Chapter one: part two

Part two of three. Lyndon sees his room and meets another tenant of the boarding house

 The room was small but attractive with pale blue walls and gray carpeting. It was well-lit by a large window in the north wall. The furniture was simple and painted white: a bed below the window, a bookshelf and a desk.

“The bathroom’s down the hall, and you’ve already seen the kitchen. I assume you’ll be full-board?” Meredith smiled warmly at Lyndon, attempting to ease the awe and discomfort from the boy’s face.

Before he could force out an answer, there came a soft knock on the doorframe and they turned to see a young man in the hallway. He was shorter than Meredith with bright green eyes and close-dropped red hair. A spattering of freckles and a clean-shaven jaw gave him the look of a man younger than he was. He wore a black leather jacket and jeans over a pair of steel-toed boots.

“Hey, Meredith. Brian and I aren’t going to be here for dinner. I’m taking him out to distract him from…the date…” His eyes caught on Lyndon with a surprised expression. “Oh. Erm. Someone’s letting the room, then?”

Meredith nodded and, when Lyndon seemed disinclined to say anything, sighed, “This is Lyndon. Lyndon, John. He and Brian live in the attic upstairs.”

“Nice to meet you.” John smiled. “Speaking of Bri, I need to go pick him up. Class is over in ten. Don’t wait up.”

Meredith chuckled.

“What day is it?” Lyndon asked quietly as the other man moved down the hallway.

“Wednesday, October fifteenth.”

The teen frowned thoughtfully as he sank onto the bed. “I mean, why does this Brian have to be distracted?”

Meredith hesitated, straightening the curtains in a nervous gesture. “I…don’t think it’s something he would like me discussing with you.”

“Oh.”

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, where are your parents, Lyndon?” She turned and forced a smile for the boy.

He shrugged noncommittally.

“I see. How do you like the room?”

He smiled. “It’s very nice.”

“Glad you like it. You got anything to move in?”

He shook his head silently.

“Nothing? No clothes or books or anything?”

Another head shake.

Meredith frowned, as much from Lyndon’s answers as from his refusal to meet her gaze. “School books?”

“I left my bag in the kitchen,” he muttered, staring down at the grey carpet. “It’s…all I have.”

“How long have you been on your own?” She knelt down before him and forced him to meet her gaze. “Where have you been living?”

He shrugged and looked away.

“Please answer me, Lyndon. I want to help you but first I need to know more about you. You understand, don’t you? I don’t want to let a murderer or something stay in my house.”

“I’m not a criminal,” he muttered, turning wide green eyes on Meredith. “I might have stolen a little but that’s it.”

“Ok. You’re not a criminal. I believe that. But there’s a reason why you’re on the streets looking for a place to stay without any material possessions. Wanna tell me what it is?” She kept her voice soft and comforting, as if she was speaking to a frightened puppy rather than a sixteen-year-old boy.

Before he could even shake his head again, a shout filtered in from down the hall and a large, fuzzy something bounded into the room, barreling into the kneeling Meredith.

Surprised, Lyndon shouted and curled up into a ball on the bed as the thing turned to sniffing at his feet. He whimpered as Meredith grabbed hold of the animal and attempted to force it down.