{ #3 } Twisted Moon (MxM || 18+)

Chapter 5 - When You Need Money...

Twisted Moon - Book 3 of the Black Moon series - Chapter 5: When You Need Money...

(Noah's POV - Wed. 18 February 2015)

It is cold... so damn cold... I am craving for a comfortable bed... No, not even a comfortable bed, just a plain old mattress would do. It would be so much better than this cold concrete ground. I may have managed to arrange this little hiding in an abandoned building, but for lack of a heater, the cold still penetrates through the walls and broken windows and I am desperately yearning for some warmth. It feels like ages since I last had a good night of sleep; at that unknown place where I woke up, was it like... a month ago? Well, it does feel like ages.

Something wet is licking my cheeks and quiet whimpering echoes in my ears. I hold on to the little ball of fur, pulling him closer into my chest so that we can better share the warmth of our bodies, and rubbing behind the puppy's ears, but he keeps on whining.

"What is it, Jess?" I ask with a tired and sleepy voice, getting another high-pitched bark in answer. "If you need to pee, just walk further away in the building..." I add, releasing my grip on him so that he can get out from beneath the blankets, but he just scrapes his big paws on my face, licking my nose. This time I open my eyes and look at his adorable head; cocker spaniels have the most expressive eyes in the dogdom and Jess never misses to use them to move me. "What? It's not like we have anything to do, Buddy! So why don't you just let me sleep and do the same?" His baby teeth snap on my nose, followed by a long lick that makes me chuckle. I get the message! That little boy is hungry.

I can't believe I almost lost him a month ago... A good and warm night of sleep wasn't worth leaving him on his own for so long and all the stress that ensued while I was getting back. I remember how I was shaking like a leaf, with knots in my stomach when I finally made it to the small abandoned warehouse that sits between the railways. I was so persuaded that I would find his dead and frozen little body that, by the time I walked into the building through one of the broken windows, my face was streak with uncontrollable tears and my chest was heaving with nausea. As soon as I reached the tiny area that I have arranged for us, I heard a little yelp, followed by whimpers of excitement; the cute puppy popped his head out of the heap of clothes and lumbered to me as fast as he could. When I took him into my arms and pulled him close to my chest, he wouldn't stop yapping and licking my ears, making me laugh from the huge relief and happiness I felt.

So, no, a good night of sleep in a warm and comfortable bed really wasn't worth missing that again and I promised him that I would never leave him alone another night. I made up for my absence by feeding him some of the cookies I had stolen from the Good Samaritan's cupboards, which he greedily devoured. I knew it wasn't the best food for him, but later that day, I used some of the money I stole in the wallet to buy him some real doggy food and even a few sweets.

Now he cocks his head to the side, looking at me with his clever eyes and tries a deeper bark which only comes out as another high-pitched yelp, making me laugh at his funny expression. He must have been barely two-month old when I found him in a trash container last December; maybe less. That day had been the best of my homeless life. Earlier that morning, as I was wandering in some park, I found a lost wallet that must have fallen off from someone's bag or pocket. I sincerely felt sorry for that person, but I was too much in need for money at that time; so I took the eighty dollars and thought of redeeming myself by dropping the wallet in a mailbox, hoping that the postman would return the credit cards and ID papers to the owner. For once, I allowed myself a warm meal in a diner, affording a little over thirteen dollars on it and that afternoon, as I was walking back to my previous shelter through the narrowest alleys, I suddenly heard a little whimper coming from a trash container I was passing by.