Weeks passed and the boy's mottled skin gradually improved. But his sensitivity to odor didn't change.

 

He still covered his nose with his hand despite the mask that he always wore.

 

He just couldn't stand it.

 

He never left the house. He couldn’t. His legs wouldn’t allow it. After a few meters, he would feel crippling pain on his legs which made him fall.

 

Jared brought him a wheelchair after the incident.

 

Elisa was worried about leaving her teenage son alone.

 

But after a few days of careful observation they thought that perhaps he was stable enough to be left without supervision.

 

The boy didn't talk much to them though. If he did it was only to answer questions. Only his responses were as short as a word or three.

 

It was a Saturday morning when Jared went to his sister's house to check up on the boy.

 

As much as they could, the siblings took turns watching over the traumatized teen.

 

When Elisa would go to work in the morning, Jared would be in the house. He would stay there for an hour or two before going to the restaurant.

 

He had good employees that were assigned to open the establishment and do the preparations.

 

Jared thought of bringing his nephew to his work place but the different kinds of odor might assault his senses and make him all the more queasy. Besides, even smelling the air freshener inside his car made the boy look sickly and ready to bolt outside.

 

Riding a vehicle was not an option, at least for the moment. That goes for Elisa too.

 

She couldn't take Jamie not just because of that reason but also because she wanted to protect her son from any harm.

 

She knew that people would talk. They would ask her son, mock him maybe, or even sneer at him. And she knew things could turn out ugly.

 

They were not ready for that yet. Their wounds were still fresh. Their anguish were still palpable.

 

"Jamie!"

 

Jared called out to his nephew as he walked up stairs to the second floor.

 

He knocked on the bedroom door. The door was unlocked of course.

 

He removed the door knob after that time when the boy almost drowned in the bath tub. Even door knob for the bathroom was also removed.

 

When he pushed the door, he saw the boy sitting on the bed reading a book.

 

As he walked closer, he noticed that it was a text book. Grade 10 English.

 

Interesting. Right then a thought crossed his mind.

 

"Jamie, do you perhaps want to be home schooled?"

 

Jared didn't want the boy to be bullied again but he knew the importance of education. He wanted his nephew to continue his studies, get a high school diploma, and go to college.

Jared would support him. He would make sure to pay her older sister back by helping his nephew.

 

"Jamie?"

 

The boy looked at him confused.

 

Jamie came from the orphanage but went to a public school. He thought everyone did that.

 

"What home school?"

 

"It's possible to finish high school even if you stay home you know.  They would give you modules to follow and just like a regular school you would have exams." Jared explained.

 

“Books?”

 

“You will get books to read.”

 

“No teacher?”

 

“You can have a teacher. It could be me or your mom. We could also hire a tutor.”

 

The teen nodded in understanding.

 

"Is that a yes?"

 

Jamie nodded again and grunted softly.

 

"Alright I will talk to your mom and see how the set up would be."

 

Jared did not mind his nephew’s broken sentences. What was more important was that the boy was speaking again.

 

He spoke more today than he did the previous weeks. It was an improvement albeit small but it was progress nonetheless.

 

Rick Carlton went home in the afternoon to pack his luggage. He was flying again to a different state for a meeting with his client.

 

He was about to get up the stairs when he saw something on his peripheral vision. When he turned his head to the right, he saw a hand on the floor behind the sofa.

 

Moving closer he saw his teenage son lying on the carpet between the sofa and the table.

 

Open books were lying on the table with a notebook and different colored pens.

 

Rick shifted his angry gaze to the boy again.

 

The thought that his son was a faggot made him furious. Homos were sinners condemned to die in hell. 

He was about to go but pools of light blue mixed with gray gazed at him. They blinked trying to get rid of the sleep. And when they did, those calm blues broke into a fit of fear.

 

The boy got up quickly but in doing so slammed his head on the edge of the coffee table.

 

Blood started to trickle down the boy's face and fell onto the carpet. Yet he stood up, eyeing the stranger in front of him. The strong perfume assaulted his nose and made him uncomfortable. He covered his nose with his hand and tried as much as possible not to breath the smell.

 

"Stop messing my carpet and clean yourself up you faggot!" The stranger sneered and turned around to walk away.

 

Panic rose inside the boy as he saw the stranger go up the stairs.

 

He never saw the man before.

 

What if he was a burglar?

 

Despite not feeling that he belonged to that family, his conscience wouldn't let him allow a stranger to do bad things inside their home.

 

Jamie snatched his phone on the sofa and called the only person he knew could fight the stranger.

 

On the third ring the receiver picked up.

 

"Oh, hey Jamie! Are you doing well?"

 

The boy grunted. "Stranger… inside … upstairs… I scared…"

 

He whimpered.

 

Jared was on his way to his sister's house when his nephew called. Hearing the rushed and panicked voice made him struggle to understand what the boy was saying.

 

"Calm down Jamie alright. Take deep breaths and hide. Keep the phone to your ears and don't turn it off.

I'm on my way to you and I'm already close."

 

"Please…" The boy kept repeating.

 

Jared gripped the steering wheel hard. He prayed to whatever God out there to protect his nephew.

 

He heard the boy's harsh breathing, a shout, then a thud. 

 

"No! Stranger no!"