Kai wakes up the next morning. He sits up quickly as memories come flooding back, and pain radiates through his whole body. / Where the hell am I?/ Robert comes out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. /He took care of me…/
"You're awake, how are you feeling?"
"Like crap."
"I'm sorry Kai, I wish this hadn't happened."
"Don't worry about it Robert… It's not your fault…"
"Technically it is, Kai. I really don't want to see you back out there. You could have a better life... Why did you run away?"
"I had to…"
"What do you mean you had to?"
"I had to get away…"
"You've been away for a while, don't you think you're ready to go home?"
"No, I'll never go back. You don't know what it was like."
"Then tell me Kai, what's wrong? What made you leave?"
"My father, h-he hit me… and raped me…"
"Damn, so it was like living on the streets in your own house."
"Yeah, he would bring his friends over and let them do stuff to me."
"Everything is alright now, I will not make you go back."
"Thanks" Kai replies, holding back tears.
"It's ok to cry"
"I know, but I don't like to."
Robert hugs Kai close, and as warm tears trickle down his face and onto his chest. He strokes Kai's back and kisses the top of his head. Kai cries silently for a few minutes before looking up at Robert. He cups Kai's face with his hand and lightly strokes his cheek with his thumb.
"You hungry?"
"Not really." Kai replies, his stomach growling loudly and giving the lie to his words.
"Your stomach is telling me otherwise."
"Well… it's been awhile since I've had a good meal."
"Well then you're not hungry, you're starving. You stay here and I'll fix you some breakfast. I want you to relax. I don't want you to worry about anything."
"Ok…"
Robert finally puts some clothes on and goes down stairs to fix breakfast. Before long he returns, bringing up a stack of chocolate chip waffles. Kai starts shoveling them in his mouth, which makes Robert laugh a little.
"What?" Kai says with his mouth full.
"Now now, Kai, it's not polite to talk with your mouth full"
Kai swallows down the waffles and gulps down some milk." Sorry, but where were you laughing at?"
"Nothing, it's just the way you attacked those waffles."
"They're delicious!"
"I'm glad you like them, it's about the only thing I can fix"
"Well, keep up the good work!" he says, finishing off his waffles. After a pause, Kai's smile fades. "I think I'm going to go for a walk in just a little while."
"Ok, Kai."
Kai waits for his food to settle, ties the draw string on the loose fitting sweats, and heads out. /It was nice of Robert to dress me, but the clothes are huge./ Kai is busy fiddling with his ill-fitting clothes as he moves down the sidewalk, and isn't watching where he's going when he runs right into someone.
Snapping back to reality, Kai catches his balance. "I'm sorry, I should've been watching where I was going."
"Oh, don't worry about it… Hey, wait, you're that guy from last night…Kai, right?"
"Yeah, and you're Tyson…"
"I was hoping I would run into you. Yeah, so how are you? You look a lot better."
"Thanks, I feel a lot better."
"How about we go to the café around the corner?"
"Umm, I don't have any money with me."
"Don't worry it's my treat"
"Ok…" Kai relents.
Tyson and Kai walk to the café and sit down to talk.
"Order whatever you like," Tyson urges.
After a moment, a waiter ambles over to their table. "What can I get you gentlemen?" He says, cheerily.
Looking up, Tyson answers with a grin, "Yeah, I'll have decaf coffee, black and a plain bagel, cream cheese on the side."
"I'll have a French Vanilla cappuccino and a Cinnamon Raisin bagel."
Smiling, the waiter jots down their order. "I'll be right back with your food."
As the waiter leaves, Tyson looks across the booth at Kai for a moment before speaking. "So tell me about yourself Kai. What do you like to do?"
"Nothing really, I've been kind of busy lately"
"Kai, what happened the other night?"
"I got jumped…"
"Ok… Now that we have to lie out of the way, what is the truth?"
"That is the truth…"
"Sure, so where are you staying at?"
"A friend's place. I… got kicked out of my house."
"So then, why don't you come stay with me? I can make sure you don't get 'jumped' anymore."
"What the hell, you don't even know me and you're offering me a place to stay? What is wrong with you? Are you mental?"
"I told you, I'm a nice person. Plus, I know how it is. My dad kicked me out of the house when I turned 13. I stayed with my grandpa for a few years and now I have a place of my own. It gets lonely staying in a big house all alone."
After a pause, Kai looks up at Tyson once more. "How old are you?"
"18, what about you?"
"17"
"Nice, so are you going to take me up on my offer?"
"I don't know, I'll have to think about it. I mean, I don't even know you…"
"Hey, it's alright, I understand. Just give it some thought."
"I will…"
The waiter brings their order. Kai takes his time sipping on his cappuccino and eating his bagel, though he could have just inhaled it like the waffles from breakfast. After finishing, Kai quietly thanks Tyson for the meal and they part ways, with Kai's mind still reeling from Tyson's strange, yet inviting offer of a place to stay.
Kai walks back to Robert's, the whole time thinking about what Tyson said… /It would good to have somewhere to stay, but I don't know him. I'm tired of being vulnerable, being out here isn't safe for me. I need somewhere to hide out from my father. Should I trust him? I'll talk to Robert about it./ When he enters the house Robert is sitting in the living room, flipping through channels on the T.V.
"So, how was your walk?"
"It was good… I ran into someone."
"Really, who?"
"This guy named Tyson, he helped me out last night."
"Oh, that's good."
"Yeah, he asked me to move in with him… What do you think, Robert?"
"Well he did help you out, so he can't be all bad."
"Actually, he's really nice."
"That's good. If it feels right to you, I think you should take him up on his offer. I mean, you know my door is always open if anything happens, but you deserve a new start.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Robert." Kai says flopping down on the couch next to Robert. He lays his head on Robert's shoulder and finally relaxes a little as he wraps an arm around Kai and pulls him in close. They find a movie to watch and fall asleep together on the couch.
The next morning after breakfast, Kai gets ready to head out again. Robert kisses him on the lips before he leaves. Although he is unsure why, he has a feeling that Kai will be safe with this Tyson.
"Goodbye, Robert"
"Bye, Kai"
Kai walks away, not wanting to look back. He makes his way back to the café, and sure enough Tyson is there. He sees Kai through the window and waves him in. Kai takes a deep breath and walks through the door.
"Hello Kai."
"Hi Tyson."
"You want something?"
"Just a plain bagel"
Tyson hands Kai the bagel off his plate with a smile. "So what can I do for you today?"
"Well, I kind of want to take you up on your offer…I mean if it's still open…"
"Of course! I'll take you to my place now, if you're ready."
"Yeah… Let's go."
