I grunt as we walk toward my car. Dane had driven me here after I had a seizure because I fell down some stairs. It was only like five but that also might be an exaggeration.
"Damn stairs," I comment, rubbing my hip.
"Yeah, sorry I wasn't there. I was doing laundry," Dane says as he unlocks the car.
"It's all good. I don't expect you to be there every time. And besides I should've known better not to be standing by the stairs when I knew I was gonna seize at any moment."
In a few minutes we're back at my flat and I decide to take a nap after a quick shower.
"Graham, I'm gonna go to bed. You know where to find me if you need anything," says Dane from my bedroom door way.
I mumble my response sleepily making him laugh a bit before leaving.
I jump when my phone starts ringing. Grunting as I struggle to get untangled from my blankets, I find myself on the floor with a thud as I grip my phone in my hand.
"Hello?" I say into the phone as I just sorta lie there on the carpet.
"Hey baby, Dane told me you had an episode. I just wanted to see if you're okay," my girlfriend's voice says through the phone.
"Hey, Ash! Yeah, I'm fine; just a little sore, I guess. But I took my meds a bit ago so I'm all good. How are you? How's school going? I miss you a lot," I ramble out quickly.
Asheley giggles a bit. "I'm fine, can't wait to see you. And school is great. Getting all B's and A's. I can tell you took your pills too. You sound all doped up," she says, laughing a bit.
"So when are you coming down here? I need my baby girl," I say, slowly getting up onto my bed.
"What's wrong, love?" she asks.
"My anxiety. And just a lot of crap that I don't want to go into detail about," I mumble.
"I'll be out there soon and we'll cuddle and watch movies and do nothing until New Years," she says.
"Really?" I ask excitedly.
"Yeah," she assures.
"Thank you, babe!" I say happily.
"No problem. I mean, of course I'm excited to see you and spend time with you. Now get some sleep and we'll talk more tomorrow. I love you, Graham."
"I love you too, Asheley."
As soon as I'm done talking to Asheley I hear a little boy crying out for his parents from outside.
With a glance at my alarm clock I see its almost midnight, why is a little boy outside by himself?
I get up and walk to the partially open window to see a small boy walking down the dark alley way in old, tattered clothing that doesn't look to be keeping him warm from the chill of the night as his lips are purple and his breathe fogs around his face lightly. He looks to be about three or four.
"Mommy? Daddy?" he cries out again, tears streaming down his face as he looks around with a scared look on his face.
I grab the knitted blanket from the foot of my bed and hurry outside. Walking over to the small boy slowly I try to make sure I don't scare him away. He looks up at me, almost hopeful. I kneel in front of him and wrap the blanket around his shoulders.
"Are you my daddy?" he asks me. I give him a slightly confused look before shaking my head.
"No, I'm not. You don't know what your family looks like?" I ask him. He shakes his head and I watch as more tears stream down his chubby cheeks. He steps forward and wraps his arms around my neck as he starts sobbing.
"I give up! D- dey weft me! Dey're gone fowever! I-I don't want be alone!" he cries harshly.
I gently wrap my arms around him and lift him up as I stand. I walk back into my warm apartment with the boy in my arms.
When I set him on the couch he sits there quietly, just sniffling. "Dane!" I call out before kneeling in front of the couch. "Whats your name?" I ask the boy.
"I-I fink... Wief," he mumbles.
"Wief?" I ask. That doesn't sound like a real name.
He shakes his head. "Wief, wike da fings on twees," he explains.
"Lief?" I ask. He nods. "How old are you, Lief?"
He holds up three fingers and says, "Four."
"Okay, good job," I try to encourage. "So, how did you lose your parents?" I move to sit next to him on the couch. He looks down before looking at me again, the happiness gone from his face now, although he still holds that innocent happiness in his eyes.
He shrugs in response to my question. "Dunno. Woke up dere," he says, pointing to the front door.
So he woke up in the alley? What kind of assholes would leave their four year old boy in a random alley?
"Da-daddy. I seepy. I seep here?" Leif asks, rubbing his eyes. He climbs in my lap yawning.
I open my mouth to point out I'm not his father but I decide against it. This kid deserves a break.
"Yeah.... Yeah, you can sleep here. If you wake up before me, come get me and I'll make breakfast," I tell him. He nods.
"What do you- Who's this?" Dane says as he rushes in the room.
I look up at him and shrug. He gives me a confused look.
