Chapter 4

While Kyle put away the groceries, Ben wandered aimlessly around the house. "If you want to get settled in, there's a room at the end of the hall," he said. Ben stopped mid-stride and stared at him for a few seconds.

"Okay," Ben said quietly.

"If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask," Kyle said. Ben nodded slightly and headed down the hallway. Ben slowly walked down the hall and stopped at a door on his right.

With a shaky hand, Ben reached over and turned the knob. The door opened, revealing a small, plain room. The curtains were closed. He fumbled for the light switch and switched it on. The cream-colored walls were bare except for one photo of a garden on the far wall. A full-size bed sat next to the wall to his right. A small, square, wood nightstand sat next to the bed. He sat his bag on the unmade bed and unzipped it. Ben turned his head toward the door when he heard a soft knock.

"I hope the room is to your liking," Kyle said.

"Thank you," Ben said. "I like it," he said.

"Here is your medicine," Kyle said, handing him the plastic bag. "And lunch is ready," he said.

Ben sat the bag on the nightstand and followed Kyle out of the room. "I hope that you like chips and sandwiches," Kyle said when they entered the kitchen. "I wasn't sure what you liked to drink," he said.

"Juice is fine," Ben said, sitting down. Kyle poured orange juice for Ben and black coffee for himself. Ben grabbed his sandwich and ate it in silence.

"I have to work tomorrow, so go ahead and have fun," Kyle said. "Just don't let anyone in," he said.

"Mr. Jenkins, do you have wifi?" Ben asked. "There's someone I met yesterday, and I want to keep in touch," he said.

"Yes, I do," Kyle said. "I'll write the information down after we're done eating," he said.

Ben and Kyle resumed eating their meal. Kyle expected the boy to be withdrawn, but was relieved that he was social. The boy was quiet, but that was expected with everything that had happened.

"Have you ever run a dishwasher?" Kyle asked.

"No," Ben said, shaking his head.

"Let's finish eating, and I'll show you how," he suggested. After lunch, Ben grabbed the dirty dishes and followed Kyle to the sink.

"There are certain sections that the dishes will fit in," Kyle said. Ben watched as the man put them in their spots. "Only run the dishwasher when it's full," he said. "Use one of these," he said, showing Ben a multicolored pod and showing him where it went.

"I get it," Ben said.

After Kyle gave Ben the wifi information, Ben headed back to his bedroom and finished unpacking. He took his medicine from the bag and put the bottles in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Ben wanted to check in with KS, so he opened his laptop, logged in with the new information, and pulled up the chat room.

"Hi there, stranger," KS typed. "I was afraid something had happened to you."

"Can we talk in private?" Ben typed. "There is something I need to tell you, and I don't want the whole room to know," he typed.

"Sure, let me tell the others that I'll be back," KS typed.

Ben received a notice for a private chat request and clicked accept. "What's wrong?" KS asked.

"I know that we haven't known each other long, but do you consider me a friend?" Ben asked.

"Sure, why wouldn't I?" KS asked.

"RO isn't my real name," Ben said. "It's Benedict Johnson (which means blessed)," he said.

"Ben suits you better than that fake name," KS typed, adding a smiling emoji. "KS is my initials," KS said. "My name is Kadin Salama," he said. "Now, tell me what's going on," Kadin typed.

"I'm not close to my family," Ben said. "My mother left us four years ago," he said. "My father hits me almost every day," he added.

There was no sign of anyone typing. "So, you're saying that he hurts you?" Kadin asked.

"Yes," Ben said. "I woke up late from my nap yesterday and was late having dinner ready before he got home," he said. Ben explained what happened that night up until now. "I'm staying at the officer's house until the social worker can find me a place," he said. "I'm not blessed," Ben said. "I'm ugly," he said.

"Can I see you?" Kadin asked. "Via the webcam," he said.

"Are you sure?" Ben asked.

"I'm no pervert," Kadin said. "I'll even bring up my webcam," he said.

With some fiddling, Ben got his webcam up. In front of him was a boy with stunning hazel eyes and short, dark brown hair.

"You're not ugly," Kadin typed. "You're kind of cute-looking," he said. "Where do you live?" he asked.

"Um, Maplewood," Ben said.

"Cool!" Kadin said, grinning big. "Me too," he said. "We could have been neighbors and didn't know it," Kadin added. Kadin noticed tears had formed in Ben's eyes. "Hey, don't cry," he said. "You're away from that jerk,"

Ben wiped his eyes and said, "It's just that everything happened so fast." "I didn't mean for this to happen," he said.

"Nobody does," Kadin said. "Count it as a blessing," he said.

"Thanks for listening," Ben said. "We better get back to the main chat room," he said.

"Yeah, they probably think we ran off," Kadin said. They left private chat and joined the others. "So, any ideas where you'll be going when school starts?" Kadin asked.

"I'll see when I get into a new living situation," Ben said.

"Well, keep me updated," Kadin said.

Ben felt better that he had found someone around his age willing to be his friend even after being told his sad story.

"I just finished unpacking, so I'm going to take a bath to relax," Ben said.

"Okay, see you later," Kadin said. Ben grabbed some clean clothes and headed to the bathroom. He ran a tub full of warm water and poured a handful of bath salts into it. He undressed and sighed softly as he sat down in the water. Parts of his body were still bruised and sore, but the bath soothed them. Ben scooted back and slumped down, so the suds were up to his neck. He closed his eyes and let his body and mind relax.

An hour later, Ben opened his eyes and shivered from the cool water. He got out, drained the tub, and dried off. He got dressed and brushed his hair. Ben strolled around and checked out the rest of the house. He rounded a corner and headed down a hallway. Ben stopped when he noticed a door open. Kyle was in the room reading a book. Ben noticed some drawing supplies on a round, metal table.

"Um. Excuse me, may I draw?" Ben asked, walking in. Kyle glanced up from his book and over to the boy.

"Go ahead," Kyle said.

Ben slowly stepped up to the table, grabbed a couple pieces of paper and a pencil, and sat down. He glanced around the room, looking for something to draw. He noticed birds in a birdbath and started drawing them. Kyle occasionally glanced over at the boy. Thirty minutes later, Ben finished the sketch.

"Can I see it?" Kyle asked. Ben swallowed and nodded his head.

"It probably isn't that good," Ben said. Kyle took the sketch and looked at it.

"I wouldn't be so harsh on yourself," Kyle said. "Because that is the best representation of birds in a birdbath I've seen," he said. "You've got natural talent," he added. Ben looked up at him and smiled.

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