Page 11 of Inevitable

Screw it. This was not the first time he’d found himself without a home. He just needed a safe place to sleep, and he’d be set. Staying outside was not going to cut it, though. He’d freeze to death, considering the snow and the temperature.

His mind made up, he headed west. He knew where he was going. There was an alley a couple of streets away.

Ezra quickened his pace to warm himself up a bit. The building he was looking for was almost hidden by the graffiti-covered wall, only the top of the tin roof visible. At one point, the place had been a garage, but it had stood empty for a while now, as evidenced by the weather-beaten For Sale sign and the general air of abandonment.

Ezra threw his bags over the wall and gripped the edge, easily pulling himself up and hoisting his body over it. Getting inside the building took a little more effort. All the windows on the first floor had bars in front of them. There was a small window on the second floor, though, which seemed to be covered only by a sheet of plywood.

He looked around and found a few wooden crates, haphazardly piled on top of each other. Most of them looked like they’d seen better days, but he only needed two or three of them not to break the minute he put his weight on them. He found two that looked okay and stacked them on top of each other. Strapping the duffel over his shoulder, he climbed on top of the crates and grabbed onto the high window. It took him two tries, but he managed to pull the sheet of plywood off.

His bags went in first, and Ezra followed, wiggling like a snake through the narrow window. Inside, he found himself in some kind of a narrow space that might have been a breakroom once upon a time. There was a calendar on the wall that dated back fifteen years. Faded, half-naked women tracked his every move as he fitted a couple of boards in front of the window to keep the snow out as best as he could.

Ezra looked around. It was dry. It was definitely warmer than outside, and it seemed to be fairly safe. It didn’t look like anybody else had been there in a long time. A layer of dust covered everything, gray puffs swirling around him as he carefully moved about.

He’d look like he’d rolled in cement powder come morning, but he’d slept in worse conditions. He changed his wet clothes, teeth rattling as the cold air hit his skin. He lay down in the corner and stuffed his duffel under his head as a makeshift pillow. The ceiling was cracked, and paint was peeling everywhere. Occasionally, a flake would fall down as if it were snowing inside, too.

Ezra had disturbed the peace of this abandoned place. He closed his eyes, but his brain refused to shut down.

He was usually good at keeping his emotions at bay, but for whatever reason, right then he just couldn’t seem to stop all those pesky feelings swimming to the surface from the cave he’d stuffed them into.

Was it ever going to get easier?

He closed his eyes. Just for one moment, he let himself dream.

Maybe someday he could have a place of his own. Something small and simple. He didn’t need a mansion to be happy. He just wanted a home. A place that belonged to him. Maybe someday in the future, after he was done with school and managed to get a decent job and had some savings under his belt, he could find a place of his own. Something that was old and needed some love. He could paint the walls whatever color he wanted and buy a real bed. And a mattress that wasn’t lumpy because of dozens of bodies that had slept on it before him. He could hang some pictures on the walls. Maybe get a dog.

It was an old dream. A familiar one from the countless times he’d revisited it, seeking it out on those days when the going got really tough.

Only tonight, dream-Ezra was lying in his bed, and strong arms wrapped around him from behind. Somebody kissed him on the side of his neck and chuckled as Ezra pressed closer.

“Love you,” a voice whispered in his ear.

He stared at the ceiling, heart beating uncomfortably loudly like he’d been caught doing something wrong. He had no right to let thoughts like those in. It’d just mess him up. He pushed the dreams far away from his mind. Tucked them in a box in the deepest recess of his mind. Someday, he’d come back to them. When the time was right.

Right now, he, once again, had to figure out how to survive.

4

“Another late night?” Sharon peeked her head in through Drew’s open office door.

Drew looked up from his laptop. “Bas is picking me up in fifteen. I’m just finishing up here.”

“Oh?” Sharon leaned her shoulder against the doorjamb. “Any exciting plans for the evening?”

“Bas got a new project, so we’re celebrating.”

Sharon nodded and tapped her nails against the doorframe. “Well, have fun, and pass on my congratulations.”

Bas showed up thirty minutes late, but that was par for the course.

“I lost the car keys,” he offered as an explanation.

“And?” Drew prompted.

Bas shrugged. “And nothing. I took an Uber instead. It’s fine, I have a spare set. I think. Somewhere.” He looked at the clock on Drew’s desk and winced. “I’m late again. I’m really sorry.”

Drew laughed as he grabbed his jacket and checked his desk for his wallet, keys, and phone. “You’re here now.”

Bas waggled his brows and offered Drew his hand with an exaggerated bow. “Shall we?”