Never Too Late

Chapter Twenty

Johan drew a breath as he knocked on the door in front of him. Quietly, he waited for it to open while looking around the old, run-down apartment building. A few moments later, he heard footsteps on the other side, and the scent of perfume wafted towards him.

"Hey, I got your message." He said to Liz when they came face to face.

She smiled curtly at him, her hand playing with her neckline as she leaned against the door frame and spoke.

"Hey, it's been a while." She led him into her apartment, and Johan followed impatiently. He managed to convince his brother to leave without him and keep it from his parents so he could see her.

"You said you had an emergency, but you look fine. I have school, and I don't have time for this!" Johan argued, but Liz ignored him and traced her fingers on the couch as she took a seat and motioned for him to sit, and he did across from her.

"Tell me, you came all this way even though I didn't say much. Could it be you were just waiting for me to call?" She said trying to stir his emotions.

Sighing, Johan got up, but he didn't move, patiently he waited for her to give her reasoning for asking him to be there because he could see the pain in her eyes.

After an extended moment of silence, she reached into the pocket of her skirt and produced the ring Johan had given her.

"Here, take it; it's yours." She said holding it out to him.

"What? No, it belongs to you," He reminded her as he stared at the ring confused.

"No, I sold it, and you bought it after, so the ring is yours." She insisted before forcing it into his hand.

"Didn't you say your mother gave you this?" He asked as he clutched the small silver band tightly.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter anymore, so keep it." She said looking away from him.

Sitting back down, Johan looked her over. He couldn't tell what she was thinking but he knew she seemed troubled. Quietly, he got up and sat closer to her and, against his better judgment, warmly embraced her, unable to see her look so dispirited.

"Johan," She said in a softened voice, causing his chest to warm and his heartbeat to quicken.

He had met her a couple of years back when they had been in separate Foster homes, and although she was a little older than him, they always had a way of finding each other.

Looking into her eyes, he pitied her deeply; life had not been kind to either of them, but she undoubtedly had gone through more. Abuse was rampant in Foster homes, and although he only experienced physical and verbal forms, many others hadn't been so lucky. Sexual abuse was a common tale, and it left so many broken, hopeless, and lost. His heart went out to her because no one really knew how much she had been through.

Liz leaned into him until her tender skin brushed against his and her warm breath tickled his neck. Swallowing hard, he pulled away and glanced at the time on his watch; however, Liz still held onto him.

"I'm sorry, I need to go," He said pulling away from her as he realized what was happening.

Liz ignored his words and kneeled in front of him before unbuckling his belt and gazing into his eyes provocatively.

"I don't have any rubber," Johan protested as he felt his body growing warmer.

"Don't worry, I've got some." Liz smiled and unzipped his pants.

"I have to get to school," Johan muttered, but he knew he had already succumbed to her charms.

Liz pushed him back onto the couch and laughed. "Relax, I'm going to take care of you today."

***
"So much for getting to school on time," Johan said with a sigh as he lay beside Liz in her bed.

"Are you going to get in trouble?" She asked as she traced her fingers across his chest and chuckled.

"It doesn't matter, it's too late to go now." He said, sitting up, and Liz smiled at his words while playing with his hair.

"I guess that means we can spend the day together." She said holding his hair in a bun before laughing.

"Not all day, I still have to go home in the evening," Johan said as he wondered if his parents would get word of his absence from school.

"That still leaves us with a lot of time." She said burying her face into his back. "So tell me, have you heard anything from Asher?"

"No, not yet," Johan admitted. He had kept in contact with his old friends but they were just as clueless as he was.

"Maybe he's left the country," Liz remarked and he nodded reluctantly as he also began to suspect the same.

"I still have the birthday money he left me. I was planning on returning it but it looks like I might not get the chance." Johan said dejected and Liz wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Well, it's a birthday gift. He intended for you to spend it!" Getting out of bed, she grabbed her bathrobe and handed him back his clothes. "Let's go out and find something you like."

"At least give me an iron; my shirt is crumpled," Johan complained, but Liz was busy running around the room.

"It's under the bed, I'm going to jump in the shower real quick. You can join me when you're done!"

Johan smiled as he thought of how spontaneous and cheerful she could be at times. After another hour, they were ready, and they left to go downtown in search of a gift. They ended up at a shopping center that was luckily not crowded and gave them enough time to search.

"This place is a bit pricey," Liz remarked as they walked through a clothing store in the center.

"Most of the stores are," Johan felt slightly embarrassed because he had grown so accustomed to wearing nice clothes that he forgot how expensive things were.

"Still don't have an idea of what you want huh?" Liz remarked and he realized that she must've noticed how disinterested he was.

His parents had given him all he'd ever wanted and more, so there was nothing really that he could say he lacked.

"I guess not," Johan shrugged but Liz shook her head.

"Okay, how about a Jacket then? That would look great with your school uniform!" She said, going over to a clothing rack that held a couple of jackets.

Joining her, he looked through the clothes absentmindedly until he saw a Jacket that caught his attention. It was blue and white with grey sleeves. The more he examined it, the more he liked it, and with Liz's encouragement, he tried it on.

"Wow, it really suits you!" She said, walking around him. "You look really cool!"

"I think I'll take it then." He said looking at his reflection in a mirror nearby.

"Do you have enough money?" Liz asked as she checked the price tag worriedly.

"Yeah, I've got enough." He told her as he took off the Jacket and approached the cashier.

When he paid for it, he felt a little bad because Asher had given him the money for his living expenses during his travels, but here he was buying a Jacket.

"Don't look so down, it's birthday money, and he would want you to do whatever you wanted with it," Liz said, noticing his expression.

"I guess you're right." He agreed. Hopefully, he would see Asher again soon so he could return the kindness he had shown to him.