Lion (manxboy)

Chapter 2

Elijah's hands pressed together as he took in a deep breath, "I would like you to come to live with me until you have gotten yourself back on your feet and walking the right path," he spoke, reaching a hand to his glasses as he took them off and folded them, placing them against his v-neck shirt.

Lion stilled, his dark eyes wide with confusion, "live? With you?" He questioned, his eyebrows knitting together, oblivious to Elijah's chuckle, "why?" His eyes stayed focusing on Elijah.

"Well, you see, Lion, since you have nowhere else to live; I decided with the court order to let you stay with me, as long as you do these three things," Elijah inhaled deeply, "you do your probation for the next month, you no longer wonder out, and you get yourself a good job. The court agreed to these terms, but you will have to pay up your bills in return. They're giving you a second chance." Lion stayed dumbfounded as his eyes began to water, "I'm giving you two days to make your decision; when you're ready, come to the office, and we'll get your stuff from your old apartment."

Lion inhaled sharply, his body wanted to hug Elijah tightly, but his mind had other feelings and feelings that he led into another trap. "Y-yeah, give me some time to think about this."

Elijah slowly nodded, standing up from his seat and resting a hand on the boy's shoulder, "Shawn wants to speak with you once more; a little confidence boost," he smiled softly, helping the confused boy to his feet as he began walking him back towards the large building.

They walked in silence; with every step they took, Lion countered thoughts and images of what could happen, what would happen. He was scared and ultimately confused. Lion didn't know whether to believe Shawn and Elijah or run off and live on the streets living like a bum for the rest of his life. But he also found this an opportunity to save his mother and take her away from this illness.

Elijah opened the door and once more let Lion walk in first, leading him as quickly as possible towards the Sheriff's office, "I'll be standing here when you come out, okay?" Lion craned his head towards Elijah, a cold feature to his face as he slowly nodded, reaching for the doorknob and entering the office where Shawn sat, signing papers.

"Ah, Lion, I see you boys have already finished speaking. How did it go?" He smiled gently, placing his pen down against his wooden desk.

Lion gulped down some air as he made his way towards the previous chair and sat down steadily, "it went well. I should take the days given to think this through." Lion sighed, "Shawn, is it true the court agreed to all of this?"

Shawn kept his gentle smile as he cleared his throat, holding a letter out to Lion, "all the information is in this envelop. I'm pretty busy today trying to solve this crime, so I'll let you be on your way, and when you feel it's the right time, within two days, come back to see me and let me know."

Lion reached forward, a shaky hand grabbing hold of the letter, his eyes running over it as he nodded, "and let us know if you don't want to take the offer, we will inform the court to take down the proposition. You have a nice day now, Lion." Lion stood from his seat, a frantic expression on his face as he opened the door to the office and met face to face with Elijah.

Elijah watched the boy's face become even paler as he approached him with worry, "I need to go." Lion brushed the man off as he rushed out of the building and down a sidewalk, his shirt waving around from the harsh wind.

Lion looked up, noticing the dark clouds rolling in, his body bumping into another, "Hey, watch where you're going, kid!" Lion quickly apologized, rushing away and into an alleyway.

He covered his mouth, feeling the urge of vomiting coming up as he bent himself over, his hand pressed against the wall, the letter folding between his fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the liquids to come out. His body ached in pain; before he could take his hand away, Lion barfed the fluids out, coughing from the stinging feeling in his throat, "fuck," the boy mumbled, his eyes slightly watering as he lifted himself and ripped a sleeve off from his shirt, wiping his face with it. At the same time, he shoved the letter in his back pocket.