Finding Romeo

Chapter 25

(Talia's POV)

My heart wrenched as Romeo told me his story, but that was nothing compared to the pain I felt when he started crying. A single tear slid painfully slow down his cheek without him seeming to realize it, before more tears drizzled downward, seeming to startle him. I could see his shoulders trembling, his head bowed low, a position he had been in since he started his story, only now his face was filled with shame.

Now I knew how guys felt when they were around crying girls. I had no idea what to tell him that could make up for his past or what he had been through. So, I scooted forward towards him and wrapped my arms around his shaking shoulders.

I felt him flinch under my touch, but I kept my arms around him, waiting for him to settle enough to react negatively or positively to my hug. His reaction made me wonder if he had ever been hugged before. His father definitely wasn't the kind of man who would hug his son and his mother had passed away so early in his life that even if she had been an affectionate mother, I'm not sure that Romeo would have been old enough to remember it.

Not that my family had been much better in the hugging department. The only reason they would hug another human being was if they were trying to manipulate them in some way. I had only been hugged twice by my mother, each time she made a show of it, pretending to be the loving mother that she was not, then whispering scolding orders into my ear. It wasn't until I had left them and found friends that were closer to me than my family ever was or could be, that I found the power in hugs.

Slowly, his arms crept from his lap to my sides, his hands shakily running across my sides and to my back, leaving a tingling trail in his wake.

I tightened my hold on him and his arms mirrored my actions. When I ran my hand over his back, he did the same. When I loosened or tightened my hold, he followed.

It only took me moments to realize I was teaching him to hug.

"You're an amazing man Romeo. What happened to your mother wasn't your fault, you were just a kid and you weren't the one that pulled the trigger."

It was already way past the normal length for a hug, even a comforting one, so I released him and pulled back. He leaned back slightly, while his head lowered as he reached for the marker board and marker, writing out words, his breathing even and his demeanor calm. "Thank you. You're the first person to ever say that."

I stared back at him in shock, blinking a few unshed tears from my eyes. I had no idea what to say back to him. He should have had someone there for him, who would let him know that it wasn't his fault. He shouldn't have had an abusive, psycho, murderer for a father. Even imagining Romeo as a child going through the things he did was hard, but not as hard as it had been on him experiencing the things he did. It had left him with scars that might never heal, but in that moment, I knew I would try my hardest to make his life better. I could check with my friends to see if there was a job he could take, so he would have the money to get on his feet.

He didn't need to live the life he did anymore, not while I was here. He deserved better than the hand that he had been served and I was going to do whatever it took to chase away the demons that followed him in life and in his soul.

I barely knew him, but already I felt protective of him. He had saved me and now it was time for me to return the favor.

* * *

When I awoke the next morning, I had a large cink in my neck from the position I had laid in last night. I had came up empty handed on any jobs for Romeo. Even with the many people that I knew, it was hard to find a job that would be right for him, even with his abilities. They either consisted of stealing something from someone or they people didn't trust some strange hacker that had no history with the other hackers. Everyone seemed to be worried that he might be undercover working for the cops or someone else who would cause them more trouble than it was worth trying out a new guy.