Espera | R. Grayson ✔

[25]

Richard opened the door when he realized that it was actually being knocked but the clamor of the thunder had drowned it in. However, the sight that met his eyes soon after shocked him.

Tim was standing outside, soaked from head to toe and he was shivering from cold. His wide eyes were bloodshot and he looked as if he had been crying.

"Timmy, what happened?" 

Richard reached out to bring him in but the boy had stepped forward himself, shaking arms wrapping around him as he broke down to choked sobs.

"Hey, buddy, what happened to you? How long have you been standing out there in the rain?" He got very concerned to see him as such so he lifted the boy up in his arms, closing the door and brought him inside.

He didn't know how long he had been waiting out in the rain but by then Tim was shivering badly and his lips were turning blue as well. But he held on tight to Richard, his head buried in his shoulder as he cried his eyes out.

Richard didn't ask further, realizing that he was unstable and took him to his room. He fetched all the warm clothes and blankets he could find to wrap him in with the thirteen year old still clinging onto him like a spider monkey.

Tim's red eyes peeked out when the elder placed him down and started wrapping him up then lifted him up again and brought him to the kitchen. He placed him down on the counter, adjusting the bundle of blankets and clothes properly so that he was fully covered.

By the way Richard was handling him, it would seem as if he was a very young child in need of being taken care of.

And Tim being unaccustomed to that sort of silent care and affection seemed to have stopped crying out of shock.

He had put a pot on the stove and began to make soup, working but keeping a close eye on Tim. When the soup was ready, he poured it into a bowl, easily hauled Tim up again and carried both him and the bowl of soup back to his room.

Tim was staring back at him with a blank expression on his face.

"Tim, this is soup. It will stop the shivering and you will feel better," Richard filled up the spoon and cooled it down for him, "you've got to drink at least some of it."

The boy did not respond just then, it seemed as if something awful had happened that had frozen him into an unresponsive state.

A soft sigh passed Richard's lips as he somehow managed to get him to consume half of the bowl. Gradually, the shivering had lessened but the redness from his eyes hadn't faded as tears were still rolling down his face.

"May I know what's wrong?" He asked softly but saw the boy sniffle as a sob gurgled in his throat again.

"Can I... Can I stay here tonight?" Tim asked instead of answering that question.

"Of course you can. You okay with staying in my room?"

"Yeah... Thank you."

He still felt as if the boy was hiding something terrible that he was just going through, "no problem. Do you need anything else?"

"Don't leave..." He held onto his wrist and his lower lip quivered, indicating that he would burst into tears again.

"Alright, kiddo, I'm right here," he ruffled his damp head and Tim sneezed, his nose turning red just like his eyes, "looks like you've caught a cold."

He stood up to bring the tissue box and wrapped Tim up more.

"You should be fine in a while. And don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Just let me switch off the lights, okay."

He nodded feebly and when Richard came back, his little hands clung on to his arm again.

He knew something was wrong as Tim was never that clingy and aching for comfort. But he decided it would be better to ask in the morning when his state would improve a bit.

"Dickie... I'm sorry," the boy spoke up at last.

"What for?"

"I didn't mean to turn up at such an hour and disturb you but... But..."

His voice shook so Richard thought it would be better not to press him regarding what had happened so he remarked, "hey, you need to rest right now. Tell me everything in the morning, alright?"

He shook his head and snuggled closer, "I... I feel so scared, Dickie... I... I feel like I'll die too..."

Icy blue irises widened in alarm, noticing that he had said he would die too which indicated someone close to him must have died already, "oh no, don't say that. You have so many reasons to live now. Don't talk of dying."

He shook his head, tears pouring out from his eyes, "Mum and Dad... They had gone on a trip last week and today news came in that they... They died... They were killed... It was not an accident and Dad had been in a coma for two days."

"What?"

"I ran away from home before I could be taken away," his voice was a hoarse whisper as he resumed, "no one knows I'm here."

Richard was staring at the little boy in a mixture of shock and disbelief. "You ran away?"

He nodded, wide eyes tearful as he mumbled, "I didn't know where else to go so I came here."

"I'm so so sorry, Timmy," he pulled the boy closer in a comforting hug, his hand rubbing his back soothingly to calm him down, "you did right to come here. Nobody's going to take you away, I promise."

The broken young boy accepted the gesture and held on to him tightly until he drifted off to an exhaustive sleep. However Richard himself couldn't sleep a wink the remaining night.

He kept thinking of what to do next for his little friend. With his parents gone and him still being a minor, it was likely that his custody would have to be given to another guardian.

And so far he knew that the people around Tim, family friends or distant relatives, would only be interested in getting hold of the money that was attached to the boy's name and would never truly care for him.

He kept stroking his head softly, his mind still a clutter of worrisome thoughts as he eventually drifted off to sleep as well.

There was a lot he would have to deal with the next morning.

***