Ghost (Second Edition)

Chapter Twenty--Belonging

Luis

Nathan's soft breathing was the only sound that filled the air of the large bedroom. Luis gently placed another cooling pad on Nathan's burning forehead. He was sleeping, his face tinged a light silver by the moonlight.

Nathan looked a lot younger when he was sleeping. More innocent. His face was smoothed of all emotion, but his lips curled up slightly at the cool touch. Luis smiled and gently brushed the soft blonde hair off his forehead.

Nathan squirmed and made a small hmm sound, his eyes flickering in his dreams. Luis sat back and sighed slightly.

He liked Nathan's house. It was warm and cozy, and so full of love. It was a far cry from his mother's place. He felt safe here and at home. He felt like he belonged, and that made him smile.

There was a soft knock on the bedroom door, making him look up. Mary poked her head through the crack in the open door.

"Luis," She whispered, "why don't you come and have some dinner, let Nathan rest."

Luis looked back at Nathan. "I don't want to leave him."

"He will be alright. Cook made a roast, I want you to try some," Mary's tone was gentle.

Luis hesitated for a moment before he smiled. "Alright." He looked back at Nathan and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "I will be back soon, love."

He slowly stood up and joined Mary at the door, looking back once. Nathan had rolled over and had his face half buried in his pillow, the covers pushed down to his waist. With a last smile, he followed Mary out.

***

Luis stared, gobsmacked, at the amount of food that covered the kitchen table. There was a whole roast chicken in the centre of the table, with different vegetables surrounding it. There were bowls of roast potatoes, honey carrots, roast pumpkin.

"Is everything alright, Luis?" Mary asked, looking up as she spooned some potatoes onto her plate.

Luis nodded, still too shocked to speak.

"You look like you have seen a ghost," Martin mused.

Luis shook his head to clear it. "No, I just haven't seen this much food before."

"What are you fed at home then?" Martin asked, seeming a little surprised. "There must be some kind of spread?"

Luis shook his head. "No, we don't have the money for it."

Mary spooned a bit of everything onto his plate for him. "Try everything, honey, you look starved!"

Luis gave her a small smile. "Thank you."

He dug in, his mouth filling with warm tastes of herbs and spices, and the slight charcoal-ness from the burnt parts. He forced himself not to straight up devour it.

"This is delicious!" He exclaimed around a mouthful.

Mary smiled and Martin chuckled.

"It's just a roast, mate," Martin said, setting his knife and fork down.

Luis licked his lips to get the last juices. "I've never had a roast before," he admitted.

"Really?" Martin asked, "I would have thought you had!"

"We don't have a lot of money, so we mainly have soups. I know how to make a mean tomato soup!" Luis said with a wide smile.

"You know how to make it?" Mary enquired.

Luis nodded. "Yeah. I cook for Mother... And I," he added quickly.

Mary frowned, seeming to pick up on the hesitation. "Your mother can't cook?"