She had ignored him until then, so Carlos didn't expect his mother to suddenly yank on his hair and he couldn't hold back a yelp. Her face lit with terrible manic glee and he knew he must have sounded like one of her escaped dalmatians. Carlos's stomach fell in fear.
:::
They don't acknowledge Carlos as youngest - not really - just like they don't acknowledge Jay as eldest. But they let him sit closer to each of them than anyone else and he finally started growing but he's still smaller than even Mal. But that's fine. Because he is needed, and protected.