No Introduction Needed

Chapter Eight

Maddox wasn't even aware that he had fallen asleep until someone shook his shoulder, he blinked his eyes open and looked up at Alistair who handed him a cup, he slowly took it and looked down to see it was cocoa, he smiled in thanks and slowly sipped it as Alistair made his way to the couch on the other side of the room dropping back on it.

They sipped in silence until Maddox was done and he whispered a thanks receiving a nod from Alistair who finished his a bit after, they sat around in the late night silence until Alistair asked if he wanted something to eat, he realized that he was a bit hungry and nodded, Alistair disappeared into the kitchen and he stood up kicking off his sneakers and dropping his bag in the chair before going behind him.

He sat on the stool resting his head on the counter as he watched the taller male move around the kitchen as he prepared something for them to eat, he was tapped on his shoulder and opened his eyes to see Alistair taking a seat next to him as he handed him a spoon, he collected it and then looked down at the plate that was placed in front of him, smiling at the sight of the chicken pasta stir fry.

He dipped his spoon in and smiled when he took the first bite, it was delicious and smelt nice so he was quick to finish it, he drank the juice he was given and told Alistair the food tasted good only to be told it was Mathew that made it, he nodded and asked where he was, Alistair replied that he was with a friend and would be home later tomorrow. 

When they were finished they cleaned up and packed away everything before he went back in front to collect bis things, and then trudged to his room, he dropped everything down and went to take a quick bath stripping off his clothes, he showered and had to rush across to his room when again he remembered he had no towel, he dried off with his old t shirt and pulled on his ratty jeans and the dropped down in his bed, tomorrow he would need to use the money he got to buy a few things, like a pillow, with that thought he was off to sleep.

*

The next morning Maddox woke on the floor with only his left foot lying on his bed, he slowly sat up with a yawn and looked around the room, light was coming through the window very brightly so he figured it was late in the morning, he stood up and hunted around the room for his t shirt but found it wet and thrown into a corner, the rest of his working clothes were dirty, so he had nothing to wear, he decided he would do his laundry before making a shopping list.

He yawned again as he went around the room picking up his dirty clothes, he emptied his good jean pockets and checked for the envelope, putting it in his bag before leaving his room, he dropped everything on the floor by the bathroom door as he went to quickly brush his teeth before heading out back and collecting them.

On his way to the living room the smell of pancakes hit his nose and he peeped into the kitchen to see Mathew at the stove flipping a chocolate pancake into the air, he looked the teenager over to see he was standing around in a white t, shorts and his blonde hair was sticking all over the place. 

He watched as the kid dumped the pancake out onto a plate that had about ten other pancakes sitting on it. He walked into the kitchen with his clothes and sat down as he told Mathew who was pouring more of the mix into a pan, he got a mumbled morning as the kid yawned before going back to what he was doing, he sat there and watched until there were sixteen thick fluffy pancakes all stacked neatly on each other.

Mathew moved the the plate over to the table before grabbing another two from the rack, he divided the set putting the extra one in his brother's plate, then went over to the fridge to pull out a jug of milf after he had set down three glasses, going back to the fridge to retrieve the normal syrup, honey and some chocolate syrup.

Mathew jumped a little as he took in his roommates appearance, his curly hair was a tangled mess, his eyes looked a bit tired and he was slouched over but what made him give that reaction, was the sight of a large snake tattoo that was coiled around Maddox's torso the head coming up and stopping just below his neck, which also had tattoos along with his his arms and he guessed maybe his back too but before he could examine the rest, he heard someone clear their throat and looked up to see his brother shaking his head before he walked forward telling the two of them good morning with a small smile.

He immediately understood when he looked at Maddox who was looking down at his lap biting his lip as he fidgeted, he wanted to apologize but had no idea what he would say so he just decided to focus on getting everyone fed. He passed the plate and glasses to everyone along with a fork then went to take a seat net to his brother who had sat between him and Maddox probably to spare them from the awkwardness.

*

Maddox ate quietly not really enjoying the rich taste of the pancakes but ate just to fill his stomach, his body was rigid and he felt awkward sitting with Alistair and Mathew, he didn't fit in with them. He was labeled a criminal with tattoo's that covered most of his body, the majority of them weren't even his choice and they were good kids with clean records, that attended school and college and would some day end up as big time businessmen while he worked in some warehouse in the middle of nowhere for the rest of his pathetic life and for some reason he was okay with that. 

It was just that he felt like he was dirtying them. Someone like him shouldn't be living under the same roof as these kids, if he could afford it he would have found somewhere else to stay, but at this point in time they were his only option and he was probably going to ruin a lot for them if he stuck around.

He finished his breakfast and moved to the sink washing his dishes and putting them in the rack before he went over to Alistair who had just finished eating, he told him he needed to wash his clothes and Alistair nodded before leading him out the kitchen and up the stairs, they came onto a long hall and Alistair turned left going to a single door that lead into the laundry room, he quickly showed him how to set it up and use it before he went back downstairs.

Maddox decided he would throw everything in at once as to not waste the current and detergent, when he set it he went back down to the living room, he quickly got a pen and a sheet of paper before retreating to his room, he sat down on his bed and stared around his room as he tried to make up a list of things he would need.

The first thought that came was his pillow and a bed sheet, a blanket and towel, he took it down and the stared up at the roof, he eventually thought of getting some extra clothes so he didn't end up in the situation he had found himself in this morning, maybe two long sleeved t shirts so he didn't end up in a situation he was in this morning again and a soft pants, something he could both sleep in and when he was off.

He looked over at his converse that was on the verge of falling apart, he needed a new one and a working boots, it was actually pretty uncomfortable to do work in his sneakers, maybe he could get it at a good price, he also needed a new backpack, his old one was a draw bag and the material had thinned out, he could be walking down the street and have all his stuff fall out and it would be more disastrous if he was carrying his lunch in it.

He decided he would also need something to wake him up because for the next week he would have to be at work by six and he wasn't sure he could make it without help because he noticed he had been sleeping really late, he looked around and decided a clothes rack would be good as to not dump his clean clothes on the floor after washing it.

He also needed another under top a black one because he noticed a few of his tattoos were showing through the white material of the top he had, he thought that was it until he smirked to himself, he should really start wearing underwear again, it was starting to be awkward walking around without any on and feeling that everyone knew but they didn't, he nodded to himself, he could ask Alistair where a good place to buy all this was and then he could go get it.

He nodded to himself and set his list down, he ran up to the laundry room and got his clothes into the dryer, he waited for it to be done and then slipped on his lang sleeved white t sighing at how good it felt to be covered.