Sheltered Love

Chapter 1

Hey, let me introduce myself for a moment - I'm Indigo Samuel MacLean, and I'm 16-years-old. I'm gay, and I realized I was when I was 10-years-old when other guys at school would comment on how cute girls were, and I was like 'meh', and that I noticed how cute I thought the boys were. I have a younger sister, who I love and will protect at all costs as we haven't had the best or safest childhood. 

I'm 5'9' tall, slim build, dark brown, almost black hair that is styled in the Emo fashion, sky blue eyes, and I have snake bites in my lower lip. My sister is 5'2" tall, long blond wavy hair, pale skin like me, and she has the prettiest blue eyes ever, which we get from our mama. 

"Indigo, I'm scared," my 11-year-old sister, Journey whispers while clutching my left hand in her right tightly.

"I'm going to protect you, I promise," I whisper, gently pulling her closer to my side. "Besides, this place already looks nicer than the other shelters we've stayed at."

We're standing on the sidewalk right in front of the homeless shelter, and we're starring at the building gaining the courage to go inside. Both of us are terrified, but we have no where else to stay until we find our grandparents, and hope they take us in. 

"Come on, we're only going to be here for a few day, and then we'll be able to make it to our grandparents," I tell her, giving her hand a small squeeze. 

"Okay," she murmurs with a shaky voice; entering the building, we stop at the front desk where an older woman is sitting as she looks through a red file in her hands. 

The woman smiles at us, asking; "Hello, how can I help you?" 

Swallowing thickly, I say; "Hi, I was wondering if you have a room available?" 

"You're in luck, we had one become available earlier today," she replies with soft eyes, and she makes me think of grams, mum's mum.

"What do I need to do, so we can stay for a few days?" I softly ask with a sight tremor in my voice. 

"Fill out this form," she replies, handing me a piece of paper, and a pen. "Do you have any identification?" 

Shaking my head, I tell her; "I was robbed a few weeks ago at another homeless shelter, so all of my identification is gone."

She frowns at me while nodding; "I'm sorry to hear that. Okay, so just fill this out while I talk to the owner." 

I start filling out the paperwork while she walks away, and she returns several minutes later with a large man, and he silently takes in Journey and me for a moment. 

"What are your names?" he asks, and his deep voice makes me shiver. 

"Um, I'm Indigo, and this is Journey," I reply starring right back at him. 

"Last names?" he returns with a raised eyebrow.

"Brown," I lie with my own quirked eyebrow as Journey hides herself into my back. 

"What's wrong with her?" the lady asks looking at Journey.

"She's afraid of large men," I reply, frowning at the woman. 

"How old are you two?" the man asks, studying my face. 

"I'm 18-years-old, and she's 11-years-old," I quickly reply.

The man hums in acknowledgment, but I can tell neither of them believe me. I didn't lie on Journey's age, just mine. I don't care though, I need to keep us safe, and together. 

"Come with me, and I'll show you to the room," the man says, gesturing with his head for us to follow him. 

Taking Journey's hand in mine, I gently squeeze it while whispering; "Come on, J."