Silver Linings

Chapter 3

"D-Dad...?" A little boy, around seven years old, opened a door slowly, peeking his head into the room. A middle-aged man lay hunched over a desk, snoring, a half-empty bottle of whiskey in one of his hands. The boy gripped the paper he held in his hand tightly and slowly walked over to the man, poking his arm lightly. The man sat up with a jolt, yelling out in surprise as he looked around, wide-eyed. The boy took a step back, looking up at his father with large, fearful eyes. The man relaxed once he realized where he was, and put the bottle down, looking at his son softly.

"Sorry, Cal. I didn't mean to scare ya," he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked awful; his stubble was overgrowing, dark shadows underlined his bloodshot eyes, and his hair was a complete mess, sticking out all over the place.

"T-That's okay, Dad. I just..." The boy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, sheepishly showing him the paper. "I was wondering if you could help me with my math homework." The man faked a small smile, reaching over to ruffle the boy's hair.

"Of course, son. C'mere." With his dad's blessing, the boy scrambled up onto his lap, placing the paper down in front of them. "Where's your sister?"

"Cate's at cheerleading practice, remember?" He grabbed a pencil from the desk and got comfortable, writing his name in big, childish letters on the top. The man blinked and nodded. He hoped she had a way to get home.

"Alright, let's see. Ten times four is..."

A clock ticked, marking the seconds, somewhere nearby. Before he even moved, Calvin could hear soft humming. He was lying down on something really soft, probably the softest thing he ever felt. Some sort of fabric lay on top of him. He could smell something delicious being cooked somewhere nearby. He almost let his drowsiness get the best of him again, but the memory of earlier, in the alley, came back to him. Wasn't he dying?

Slowly, he pried his eyes open, blinking groggily up at the ceiling. A ceiling. He definitely wasn't in an alley anymore. Blinking a bit more to clear his vision, he looked down to see he was lying on a nice but worn looking couch, a blanket wrapped around him. He had to be in someone's home.

He turned his head slightly to the side, looking across the room. The walls were painted a nice blue, and if he looked down he would see white carpet. But he wasn't so focused on the room itself. Across from the couch he lay on, a boy around his age sat in an armchair, one leg crossed over the other. He wore a dark blue sweater, but he had rolled up the sleeves to reveal his arms. A book rested in his lap and he was humming quietly, mostly to himself. When he looked up, the blue of his eyes was startling against the dark of his skin, and he broke into a grin upon seeing that his guest was awake.

"Good mornin', Sleeping Beauty," he said, grinning as he shut his book. Calvin blinked, meeting the boy's eyes. Sleeping Beauty sounded familiar. Maybe it was something Cate liked when she was younger.

"Hi..." Calvin's voice was hoarse with sleep, and he began trying to sit up.

"Whoa, stay down, dude." The boy got up and walked over to him, pushing his chest down gently. "You were banged up pretty bad, ya know. Lucky my sister found you," he continued, tilting his head. "Maia! He's awake!"

"Coming!" A girl's voice shouted from the next room over, probably the kitchen. Calvin stared at the boy, dumbfounded.

"Oh, jeez, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Thomas," he said, sticking his hands into his pockets. A girl walked into the room with a smile, an apron on, her curly, dark hair tied up into a ponytail. She looked very much like her older brother.

"I'm Maia! Nice to meetcha!" She said happily, sticking her hand out. Calvin gave Thomas a pointed look and sat up a bit, slowly, so that he leaned against the armrest. After checking to make sure he still had his gloves on, he took her hand slowly.