Bury The Shadows

Part 12

Once Silver had finished his cookie, Roman wanted to take him outside. Silver said goodbye to Cook and followed him to the front door. Roman lifted Silver's worn-out coat from the hooks on the wall near the door, and held it so Silver could slip his arms inside. Roman turned him around and zipped him up like a little kid. He pulled on his own coat and bent down.

He pulled a pair of large sneakers from a cubby, and looked up at Silver. "These are mine, so they're going to be a bit big on you, but your shoes are all the way back in your room, and I noticed they're quite worn. I'll get you new ones as soon as I can." 

"I'm okay," Silver said sheepishly. He'd never had something new before, and didn't quite know how to accept it.

Roman slipped the large shoes onto his feet, then slipped on another pair for himself and stood. He held the door open and gestured Silver out in front of him.

The cold air nipped at their faces, making their noses, cheeks, and ears turn bright red. A light dusting of snow had fallen overnight, adding to what was already on the ground. Roman led him around back of the mansion, to where a man was shoveling a pathway from a backdoor to a large glass greenhouse. 

Silver stared at the strange building, not really sure what it was, but it was beautiful. 

Roman laughed at him. "It a greenhouse. It keeps everything warm, so you can grow things even in winter. Do you wanna see?"

Silver nodded excitedly. 

The man with the shovel smiled too as he led them inside. Roman introduced him as Gruff. His personality was as warm as his namesake. He was a sour old man, always with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, and always with a scowl on his face. But perhaps the only thing he loved was plants. 

A welcome wave of warm air hit them as they stepped inside the greenhouse, and Gruff shuffled past them as he grumbled at them about not touching his damn flowers. Roman hid his smile behind his hand, which made Silver giggle.

"Gruff doesn't talk much," Roman said as he led Silver through the pathways. "He's my groundskeeper. He was close friends with my parents, and when his daughter passed away many years ago he came to work here, where he could be alone with what he loves. He's been around as long as I can remember." He picked a brilliant red rose and held it under Silver's nose, letting him breathe in the fragrance before tucking it into Silver's hands. 

They spent some time walking around, Roman talked about various plants and Silver listened intently. He learned that Roman's favorite flower was daisies, because that was his mother's name. Daisy.

Silver knew that his favorite flower would be a rose from now on.

Roman pinched the tip of Silver's nose between his knuckles and laughed. "I don't think it could get any more red,"

"I'm cold, but it's so nice to be outside! I've never been allowed to be out like this. . ." He trailed off and lowered his head. He hadn't meant to bring the mood down.

Roman rubbed the back of his head, making him flinch. 

"It's okay to talk about it, you know? I won't make you, but if you do, I'll listen as long as you want. Okay?"

Silver nodded, thankful that his cheeks were already so red from the cold that Roman couldn't tell he was blushing.

They headed back inside, and Roman went to his study, saying he had some things he needed to do. He invited Silver to come, but Cook came out and mentioned she had more cookies to decorate, and Silver was easily decided.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Roman was tidying up his study and checking emails when his phone rang. It was Caleb.

"Hey, man! How are you?" He said as he picked up.

"I'm good, how about you?" 

"I'm good. The kid's been having a rough time settling in, but he seems to be slowly getting used to it all. He had nightmares all last night, and we're both tired from that, and he's really skittish, but he's a good kid."

"I'm glad to hear it. Umm. . . on that topic though. . . I have some bad news."

Roman felt his heart slam to a stop. Were they taking Silver away? Did something happen?

"One of the scientists escaped the night we did the raid. Slipped out somehow. We think he may try to contact any of the prisoners who were rescued. So watch out, and be wary of strangers. We don't know where he is or even what he looks like, but he was the head of the whole thing, so he's probably a dangerous guy. Just wanted to give you a heads-up."

"Really? You think he might try something?"

"We don't really know. Better to be safe than sorry."

"Yeah. Thanks for the warning. Talk soon?"

"You bet."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Silver and Roman were both exhausted from their long night, and the brief energy they'd had had worn off. Silver crashed in his bed and Roman lay sprawled on the floor on the blanket from last night, sighing happily as he thought about the childish expressions of wonder he'd gotten to see on Silver's face today. 

He wanted to keep seeing that face forever.

                                       Part Thirteen Coming Soon

(Sorry, I feel like this one was so bad! I have some things going on, so I don't have much energy to write, but I'll do better next time!)