Stolen Innocence

04

Kayden woke up to his alarm, which he didn't remember setting. He tried to think about what he did the night before, but his mind was fuzzy. He'd just had the weirdest dream... Simon was in it, and he had thick, leathery wings on his back, his eyes glowing a strange, light blue that was too bright to be a standard eye color.

Yawning, Kayden got up and tried to shake the dream from his mind. He was sure he was just overly tired and thinking of his new boss too much because of the strange interactions they had the day before.

He reached for his phone, but his hand brushed a piece of paper on it. Kayden liked his space to be clean, so he never wrote himself notes; he'd always just set a reminder on his phone. He was even more surprised when he saw writing that was not his own.

Don't fall asleep on the roof again. I don't want you to get hypothermia... stay safe, angel.

"Someone was in my room," Kayden said aloud to confirm that what he thought was real and that he wasn't still asleep.

The handwriting looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't pinpoint where he'd seen it it before.

Kayden pushed the weird note from his mind; with a quick look around the room he found his door and window locked, his only set of keys on the nightstand. There were no marks of abuse on his body and he wasn't in pain... he could disregard the creepy note, as he didn't even know who the writer was and they didn't give him a phone number to call.

He just had to remember not to fall asleep on the roof again.

Kayden dressed in the only nice suit he had, reminding himself he needed to buy one or two more for work, since he was sure Simon would comment on him always wearing the same old suit.

He skipped breakfast once again, hoping Simon sent him to get food so he could eat something before he got to work because he was sure his tasks would be a lot harder now that he had a day to settle in.

As he was tying his shoes, there was a knock on his door and he opened it to find a well dressed man on the other side, holding his phone out.

"Kayden Rind?"

"Can I help you?" Kayden asked, confirming he was who he the man believed him to be.

The man nodded and stepped aside. "I'm one of Mr. Cross' drivers. I'm here to take you to the office," he said, escorting Kayden downstairs.

Kayden shook his head. "I'm sorry, I told him I didn't want a driver," he said, handing the man a twenty -his last twenty- from his wallet. "Thank you for your time, though."

The man gave him a distressed look. "He said you wouldn't want to and that if I didn't convince you he'd fire me," he said, eyes wide and desperate. "Please, I get paid well by Mr. Cross and my family can't afford for me to lose this job."

Kayden sighed, feeling hate flow for Simon but compassion for the poor man who was just trying to keep his job. He got into the car, earning a bright smile and thanks from the driver who also handed him an envelope.

Curious, Kayden opened it and rolled his eyes. It was a credit card and a note from Simon.

Use this for whatever you need, but just make sure to bring me a coffee.

-S

"Excuse me?" Kayden called to the driver. "Can you stop at the café on twelfth by the office?"

"Of course, sir."

Kayden wasn't fond of the treatment he was receiving; he grew up in the farmland in south Ohio shoveling manure for money. He didn't belong in a rich environment where all of Simon's workers treated him like a king.