Before us...

Chapter Fifteen

Now that his home was filled with his belongings and more food than he could ever consume in a week, Milo was determined to explore the town to gain a broader understanding of his surroundings. He had never been one to walk into a new place completely blind to where he was going however, in his haste to get away, he had forgotten to investigate the town properly.

From what he had seen so far it was a peaceful place to live. The parks and lakes and small shops proved that. But he was desperate to feel comfort in it. Milo needed to know that he had come to the right place that he could take the time he needed without falling back into old patterns. It had been a while since he had taken a sip of alcohol, he was proud of himself on that, but it had been far too long since he had left his house. The last time had been when he had foolishly sought out Lila only to leave feeling like an idiot when he saw that she was not there. It seemed stupid to sit in the house all day and he had concluded that if he were to keep on living this way, he may as well have stayed at home.

He left the house early, locking the door behind him, rounding the corner to begin the journey into town. Walking down the street he thought about his progress. It had taken him under a week to unpack his belongings and in that time, he had managed to meet four of his neighbours. He was surprised really, at how well he had adapted so far. In the past he would have ran away at any sights of socialising often faking an illness or stating that he had urgent business which required him to leave the country. In actuality, he and James would be huddled in either of their bedrooms devising their plans for the upcoming weekend. James had been on his mind far too much recently but, it was hard to forget something you knew so well.

Crossing the street, he advanced towards the rows of shops and small restaurants that expanded from one end of the street to the other. To his left was a row of clothing stores that he had no interest in whatsoever and he moved to the right-hand side of the street to peer in the windows of a multitude of restaurants ranging from Italian to Chinese and Thai. Towards the end of the street was a small pet store. Around the corner from there was an overpowering brick building that towered over the rest of the quaint stores. It was out of place, as if someone had plucked it out of an industrial estate and dropped it in with little thought. The building had the look of an old boarding school that may have been used as a factory or hospital for injured soldiers during one of the many wars and had now been refurbished and splattered with a coat of paint to hold the contents of a gym.

A gym was something Milo needed. During his time in the army he had released so much pent up energy and anger in the ring and in his training that he had become accustomed to a certain way of life. In the past, he would have woken up at the crack of dawn just to squeeze in a quick round with the punching bag. It was what allowed him to keep the small semblance of sanity that he had left.

Milo walked in, the automatic doors spreading open as he entered and made his way towards the front desk. A huge man sat behind the class counter flicking through a tiny pile of useless papers as Milo waited in line for his turn to speak. Everyone in front of him were kitted out in various forms of gym wear. Some were wearing far too much make-up in his opinion but that was none of his business.

As the line grew smaller and he made his way to the front of the line he was handed a bunch of forms by the big man to fill out. He made his way over to the small sitting area and pulled up a chair to begin the process. Milo was asked to provide his social security number, date of birth and bank information. Although he struggled with a list of numbers of people he would like them to call in case of emergency.

For the life of him, Milo could not think of one person he would like to place on that list deciding to leave it black for the time being, moving on. As he continued to fill in the required blank spaces, his phone began to buzz in his pocket. Milo, knowing who it was, ignored it.