I offer him a shaky smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Theo.”
He swallows as I pull my hands away. “I’m sorry about your babies. You’d be a good mom. Seems unfair that I got a shit one when I’d have loved one like you.”
“Do not make me cry.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he jokes.
“Hey, Theo?”
“Yeah?”
“Who hurt you?”
He grits his teeth. “My stepfather.”
“This happen a lot?” I hear Kruger ask from behind me.
“Yeah. I try to stay out of his way, but since he lost his job, it’s harder.”
Kruger reaches out his hand, and it takes me a second to realize it’s for me. I reach for it and let him help me up before he places his hands on my hips and maneuvers me aside.
“You hurt anywhere else?” Kruger asks him.
Theo looks from me to Kruger before getting up with a wince. Slowly, he eases his T-shirt up to reveal ribs that are black and blue. I cover my mouth with a gasp.
He moves to drop the T-shirt, but Kruger stops him. “I need to check them, okay? I need to touch you, though. You okay with that?”
My heart both soars and sinks at that. One, because of the respect Kruger is showing him, but the reasons he might be asking swirl around in my head. Kruger eyes me. “Can you head to the kitchen and see if we have any ice in the freezer?”
I nod and hurry to do what he asks. And we’re in luck. I find a couple of rows of filled ice cube trays. I grab a clean kitchen towel and tip the ice into one and head back, slowing my steps when I hear Kruger asking him the question I’m not sure I want to know the answer to. This is why he asked me to grab ice. Theo might be more comfortable with me in theory, but sometimes you don’t want comfort. Comfort makes you break. Clinical is easier to deal with. Nothing but cold, hard facts where emotions aren’t needed.
“Did he touch you in any other way, kid?”
“No. I don’t think he’s into boys. Though if I had a sister, I wouldn’t leave him alone with her for a second. He’s definitely that kind of guy. I’m just the wrong sex.”
“What about his friends?”
“He doesn’t have any friends. He’s an asshole. He’s a drunk and an addict.”
“That doesn’t mean you won’t be useful to him if he comes up short one month. He might not be into boys, but there’ll be plenty of sick fucks out there who are, and they’ll happily take you as payment.”
“You think I don’t know that? He already has my mom hooking on the side to feed their habits. That’s how I ended uplike this. One of her clients was wailing on her. I tried to pull him off just as Josh came home. He did this and let the client join in because apparently he paid for the privilege of fucking my mom unconscious. And I’d messed everything up.” His voice cracks, so I take that moment to walk in.
“I think if these were going to be an issue, you’d be dead already. Not much you can do for busted ribs. I can wrap them, but sometimes that does more harm than good. You’ve gotta take it easy, though.”
“That’s why I came here. I knew it was empty. I didn’t know where else to go and didn’t like my chances on the streets. In this condition, I’d make an easy target.”
“You don’t have anywhere else you can go?” Kruger asks, taking the ice from me and placing it on the worst part of his ribs. Theo hisses but takes over holding it.
“If I did, I wouldn’t be here.”
“You hungry, Theo?”
He looks over at me, his face flushed, and I wonder if it’s from embarrassment and his home situation or from the condition of his body.
“Um…”
“I’ll get a prospect to bring over some food,” Kruger offers.
