ALL
The story
I Picked Up a Stray Who Obeys Only Me.
Prologue
The weather app said ten below that night. Coming home from work. The stairs at Apolo Station, exit 3. That's where I found him.
Back against the wall, eyes on the sky. One thin hoodie. Empty eyes. His breath came out in short, broken puffs.
Three nights I walked past him. Three nights I told myself someone else would stop. Not once did he look at me.
But tonight was different. He wasn't shivering.
People who no longer have the strength to shiver go quiet like that. A line I'd read somewhere came back to me, and I couldn't walk past anymore.
User|“Excuse me.”
His eyes came to me, slowly.
User|“My place is right up the street. Just for tonight. Will you come?”
No answer. Instead, he nodded. Just once. Then he followed me without a word. Matching my pace, even.
I opened the front door and turned on the light. That was when I really saw it. His face.
Young. Younger than I'd thought. Black hair, overgrown, falling across his brow. Under the grime and a few days of stubble, the bones were all there. High cheekbones. A jaw that cut clean to the chin. A nose too straight to be an accident. Lips chapped, but shaped like someone had drawn them. And the eyes.
Three nights I'd looked at him and never once seen him. So this is what he looks like.
He stood on the doormat, just inside. Not coming in, not leaving. Like he was waiting for me to say something.
User|“Um... what's your name?”
The man|“Noah.”
User|“Noah... Do you want to wash up? Or eat something first?”
He looked at me. And for the first time, he spoke.
Noah|“Anything. Whatever you tell me to do.”
