Jack winced. He really wished he knew more about the boy's friends and what they did when they were hanging out together. Now probably wasn't the best time to get answers out of the kid on that subject. "Is he upset?"
At least his mother didn't pretend not to understand. "He'll get over it, but I wouldn't make a habit of flirting with his teachers in the future, at least not right in front of him. I think he considers Caitlyn to be his friend. I'm guessing he's never had many adults in his life that he trusted. Sharing her with you might not come easy to him."
"We realized that a little too late, but it won't happen again as long as she's working with Ricky."
"And after she's not?"
He stuck the last plate in the dishwasher and set it to run. "Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?"
Then he headed out the back door before she could do much more than sputter.
Chapter 8
Ricky kicked a rock as he walked down the sidewalk alone. Even as he tracked its trajectory, he kept a wary eye on his surroundings. His friends were all making themselves scarce today, which made him wonder what had happened to send them into hiding. Most of them had been living on the streets long enough to have several hidey-holes in the surrounding area where they could stay out of sight if necessary.
However, this early in the day on a weekend was prime panhandling time. It wasn't like them to miss out on the chance to hit people up for enough money for a quick meal. Maybe the police were patrolling the area more frequently than usual. When that happened, the street folks often moved to another neighborhood for a while. He'd try a couple of other places and then head back home.
That thought brought him up short. It wasn't home. It was just where he was hanging out these days. Free meals and a safe place to sleep were worth the price of doing a little homework and pretending to care what Jack and his mother had to say. He did feel bad about how much money they'd spent on his clothes, because he'd most likely have to leave most of them behind when the time came for him to take off. Then there was all the time and money involved with Caitlyn tutoring him. It wasn't like he really expected to ever be back in school like some regular kid. He couldn't risk hanging around that long.
She and Marlene meant well, but they shouldn't be wasting their time on him. He couldn't tell them that, though. Besides, it was kind of nice being fussed over and pretending that the future was all bright and shiny now. Then there was Jack. Ricky still hadn't figured him out yet. He wasn't the usual do-gooder setting out to reform the world. Most of the time, Ricky actually liked Jack with his no-bullshit attitudes about stuff. Well, except when he'd caught the guy eyeing Caitlyn like she was the real dessert at lunch.
It still weirded him out how Jack was able to guess so much about Ricky's past without knowing any of the details. Maybe it was true that the two of them had a lot more in common than Ricky had originally believed. He tried to picture someone beating the crap out of Jack, but that was hard to imagine. Of course, the man said he hadn't always been built like a linebacker. If Ricky planned on sticking around, maybe he would take Jack up on the offer to use his gym to pack on some muscle after his arm finished healing.
The thought had him rubbing his cast, although his arm didn't really hurt. He couldn't afford to make plans beyond the moment. Jack said Ricky could stay with them as long as he wanted. Maybe he even meant it, but people made promises all the time without planning on keeping them, even family. Why would a bunch of strangers do better? For now, he'd enjoy sleeping in a room with a door that locked and eating on a regular basis, not to mention this was the longest he'd gone without a new set of bruises in a couple of years.
He kicked the rock again, this time sending it flying out into the street where it bounced off the bumper of a passing car. When the driver honked at him, Ricky offered him a one-fingered apology and kept walking.
At the next corner, he stopped. Which way now? Maybe they'd gone to the park, the one where Jack had shared his lunch with Ricky that first day. At the time, Ricky hadn't trusted him at all, but he'd been only too happy to eat the man's food and take his money. He'd actually surprised himself the next day when he'd headed back to see if Jack had really meant it when he'd offered the same deal if Ricky showed up again. The forty bucks he'd earned had fed him and some friends for a couple of days.
It had felt kind of good to earn his meals instead of mooching for them. That got old, and he was really tired of having to be on the constant alert for both cops and predators. Always being on the move was exhausting.
At the last block before the park, he spotted one of the older teenagers who roamed the area heading straight toward him. Although he'd known the guy for several months now, Toby stared right through Ricky as he came closer. What the fuck?
When Toby drew even with him, he muttered, "Follow me. Keep your distance."
Ricky nodded and kept walking for a few more steps. Then he knelt down as if to tie his shoe and scanned the area for any obvious sign of danger. When he didn't immediately spot anything out of the ordinary, he turned back in the direction Toby had gone. The older boy was waiting for him beside some tall bushes a short distance down the cross street.
"What's up?"
Toby shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "Someone has been asking about you. An older guy driving a pickup with California plates on it. I'm guessing it's your old man."
A shiver of pure dread settled in Ricky's chest. "My dad is dead. Why do you think this guy is looking for me?"
While scanning the street around them, Toby kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other, clearly not happy about staying in one spot for so long. Or maybe he was jonesing for his next fix. "He asked for you by name. He also described the exact clothes you were wearing the last time I saw you. You know, that blue hoodie with the big hole in the sleeve."
His eyes finally settled on Ricky's broken arm. "Is he why you're sporting that cast?"
There was no reason to deny it. "Yeah."
Toby didn't look particularly upset by that fact. They both knew the streets could be a brutal place to live. "So where have you been hiding? No one has seen much of you for a while."
As much as Ricky appreciated Toby caring enough to warn him that he was being hunted, he didn't trust him enough to let him know where he was staying. The last thing Ricky wanted was for his stepfather to track him down again. That bastard wouldn't just come after Ricky. No, he'd target anyone he thought had been helping him. Jack might hold his own against him, but Marlene and Caitlyn wouldn't stand a chance.
"I've been on the move since I got booted out of the hospital."
"Good idea. You wouldn't want him to find you."
Ricky shivered at the thought of his stepfather getting his hands on him again. He was lucky to have survived the last time. "Thanks for the info. I'd better get going."
Before he could move, Toby's hand shot out to catch him by the sleeve of his hoodie. "You're wearing new clothes. Where'd you score those?"
"They gave them to me at the hospital. My old ones were torn and covered in blood, so they threw them away."
Toby might have believed that part of the story, but it wouldn't take him long to question how the clothes had stayed so clean if Ricky was still living on the streets. Rather than risk him connecting all those dots, it was time to get the hell out of there. He considered sharing some of the money Jack had given him with Toby, but that would only stir up more questions Ricky didn't want to answer.
"Thanks again, man. I'm out of here. I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell any of the others that you've seen me."
Toby nodded and shuffled off in the opposite direction. Ricky headed around the corner as if he were continuing on to his original destination. Halfway down the block, he cut across the street and ducked into a small store. He bought a soft drink and a bag of chips so the clerk wouldn't hassle him over being in the place.
Meanwhile, he watched the street outside. Sure enough, Toby reappeared a few seconds later. Ricky ducked farther back into the store when the teenager stopped to look up and down the street. After a few seconds, Toby frowned and shuffled on down the block. Ricky waited until he turned the corner and disappeared before leaving the store. As soon as he cleared the door, he tossed the drink and chips in a handy trash can and took off running back toward Jack's place.