal need he felt to protect the other boy, but he never really tried to. Some people were just your people, blood or not. Landon was his people. The boys were adopted together, and from that day on, they were legally brothers. 

Rafe adjusted faster than Landon did, but he'd also had a wildly different experience in foster care.