TRUE BLUE

Chapter One

As I sit on the edge of a wooden bench in the cemetery, I bask in the tranquil atmosphere that surrounds me. The moonlight casts a soft glow on the gravestones, creating a somber yet serene ambiance. Suddenly, a voice startles me from behind.
"The moonlight looks good on you," the voice says. I turn my head slightly to see a figure approaching me from the shadows. I can't help but feel a twinge of fear at the unexpected presence of a stranger in such an eerie place.
"Thank you," I reply, my voice soft and shaky. I don't dare to turn fully around, hoping that the stranger means me no harm.
I see a man sitting down beside me, his gaze fixed on the bustling city below. "Max. Max Fewtrell," he introduces himself. I smile and reply, "Nice to meet you, Max. I'm Blue White."
He seems taken aback by my name, and I notice him reach up to untangle a strand of hair from his short hair. I can't help but chuckle at his gesture. "Yeah, my parents were quite eccentric. They named all my siblings after colors of the rainbow, but they all go by their middle names now," I explain, perhaps oversharing, but feeling comfortable in his company.
"You're American," he remarks, more of an observation than a question. "Am I that obvious?" I ask, grinning. "I only realized because of your accent, mate. When did you move here?"
As I stood there in the cemetery, I couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. I had shared my name with a stranger who had approached me and I was starting to regret it. I knew I shouldn't reveal that I was new here or that I was alone. It was too late to take it back now though as the words leave my mouth. If he wanted to find out more about me, he could easily look up my father's name on the internet.
The stranger turned to me and asked, "Just out here enjoying the view then?" He seemed friendly enough, but I couldn't help feeling a bit on edge. "You could say that. I should probably go though. I still need to check out my new house," I replied, trying to sound confident.
"Ok. Have a great day and be safe. It's dangerous out here at this time," he said as he stood up and walked farther into the cemetery. I watched him go, feeling relieved that he didn't try to stop me from leaving.
As I slowly walked to my car I couldn't help but think about the guy. Why was he so nice to a random stranger? Was he trying to flirt? No, he didnt even ask for my number. What if he put a tracker on me to kidnap me later in the night? No he would've just done it then.
"Hello..." came a voice from an alleyway. I turn towards the voice and see a boy looking the other way. He was hunched over and was cradling his stomach. He oddly reminded me of the guy I had just met.
He turned to look at me. His hair was a mess and in the dark moonlight, he looked handsome, more than anyone I've ever seen. I found myself entranced by the stranger whose eyes seemed to hold universes within their depths. They were a captivating blend of green and gold, shimmering with an intensity that seemed to beckon me closer. Each blink was a brushstroke painting emotions across the canvas of his face, and I found myself inexplicably drawn in, entranced by the silent language that danced within the iridescent pools of his gaze. "Please help me."
His voice was light and I could feel myself moving toward him even though I had never seen this guy before. I was sure this was a setup for the guys to kidnap me. Maybe they were working together. But as I walked closer the guy was severely injured and blood seeped out of wounds and onto his clothes. His arm wrapped around my shoulder and I grabbed onto his waist.
The closer I was to him the more I noticed. He was left with his clothes shredded in an alleyway after what looked like someone beat him. His body grimaced at my touch and it felt as though he was fighting the urge to jerk away. It was clear he wanted to be alone.
"I have clothes in my car... you can have them and I can help you get home." I say just above a whisper trying not to startle him.
He was quick to nod at the clothes but when I mentioned going home he stopped. "I- I can't.." He was trying to tell me something but I just quickly cut him off.
"You can come to my home... I don't have much furniture but I do have a bean bag in my room and I can sleep on that." I say to him and he just nods, whispering a light thanks.
Once I leaned him against a wall I grabbed my suitcase from the bag of my car throwing him an old oversized hoodie I kept in my bag for when I got cold and then some sweats I got from my dad's closet.
After the boy got changed I got him to wrap his arm around me so I could help him into the car. "What's your name?" I asked, looking at the boy who was starting to daze. "Hey, you can't fall asleep. We've got to get you into my house before you sleep."
"It's Lando." "Ok Lando I'm Blue." I give him a smile which he returns wearily before going back to looking ahead at the lightly lit street. "Like the color?" "Yeah.."
"So... Can I ask what happened back there?" I ask him and he quickly responds. "No." It was stern but I understood that it was hard for people to talk about stuff.
"Can we get coffee? I don't think I can sleep right now." He says and for the first time, I heard his real voice, not just a whisper. "Uh, sure!"
"There's a bakery just down the street from here we can go to," Lando says to me before starting the car and driving towards where he directed me.
He smiles at me while we pull into the bakery. He quickly got out of the car, came straight to my door, opened it and I stopped.
"Would you like a hoodie? You can put the hood up then." I noticed how he was pulling the crewneck up like he didn't want anyone to see his face. "Yes please." I pull out a hoodie I was wearing earlier from my backseat and hand it to him.
He puts it on top of the crew neck and pulls up the hood. We walk into the cafe and the worker greets us. "Welcome, what can I get you and your friend?"
"Um, a black coffee and a..." "caramel macchiato." the worker smiled while putting down what we ordered. I went to grab my card but the boy was already paying for it.
I thought he was robbed. if he wasn't robbed then what happened? I could see the bruises lacing his body and his now ripped jeans covered in specks of blood laying in the alleyway when I saw him earlier.
"You can go and sit down, I'll get the drinks," I say to him he nods and goes to sit down by the fire and leans back. "You guys ok?" The worker says once he walks away.
"Yeah. He's a friend." I lied to her. "Why is he bleeding?" She asked, looking over at the boy who was now in a daze. "He was jumped."
"Oh ok... Here take a muffin, he must be hungry." She says handing me our drinks and a muffin. "Thanks." I say before walking back to the brown eyed boy.
I set down the muffin and coffee in front of him before sitting on a chair across from him. He doesn't say anything to me and just eats the muffin. It was like he hadn't eaten in days. He kept his face down looking at his lap. I sighed, going back to drinking my coffee and watching the fire.