Page 89 of Xavier

Twenty-Two

Him

"Mr. Kent, where should I take this?" A lanky teenager in a hard hat and hi-visibility vest rolls a rusty wheelbarrow filled with broken glass over to me.

"Firstly, if you call me 'mister' anything again, that hard hat isn't going to save you," I scowl. He just grins and doesn't look the tiniest bit afraid of me. Ah, to have the confidence of a 16-year-old. “Secondly, ask Gabriel over there. He knows better what’s going on. I’m just here for the muscle.” I flex my bicep and he laughs as he goes. “And hey, I'll give you $5 to call him 'Mr. Sinclair' though!" I call after him.

I watch as the kid rolls the wheelbarrow over and says something to Gabriel who then looks up sharply at me and throws me the finger.

I chuckle and return the favor, before returning to the pile of bricks in front of me that need moving to the giant bin parked out front. The construction is well past half-way and at the rate we’re going we shouldn’t have any trouble being ready for our grand opening a few weeks from now. It should coincide with the new school year, a perfect time to provide a safe space for the kids.

To keep the labor costs down as much as possible, Kaine and I come down whenever we can to help out. It also means we can keep an eye on what’s going on, and get a work out in the interim. Truth is, when the place is up and running, I think it’s going to be hard to keep us away from this place. I can already feel myself attached to it, my breath embedding in the walls.

“Seriously? Your pile has barely moved at all!” My boss yells at me as he rolls his wheelbarrow past me for the third time since I’ve been here. Like me, he’s left the Armani suit home for the day and is dressed in just jeans. Unlike me, he’s wearing a hoodie while I’m in a plain white T-shirt.

“Wha? I have delicate hands. I’m not a peasant like you!” I yell after him.

"And does Mr. Delicate Hands have time for a quick lunch break?" A sweet female voice asks behind me.

“Well, that all depends on what the lunch includes? And whether it wants the hands to be delicate or rough.” I say even before turning around and seeing Malynda’s face.

She’s holding a picnic basket in her hands, and I can see the champagne bottle’s neck poking out from under the blanket. “Hi.”

“Hi,” she says back, a smile stretching from ear to ear.

“What are you doing here?”

“I had to drop off some plans for Jade so I thought I’d bring a picnic and you could watch me eat it.”

"Wow, what an offer. But I think you're bluffing, I bet you're really here to watch me." I make a show of picking up some bricks, flexing every muscle I have, straining with the effort.

“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so...manly. Maybe I should just sit back and watch you pour water all over yourself.” She wiggles her eyebrows and it’s so cute I can’t help but laugh.

“Your wish is my command. But it's much more fun to pour water over you when you're wearing a white T-shirt," I flirt back, enjoying the banter. It's been over a week since the dinner at Kaine's house and she seems to have stopped worrying too much about the revelations of my life in the time we were apart. We were supposed to spend the day apart and get some work done, but I’m glad she couldn’t stay away. I’d been planning to sneak away and steal some time with her anyway.

I lean down to kiss her but before our lips meet, there’s a sound of tires screeching on the street outside the shelter and then a large bang and clanging. I hear a glass window shatter and then the tires screech again, fading into the distance. Kaine, Gabriel and I throw a quick look at each other before we drop everything and run toward the entrance.

“Tell everyone else to stay inside!” I call over my shoulder. She nods and puts the basket down and I can hear her try to reassure everyone as we run out the door.

There’s no one out there.

No sign of who was here and no other bystanders, which I’m glad for.

The path is littered in trash; about three metal bins lay on their side, rocking back and forth. Rotten food and candy wrappers and empty drink containers are strewn all over the street in front of us. Kaine walks over to the shattered window and reached down to pick up a brick.

“Fuck off. We don’t want your shelter here. We’re trying to take OUT the trash, not bring more in,” he reads off it.

“What the fuck?” Gabriel shouts, taking the brick from Kaine and examining it. “Who the fuck do you think did is?”

I shake my head. “I dunno, but I can take a guess.” Kaine nods, agreeing without even needing me to say it. “What are we going to do?”

“You aren’t going to do anything. I can’t trust you to keep your head dealing with these fucktards. Gabriel and I will think of something.”

“But…”

“Go. She’s waiting for you,” he says, and I know there’s no point in arguing.

But just because he isn’t sending me to take care of this doesn’t mean I can’t send myself.