Kamali's Home for the Lost

Chapter 1- Getting to the House

Oakley POV

I sat in the passenger seat beside my Dad as we drove down some backroads in the country. I was wringing my hands in anxiety because I did not know where I was going. We have only been driving for about 15 minutes when my dad pulls onto a dirt road. He was soon pulling into a long driveway that thankfully was paved. As we pulled up I took a minute to observe the house. Although mansion seemed like a more fitting word. The property itself was huge with a lot of yard space. I noticed that there seemed to be a garden full of plants and well maintained.

The White paneling makes the house stand out against the woods. I thought I could see a shed in the backyard but it is hard to tell from the driveway. As we approached the front door opened and a fairly tall man walked out. He was wearing a white button up shirt with navy suit pants and brown shoes. He looked to be around 28 or 29 years old from what I could tell. He had his dark hair partially dyed pink and I could even see some tattoos on his head and neck. He has possibly tanned skin and almost looks Mediterranean. The olive tanned skin was interrupted by tattoos from what I could see.

He walked up to our car as my dad got out of the car. I opened my door and got out slowly. I saw him glance at me out of the corner of my eye. I could also see someone peeking out of one of the windows on the first floor near the door. I looked down and tried to make myself smaller, hoping to disappear.

"Good Afternoon, my name is Kamali Malik and this is my home for those who wander and need some help. Are you Robert Nova?" The handsome man, now identified as Mr. Malik said.

"I am, I called you last week about having you fix my DAUGHTER" my dad said, staring straight at me as he said the last part. I tucked my head down and turned away so he couldn't see my eyes filling with tears. I missed the look that flashed across Kamali's face. "We are hoping that you can make her see that she doesn't need to pretend to be a boy. We told her that she could come back home when she gets over this phase. We are only doing this because we love her, but we have three other kids at home that she could infect." The more my dad talked the harder it became to keep the tears at bay. I looked off into the distance where I saw two boys who appeared to be about a year or two older than me. They were looking at my dad in disgust and smiled at me.

"Well your child is definitely welcome here and we have a therapist who comes weekly for sessions with the house residents who need to see him." Kamali said as he reluctantly shook my dad's hand. "I am going to have a couple of the residents come help us unload the college stuff so that we can store it in the garage for now until the room can be set up. Milo and Kade come here please and help us unload the truck into the garage. This is our newest resident." I could tell that Mr. Malik was trying to avoid saying any name for me which I appreciated. I saw the two boys from earlier walk over to help.

One seemed to have longish blonde hair while the other had ginger hair. Both were taller than me, but most men are. They quickly walked over to the bed of the truck where I went to open for them. They took the time to quickly let me know which is which, Kade has the long hair and Milo is the ginger. At this point my dad and Mr. Malik came over to help as well. We started taking things to put in the garage. I quickly grabbed my army backpack and hid it from my dad. That contained all my men's clothes and my binder. Kade saw and took the bag to put away behind some stuff in the garage.

In the half an hour it took to unpack my stuff into the garage my dad had disappeared with Mr. Malik inside and was ready to leave right after. He looked at me as he was getting into his car. "I hope that this can help you Grace because your mother and I just don't know what to do anymore. You be good and follow the rules here so maybe you can come home one day." With that said he gets in the car and drives off.

I am left standing there watching him leave me with a bunch of strangers he is hoping will fix me. I feel a hand placed on my shoulder and flinch from the unexpected contact. I turn and see Mr. Malik there with a sad smile on his face.

"Let's head inside. Grab what you need for tonight then tomorrow we can organize what you need from your stuff." he said. We turned around and he led me into the garage. I grabbed my backpack and duffle bag out of the pile.

Kamali POV

We have a new resident coming today to the house. The boys have been running around all day cleaning and getting ready. I got some basic information from their dad but I have to take it with a grain of salt based on our conversation. A lot of their likes might still be true but I dont think all of what I was told is true. I was told that they love astronomy because of their last name so we decided to decorate the bedroom in a galaxy theme.

Around three I heard a car coming up the driveway. I asked Milo and Kade to help me with unloading everything because they understand how much stuff can be brought to school. I saw a blue ford f150 pulling up the driveway and opened the door to go greet them. As I am walking I see the driver's door open and a 50 something year old man get out. He has brown hair, blue eyes and looks to be around my height, maybe a little taller. This I assume is Robert Nova.

When I saw the passenger door open and saw the new resident I couldn't help but smile a little. I noticed that they seemed to be trying to make themselves small though and seemed shy. They would definitely be the shortest of us but not by much. I saw the dirty blond hair and blue eyes before their face went to the ground as if it was the most interesting thing.

I had to force the smile to stay on my face during the conversation with Robert. I could tell how much this was hurting his child. I tried to distract him by calling the boys over to help unload the truck. As we helped I saw that a lot of the stuff that was out was fairly feminine. I also saw things that they were obviously trying to hide from their dad.

After bringing Robert in to discuss what little Nova has been diagnosed with and what the medication needs are. I found out that they were diagnosed with severe anxiety, depression, ADHD and a small Eating disorder. He told me that they might not eat a lot and we might have to force them to eat sometimes.

I watched Little Nova's face as their dad drove away and knew there would be a lot of work to get them to see they can be loved for who they are. I led them into the garage and watched as they grabbed a hidden backpack and the duffle bag. I saw them look towards a large Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal but not grab it. As we walked in I told them we would have a tour after dinner.

"So I know what your parents told me but I want to ask you what name and pronouns you want us to use here? This is not an institution to convert you or fix you or anything like that. This is a safe place for young men to live." I said. I saw them glance at me real quick then look away when I looked down at them.

"Oh um. My name is Oakley and I use he/him pronouns please" He mumbled to me. It was absolutely adorable and the name is fitting in my opinion.

"Welcome home then Oakley. My name is Kamali, most of the boys call me Kamali or Mali but some call me Sir. I am going to show you to your room so you can have about an hour to decompress before we have dinner. We are having some spaghetti tonight" I said as I led him upstairs. We walked to the second floor and turned right down that hallway. "The first room on the right is Nash, across from them is Milo. The door next to Milo is Kade and you will be in this room next to Nash across from Kade. The door at the end of the hallway is a bathroom that you share. If you had turned left up the stairs; the first door on the left is Cohen's room, the door next to his room is Mav's room. Across from Mav's room is Mateo's room and next to his is a bathroom. The door at the end of the hallway is my room. You are always welcome to knock on my door if you need me. You will meet the other residents at dinner tonight."

"Okay, um, thank you." He mumbled. I noticed he does that but hopefully he will come out of his shell soon.

"Okay, go decompress for a bit and I will come get you or Kade will get you for dinner in an hour." I said as I walked away. This was only the beginning of a journey, Afterall not all who wander are lost.