Pawprints

CHAPTER 2 Part 1

Nathan focused on the road as he drove his red Toyota. He was trying not to think of the fact that he had a homeless boy sitting on the passenger seat next to him; a boy he knew nothing about and who would be living with him for God knows how long.

The boy, however, had been eager to leave the hospital, and was now smiling as he looked through the window at a world new to him. It was a cold morning and he kept his hands tucked in the pockets of a jacket that was clearly too big for him. Nathan had lent him some clothes, but there was no way they fit the much smaller male.

"We should go to the mall after lunch." Nathan said without taking his eyes off the road. "You'll need some clothes, a toothbrush... You know, those things."

The boy nodded. He was pleased with the idea. Nathan, on the contrary, couldn't stop thinking how he was going to pay for the hospital bills as well as the boy's living expenses. There was only so much one could afford with a bartender's salary.

"By the way, what am I supposed to call you?"

"Hmm..." The boy hesitated. "You can call me Alec."

Yeah, that was it. The name sounded familiar. He couldn't tell if it was his own name, the name of a friend or just a name he liked, but in his situation at least it would suffice.

"Alec, then." Nathan smiled a little.

Alec would have liked to exchange a few more words with the other male, but they reached their destination very soon. Nathan parked the car in front of a two story house in a small neighborhood at the outskirts of town. He waited for Alec to leave the vehicle and locked the door.

It was a small house. The entrance leaded to an open area used as both living room and kitchen. On the second floor there were two bedrooms, one of which was now used as a storage room since Nathan's friends had left.

"You will be staying in my room. I'll take the couch for now." Nathan explained with Alec following him and looking around in a mixture of curiosity and shyness, like a newly adopted pet.

"I know it's a mess." he continued. The bed wasn't made and dirty clothes were scattered through the place. He hadn't even bothered to clean the room for his upcoming visit, but Alec didn't mind. The boy sat on the bed, testing the softness of it, and he quickly decided that he liked it.

"Yeah, it's a mess." Alec said, half joking, half serious. "But I can take care of it."

"Uh... Do what you want."

Seeing the boy getting so comfortable in his room was strange. For the first time it occurred to him that maybe getting attached to him wasn't right. Getting attached, only to have the boy taken away from him.

He pushed those thoughts aside and left towards the kitchen with Alec once again following him closely. He couldn't help but wonder if all kids in his situation would behave like pet dogs. He could almost picture Alec wagging his tail.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Hmm...." The boy wasn't sure about his likes or dislikes and he didn't want to put any more work on Nathan. "A couple of fried eggs, maybe?"

"Like hell you're eating just eggs. Aren't you still growing up?"

The older man took some chicken with vegetables from the previous day out of the fridge and put it into the microwave. Alec, meanwhile, just sat at the table and observed.

"I was thinking we could ask the schools around the area if they're missing any students." Nathan commented while he served Alec his plate. "And we could go to the mall after that. You really need some clothes and stuff."