Dinner time in the Price family was very unique to that of other families. For starters, they were quiet when they ate. Sure, ample conversation would come up, but there was always an understood volume and quality of the conversation.
Gia came home while their mother was giving the boy a bath.
"He's homeless." Is all Sarah said to explain why her mother even took him in.
Gia's eyes widened as she took in the disheveled appearance of the boy. 'If only you had seen him earlier.' Sarah thought smugly.
The girls were sitting at the table, a buffet containing boiled potatoes, soup, salad, and chicken breast with a small side of bread awaited them.
Their mother was still locked up in the bathroom, and from what the girls could hear, it wasn't going so well. Finally, their mother came out, dragging the boy with her.
He didn't smell anymore, but he was still kind of wet from his recent bath and he didn't look too happy about it. His demeanor changed when the dinner table was in his sight. He lunged for the table, making Justine let go of him and watch his whole attitude change.
The boy pushed the two girls aside, eating every and anything he could get his hands on. Gia tried grabbing for a piece of salad, but the boy growled at her.
"Did he just--" the boy growled again, silencing Sarah.
She turned to look at her mom with an accusing glance. "He's not staying." She told her simply.
"Oh, Sarah. Don't be like that. I've already gone to the police station and they said all they could do was fill out a few forms and put his face up in our local supermarket. They told me he's too old to be in an orphanage so that was out of the question and plus he can't even speak! Let's just keep him for awhile, yeah?" Justine begged her daughter.
"He's not a pet, mom. He's a human being." She turned to him and mumbled, "A human being who's too greedy for his own good."
The boy stopped slurping up the soup from the pot and turned to Sarah with a questioning glance. She had said something under her breath for some reason but he didn't understand what she said even with his enhanced hearing. He repeated the word she spat under her breath over and over again in his head. 'Greedy.'
But what the heck did greedy mean?
The boy was brought out of his reverie as Sarah suddenly stood up from the table and walked to her room, slamming the door behind her without eating supper. The boy shrugged his shoulders and continued eating what was left of the Price's meal.
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After dinner, Justine took the boy to a small, secluded room with one high window and one door that lead to the hallway.
"I'm sorry, but you'll have to sleep on the floor. We don't have anything else." She apologized for the billionth time. She had took it upon herself to set up a small mattress, consisting of sheets and pillows, and even added in a small night light from Gia's baby box, just in case he was afraid of the dark.
The boy looked at her innocently. He thought Justine would be sleeping in here with him, keep him company. But all the went right out the window as she bid him a goodnight and shut the door behind her. He tried following, but he just bumped right into the door, head first.
The boy huffed and looked at the door helplessly before trying to open it like Justine did. He failed. His movements couldn't math Justine's and he was getting frustrated with himself. He started pacing back and forth, stopping to see if he could hear anyone coming down the hall to open the door for him.
He remembered what it was like to be cooped up, and he definitely didn't miss it. He sniffed around the room and then turned to the window.
The moon shone brightly in the sky, cascading it's fluorescent light into the boy's room, tempting him. He made his way to the window and say on the sill in a squatting position and howled. He howled for his family of wolves he lost within the last year and for his master's death. He howled to be let out of this god forsaken room. These females were bad news. He knew it from the start. He was hesitant to trust them but right when he thought he could, they lock him up!
The howls echoed all around the house until the door barged open.
Justine ran in and yelled, "Are you crazy?! You can't just make noises all you want! Get down from there!" She swatted at the boy and he turned to her, a frown of confusion etched upon his face. She rolled her eyes at him and grabbed him, throwing him to the ground into his little patch of blankets.
"Now go to sleep!" She warned before leaving him again.
The boy sniffed in distaste. She just threw him. Like it was normal. What had he done to deserve that?
The boy growled and curled up in the small blankets, tossing and turning until he could find a good spot and then passed out.
