Chapter 2
Manchester, UK, 1988
"I need a bed." He said, looking around him. The living room wasn't large, only containing two sofas, a table and a small television. He didn't mind, not until the moment they suggested he sleeps on the sofa.
"We don't have an extra bed." The woman said uncomfortably.
"Then you sleep on the couch," He snapped, turning towards the hallway. He was hungry and tired, and the last thing he cared about was anyone else. "Where's my bed?"
"Right here," She said, hurrying to get ahead of him. She led him into her bedroom, shyly gesturing at the bed. "Is this alright?"
He nodded briefly and dropped his backpack on the floor. "What's for dinner?" He asked, studying the room. It was even smaller than the living room, but the bed seemed comfortable enough and he didn't plan on staying for a long time. It was surprising enough that she took him in as it is.
"I'll ask my mum," She replied and left, leaving him alone in the room.
He sat down on the bed, staring at the wall in front of him. So far, nothing good came out of this day. After breaking the news to him, the woman – who was, apparently, the secretary of the neuroscience department – wanted to call the head of the department, but knowing how he was likely to respond, he stopped her. Instead, he told her he needed someplace to stay now that his parents are gone.
It turned out that she was the daughter of one of the professors in another faculty. He didn't really care which faculty or what their names were, so long as he had somewhere to stay. At least for the time being.
Once they gave him their address – he was still somewhat surprised that they did – he took a cab to their apartment. Once again, the cabbie didn't argue when he told him where to drive, even though he started asking questions when Kevin sat down in the backseat on his own.
"How old are you, son?" He asked as he drove, looking at him through the front mirror.
"I don't want to talk." He replied briefly. And just like that, the man stopped.
When they finally arrived, he opened the door and turned to leave. The driver cleared his throat, stopping him.
"Do you have any money?" He asked, looking at him dubiously.
Kevin nodded. "Of course I do," He said as confidently as he could. "Money isn't a problem."
The cabbie straightened up and turned back to face the front window. "Money isn't a problem," He repeated.
Kevin looked at him in surprise, not entirely sure what was happening. Then, hesitantly, he placed his foot on the sidewalk outside. This time, the man didn't try to stop him. He just kept staring ahead, saying nothing. He filed it in his memory to think about it later.
It took him a few minutes to find the right place. When he knocked on the door, another woman, who looked a bit like an older version of the woman he met at the university, opened it. She looked at him with a frown for a moment before her face cleared and she smiled.
"You must be the boy Christie talked about," She said. Moving aside to let him in, she added, "Come in. Your parents left Manchester, didn't they?"
His fists clenched, but he bit back an angry comment. For some reason, they were letting him into their home. He wouldn't have to sleep on the street. That was more than some of the boys he'd seen that morning had.
Later, she introduced him to their second daughter, Helen. At least, that's what he thought her name was – he wasn't really paying attention. Helen showed him the sofa, which was already prepared for him. That was when he finally snapped and told her she can stay there. For his surprise, she didn't argue, but just showed him to her room and left.
No, he had to amend, something good did come out of that day. At least he had somewhere to sleep and food to eat. He never realised how much that was before.
Now that his immediate future was settled, he had some time to think about the day. They took him in without even asking anything. He didn't pay for anything. Not the drives and not the cake. He thought that maybe it had to do with him being a child – maybe they all just pitied him. But it still seemed at least a bit odd.
He always thought his parents kept doing everything he said because of the way they hurt him. But then, that didn't explain the other people's behaviour.
Maybe they all really did just feel bad for him.
"You could use some new clothes," Christie commented when she came back home the next afternoon, looking at him. He was still wearing the same clothes he'd left his house with, despite their mother's insistence that she could borrow clothes from a neighbour. He preferred his own clothes.
Looking down at himself, he had to agree. His trousers were dirty and his shirt had practically become his second skin. He hasn't worn the same clothes two days in a row since… well, ever. Especially since his parents started doing everything they could to please him and bought him everything he wanted.
"I could borrow-" The mother started, but he shook his head.
"I need new clothes," He said decidedly, turning to look at Christie.
She nodded, looking at him thoughtfully. "I think there's a children's clothing store just down the street," She said. "Their prices might be a bit expensive, though," She added after another moment's thought, clearly uncomfortable.
Her words reminded him of the cab driver who brought him there. He was also asking about Kevin's money, but as soon as he said those words to him, he gave up entirely. He didn't even demand the minimum fare.
Maybe…?
"Money isn't a problem," He said confidently, looking straight into Christie's eyes. He had to admit she had lovely blue ones.
Christie smiled. "Of course," She agreed. "If you want, we can go later today."
He shook his head. "How about now?"
The store was a few minutes' walk from the apartment. Before they left, he tried to find a place to hide his backpack, but the truth was the apartment was too small to hide anything in it. Eventually he gave up and took it with him.
Christie seemed somewhat confused to see it, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she led him to the store, all the while talking about her day. He didn't bother listening; instead, he tried to think about his next steps.
He still wanted to find his parents. Of course, he had no idea where or how to look for them, but given his current situation, that was hardly a priority. Even though it would certainly be more comfortable to go back home.
He could stay with Christie and her family, but he wasn't fond of the idea. Even though they were nice to him and helped him – a big thing in itself – their apartment was too crowded for him. Not to mention it was nicer to be able to get anything he wanted, whatever its price was. But for that he needed a richer family, and he wasn't sure they would agree to take him in.
What he really needed was his parents. But that was hardly any use.
"There it is," Christie's voice cut his thoughts off.
He stopped and looked up to find himself standing in front of a huge showcase. There were three manikins on display, all wearing branded clothing. Kevin's eyes were immediately drawn to the middle one, wearing a dark purple suit. That was it.
"This," He said quietly, looking at it.
Christie followed his gaze. Frowning, she asked, "Is that for your school?"
He turned to look at her, both surprised and confused. "School?" He asked, frowning back at her.
She nodded. "You are going to school, aren't you?"
The truth was he wasn't. He'd never spent a single day in school. He'd seen it on the telly, of course, but his parents never let him out of their sight. When they weren't busy experimenting on him or on other children, they taught him everything on their own. Maths, science, history and English – they took turns teaching him everything they thought he needed to know. Until they left.
"I don't need to go to school," He said eventually, shaking his head. He didn't know whether he needed to go to school like everyone else, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be half as interesting as his life used to be. It would probably be a waste of his time.
Her frown cleared. "You don't," She agreed, surprising him. He expected her to object, or at least question the idea. But clearly, she wasn't going to. "So you like that suit?" He nodded silently, still wondering why she agreed so easily. "Let's go in."