No Introduction Needed

Chapter Ten

Maddox walked out the room and went to the kitchen to get some water only to be met with the sent of chicken noodles, he looked to see Mathew dishing out three bowls and placing them on the counter, smiling awkwardly when he looked at him. Maddox put his head down and went to the rack to grab a glass and then grabbed a water jug from the fridge, he poured himself a glass and gulped it down putting the jug back in the fridge and rinsing out the glass before hooking it on the rack.

He moved to leave the kitchen but Mathew asked if he could call his brother from the living room so they could eat, Maddox nodded and moved across the hall to see Alistair laying back in the couch as he flicked from channel to channel, Maddox called his name and he looked up watching as he nodded to the kitchen before turning on his heels and going back to the kitchen.

Eventually they all sat down and eat in silence, Alistair having to sit between the two other males as he wondered how long the awkwardness would last, when they were finished he collected the dishes and wen to wash them while Maddox retreated to his room. He spent the rest of the day in it, going in and out of sleep until dinner came, he ate quickly and returned to his room, he threw the top he was wearing unto the rack, locked his door and flipped off the light before dropping on his bed to curl up with his blanket and pillow.

**

It was four thirty the next morning when he woke to the sound of the alarm, he slowly sat up and shut the alarm off, he yawned and stretched before he went through the rack, he grabbed one of his blue work t shirts, along with his black under top, a pair of black boxers and his jeans, he grabbed his towel and headed into the bathroom.

He took a quick shower and brushed his teeth before shaving quickly, when he was done he got dressed and ran his hand through his hair trying to get it as neat as possible, he went back to his room and threw his sweat pants over a hanger, he grabbed his work boots and slipped them on before emptying everything from his old bag into his new one, he made sure to grab his keys and bus pass before heading out to the kitchen.

He was surprised to see a stainless steel lunch box with a water jug sitting on the counter with his name on it, he checked and found stir fired chicken greens and rice, he lifted the other section and saw a big cheese sandwich and the other layer had a sliced up apple and banana with lime squeezed on it. He wandered who had set this up for him as he closed it back and put it in his backpack along with the water jug.

He got out the house and locked the door in behind him, he turned around and nearly jumped when he saw Galaxy who just watched him for a few seconds before running to the back of the yard, he shook his head and headed out the yard closing the gate in behind him, he walked down the sidewalk and had to walk a short block before he came to the bus stop a few minutes later he was getting on the bus and going to the back to fin a seat.

It didn't take him long to get into work, Ted was already there coming out of Mary's office as he entered the building the older male came up to him with a smile as he placed his hand on Maddox's shoulder "did you sleep well kid?" Maddox nodded and the man lead him to the loading area "that's good to hear because working the early shift is way different than working the late shift, you'll be running into people you've never seen before and that's usually when the bigger deliveries are dropped off so it means more work but I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle, you've been through worse right?"

Maddox nodded and the man gave him one last pat on the back before going to retrieve the belts and gloves for his team, when everyone was fixed up they all had to sit around until a few minutes later the ground started to rumble and Maddox looked up to see four big trucks driving to the back of the warehouse one after other, the drivers maneuvered the trucks and then backed them up before jumping out.

He could see Melissa coming out one of the trucks, she came around and unhooked the latch for her truck throwing the door up and it slid the rest of the way by itself, she turned around and smiled when she spotted him before following after the other drivers with clip board and keys in hand.

He watched her go for a few more seconds before he went over to her truck that Ted's team was working, he jumped up into the back of the truck with another man and they started to unload the boxes passing it to the men that stood on the ground, he went back and forth having to wait a few minutes for the men to return before getting another box to them and this continued for the next few hours.

The bell went off and he jumped off the truck going to the washroom, he used it quickly washed his hands and face and then headed back to the truck, he grabbed his bag from off a shelf that was close by and got out his water jug and lunch box, he guzzled down half the water before biting into his food and humming as he swung his feet back and forth.

He was in the middle of it when he heard someone coming towards him and he covered his lunch and turned to see it was Melissa, she had a few bags in her hand and he took them as she jumped up into the truck "I was thinking taco's today so I got you a mild and me the super spicy king, but I see you brought your own lunch but that's no matter you can eat what you brought and we can eat the tacos in our next break, hows that sound?" she asked tilting her head and he nodded "good cause I couldn't help but get myself some fried chicken, I brought smoothie if you're interested."

He nodded and she passed it to him before taking out a large box of chicken with fries and a smoothie of her own, they sat and ate enjoying the silence and each other's company, he found himself offering her some of his fruit when he got to it and she happily accepted before passing over some fries, he smiled because he realized that he just made a friend.

He put away his stuff when he was done and followed her to the fridge where she stored the rest of the food she had bought, they went back to the truck and just sat there, he listened to her and nodded along as she told him about her weekend trip, apparently she had to deliver a shipment and pick up another to one of their sister companies.

They talked until the bell went off and the others came back the whole group slipping into work, it went on for a few more hours but instead of stopping for a second break he continued to work, because he and Melissa had said they would eat after the shift, son he packed box after box without stop until the bell signalling the shift change went off.

He sighed and leaned against one of the stack of boxes, he took a few deep breaths before taking off his belt and gloves and handing it off to Ted before he grabbed his bag and went outside. Melissa smiled at him and signaled for him to get in the passenger seat before she got in her car, Maddox was a bit reluctant but stripped off his work shirt tossing it in the back before getting in.

Maddox didn't know where she was taking him but he stayed silent listening as she talked about her work and her studies. He found himself glancing at her a few times as she went along, she was someone he found himself idolizing and then it hit him that maybe he shouldn't take her as his friend.

 He started to feel that someone as dirty as him shouldn't be around someone as bright as her, if the people in her life found out she had taken him as a friend they would start to look down on her and he didn't want to cause that. 

Maddox had decided in that moment, he would ruin someone with such a life and he would stay away from her after the day had ended.