Let Us Learn How To Love Together

I Want To Help Him

Levi’s POV~

“My name’s Levi...Levi Grey”

“I’m Ryan Joseph”

He smiled up at me, it was a small smile, but a smile none the less. I smiled back at him and he quickly looked away.I look up at the sky and sigh.

“It sure is cold out here.”

“Yeah…”

I look back at him, noticing how tired he looks, and cold.

“Ok, I know how unprofessional this is, and I could possibly lose my job, but uh… do you want to come over to my house, I’ll make some hot chocolate, or coffee, which ever you’d like, and it’s definetly not as cold as it is out here.”

He ponders for a moment before shrugging his shoulders.

“Sure, I might as well before I die of hypothermea.”

He stood up and I can see that he’s shivering. We walk over to my car and I open the door for him before going to the other side and getting in. I start the car and wait for him to put his seat belt on. Once on I pull out of the parking lot and start driving to my house. The car ride was silent and after about 5 minutes we pull up to my house. I park in the drive way and we both exit the car. We walk up to the door and I unlock it. Once inside I locked the door and looked at him. I tried to figure out what he was thinking and how he felt, but he was compleatly unreadable. I sighed and led him over to the living room. He sat down on the couch, still wrapped up with the blanket I gave him. After a while he started to relax. I looked at me for a moment before speaking.

“Why are you doing this?”

“Doing what?”

“Helping me? Why are you helping someone like...me?”

I sigh again and shake my head softly.

“I’m helping you because I was you.”

He looked startled.

“What...what do you mean?”

“I mean that, I once was like you, I once was hurt very badly and made up excuses for him. I once had a hard life, and I struggled, but nobody ever helped...I was alone.”

My voice cracked and I looked away, staring at the ground. Come on Levi, we’ve been through this...It was in the past…

“I’m sorry…”

I felt his hand on mine and when I looked at him he was smiling weakly at me. I could see years of hurt in his eyes, years of pain and betrayal. I don’t know what got into me exactly but I pulled him into a hug. He was tense a first but relaxed and hugged me back. He starting sobbing into my chest and I stroked his hair and whispered reasuring things to him. Soon his sobs quieted down and he pulled away from me. He wiped his eyes and hung his head.

“I’m sorry… I usually don’t cry… I just…  I’m overwhelmed.”

“It’s ok, I understand.”

He stared at the floor and I placed my hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, want that hot chocolate I promised?”

He nodded.

“Do you want anything to eat? I don’t have much but I have some things.”

He looked at me then looked down at his hands.

“Are...you sure? I don’t want to be a bother.”

“Yes, I’m sure!”

I stood up and held my hand out to him. He took it and I helped him up. He left the blanket on the couch and we headed towards the kitchen. I started to boil water in the kettle.

“Look around and let me know if there’s anything you’d like. I also don’t mind cooking so don’t be afraid to ask, I already have some ground beef out that I took out this morning.”

He started looking through the fridge and cabnits. Once the water is boiled I pour it in a cups and add the chocolate mix. I stir them and hand him one of the glasses.

“Careful, it’s hot.”

He grabs it and stares at it for a while.

“What’s wrong?”

“I uh… was wondering if you could… you don’t have to but… I would like for you… could you make me some spagehtti?”

I chuckled and he gave me a death glare. I put my hands up in defense.

“Sorry! I just wasn’t expecting you to ask for spagehtii. I was suprised that’s all. But yes, I can make some spagehtti.”

He smiled and looked down at his feet. I started to get all the ingredients together, I grabbed my apron and put it over my head, tying it tightly behind my back. I heard Ryan laugh behind me and I turned around, giving him a questioning look. He smiled, a genuine smile.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s just, I just never pictured you in a apron.”

I smiled and went to cooking the spagehtii. He sat at the dinning room table, resting his head in his hands and stared at me the whole time. Once everything was finished I made our plates,I brought his over and set it in front of him, along with a fork.

“Do you want anything to drink?”

“No thanks”

He began eating and I went back into the kitchen. I took my apron off, grabbed my plate and walked back to the dinning room table. I sat down and was about to start eating. I glance up at Ryan to see how he was doing and I notice how his plate’s almost gone. I am shocked. I watched as he quickly devoward his food. Once he was done he looked up to see me staring in amazment at him. He blushed and looked back down. I chuckled and handed him a napkin. He wiped his face off.

“Sorry… I just… I’m usually not allowed to… I don’t get food often…”

“It’s fine, I’m not judgeing you. I was just shocked is all. Do you want seconds? Wait, don’t answer that, I don’t want you getting sick. If you barely eat then I don’t want to over feed you and make you get sick and throw it all up. Just let that settle for a bit… God I sound like a mom...now I’m just rambling… I’m going to shut up now.”

He started laughing. It was a very cute laugh, his face turned bright red from laughing. His laughter soon turned to sobs and he covered his mouth. I quickly got up and walked over to him. When I got close enough he grabbed me waist and pulled me towards him, almost causing me to fall. He wrapped his arms around me and burried himself in my abdomen. I hugged him back and stroked his hair. He kept saying “I’m sorry” repeatedly and I started to choke up. I felt bad for the kid. I can imagine what he’s going through, I’ve been there, I know how it feels. I just wish I could help him, I wish I could save him. I don’t want anyone to go through this. I hate seeing people hurting. It hurts me. I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of his soft snoring. I smirked and pulled away from him, still keeping a hand on him so that he didn’t fall. I wrapped his arm around my shoulder and picked him up bridal style. I carried him to my room and sat him on my bed. I removed his jacket and flinced when I saw all the bruises and cuts on his arms. I pull the blanket back and cover him up, tucking him in. I sat on the foot of my bed and stared at him for a moment. He looked so peaceful. I’m tired, but I don’t know if I should sleep in my bed, or on the couch. If I sleep on the couch he might freak out that he’s waking up in a strangers bed alone, but if I sleep in my bed he’ll freak out and get scared because, well, I’m in the same bed as him.

“What am I going to do?”

I whisper and shake my head. I decide on not sleeping so I sit in the recliner I have in my room and pull out a book for me to read. I check the time, 10:00, great, I’ve got a long night ahead of me. Sighing, I flip to the page I left off on and began reading.