east of eden 𑁋 salvis.

XXXIV

♥̩̥̩♥̩̩̥͙♥̩͙ˊˎ

It was still the same house. Well, sort of. Almost immediately, the stale smell of a house that had been sitting all closed up for a while greeted Travis' nose. Of course, that was to be expected. It had probably been sitting for at least a week. It was a bit messy, as well. Probably from the police investigation. From what Travis knew, the police didn't care much about cleanliness when looking for evidence.

He stepped inside, dodging things on the floor as he made his way to his room. Things were only a little different in there. Bed unmade, drawers opened, and worst of all.. Closet floorboard opened. He rushed to see if his favorite things were still there, but they weren't. The police hadn't even left the box the objects were in, or his journal. It was all taken. Damnit.

Nothing else was gone, though. Just moved around. He took in the sight of his room in its new condition. A tear drifted down his face, but it was a lone one. No others would join it. Travis rubbed at his face until the tear was gone. This was going to be the last time he would ever see his childhood bedroom, he was sure. Once his bags were packed and he was transferred to his permanent social worker and moved off to a temporary home or orphanage, he would never return.

He took his time packing his things. Travis folded clothes slowly, checked every inch of his room over and over to make sure he'd grabbed all his things. He wanted to take his time in here. This place held more bad memories than good, but it was the only home Travis had ever known. Well, the only physical home. Sal was his home, and now he was gone. Travis' only physical home would be gone soon, too. Sold off to the highest bidder in a few years. He was homeless. He deserved the right to savor what was his before it was gone.

Shelly entered his room far too soon, though. She was patient with her words as she urged him to get a move on. They needed to get to his new social worker. He nodded, but paid no real mind to her words. He was going to take his sweet time. He'd be dragged out of here if he had to.

He left his room once all of his things were packed, and then made his way to the basement. Travis was on a mission, and he was sure it was obvious. Shelly didn't even try to stop him, but she did slowly follow after him. He paid no mind to her, only walking over to the only remaining box of his mother's belongings and grabbing it. He was taking it with him, whether Shelly liked it or not. She opened her mouth as if she was going to protest as he picked the box up, but quickly shut it.