“What? No!” the other argued. “He was such a nice guy! Whatever it was, it was probably planted!”
The young man visibly shuddered, and he twisted his head as if in pain. He backed away from Goldie, scrambling to put his headphones on.
The couple walked around them, still talking.
“The news said his DNA matched at least ten open cases,” the first declared. “He was a world class sicko…”
“Wow,” the other said with a sigh. “I guess you never know…”
The young man was panting, and his eyes filled with tears as he clamped the headphones on his ears as tightly as he could. He was obviously in some kind of pain and very upset.
“Hey, hey!” Goldie tried to reach for him. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
The young man jerked away with a whimper, and he shook his head. He gave Goldie one last lingering stare before bolting around him and racing away down the sidewalk.
“Wait! Hey!” Goldie turned to follow him, but the young man was way too fast for him. He only made it a few steps before his knees revolted and the young man was already at the other end of the block. He huffed in frustration and then called out after him, “You’re welcome!”
The young man vanished around the next corner without a word.
Goldie frowned, wondering what had set him off.
Was it something Goldie had done? Had it been those people talking? What was it?
He didn’t have a clue.
Goldie shivered. The cold was biting extra hard now since he’d given away his trench coat, and he decided to go on and head home. He definitely thought that giving his coat away was the right thing to do, and he hoped the young man had somewhere warm to sleep tonight. He’d surprised himself with trying to invite the young man over, but he hadn’t felt right leaving him alone on a cold sidewalk.
Goldie finally made it to his truck and then crawled into the driver’s seat. He cranked it, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them as he waited for it to warm up. His knees were still throbbing, and he couldn’t stop thinking about the strange young man.
It was crazy to bring home a stranger right off the street, but hell, it wasn’t like it would be the first time. Normally, it would be under much more romantic circumstances and not because of altruistic intentions, though it wasn’t hard to imagine…
Shit, what was he thinking?
That poor young man was obviously in need of help, and Goldie’s brain had gone right into the gutter.
As he drove home, he considered the chances of seeing the young man again. The city was big, but maybe the young man lived close to the gym. There was a grocery store nearby, and he daydreamed of going shopping and running into him while picking out fruit or something. It was silly, but it made him smile and warmed his heart.
If nothing else, he’d done a little bit of good today.
Of course, that had only happened after he’d knocked the poor guy down into a puddle, but hey. He’d tried to make up for it, hadn’t he? What else could he do since the young man had run away like that?
Oh well.
Goldie promised himself that if he saw the young man again, he would offer to buy him dinner. He was so curious, and he wanted to know everything about the mysterious young man. He’d felt more in those few moments talking to him than he had in years, and Goldie wanted that spark back more than anything.
Knowing his name would be nice too, so he wouldn’t have to keep referring to him as theyoung maninside his head.
Goldie’s apartment was one of sixteen units in an old brick building just on the edge of downtown. It was nice, clean, and usually quiet except for the construction going on next door where an office complex was being renovated. The alley between them was closed except for the occasional dump truck that managed to squeeze its way through to haul away debris.
He lived on the top floor, and he had one of the prized corner units with a balcony. It was screened in so Purrcy could go out and explore when she wanted to, although it was far too cold right now. It had a lovely view of the city, though his unit was positioned so that if he looked down, he got an eyeful of the construction and cluttered dumpsters. The apartment building had been built in the eighties but was well maintained, and Goldie had lived here for over a decade.
His neighbors knew who he was, and they usually greeted him by chanting his name or singing the opening of his theme song, “Pour Some Sugar On Me” by Def Leppard, when they saw him. There was a mother with two young kids who loved tackling his legs, and he’d walk around with them clinging to his ankles even though it hurt because he loved how happy it made them.
His apartment was cluttered, and every inch of space was dedicated to showcasing his wrestling career. Posters covered the walls, the shelves were packed with figures, and he had one of his championship belts in a big glass case. The case was currently covered in dirty laundry, Purrcy had knocked over some of the figures, and one of the posters was dreadfully crooked.
Goldie didn’t feel like messing with any of it.
He was too damn tired.
