Vanished (Little Boy Lost) by Barnaby J.P

Author:Barnaby, J.P. [Barnaby, J.P.]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2013-06-22T16:00:00+00:00

NEARLY a week after I had visited the shelter where a desperate and frightened Jamie had stayed, I sat at the computer searching his name for the hundredth time when Leo walked by pushing a red dolly toward the stairs.

“Do you need some help?” The house had become kind of a family to me, and I liked being a part of that. California was a chance for an entirely different life for me; all I had to do was try. Here, I wasn’t the foster kid freak or the fag. I was just Brian.

“Yeah, I do, thanks,” he said.

“Hey, pretty boy, what’s your name?” an unknown voice called out as we walked along the hallway on the first floor.

“Shut up, Hunter, or I’ll put you to work!” Leo called, and then he smirked at me. Apparently, the guys in the house, whether they lived there or were just there for the… extracurricular activities, respected Leo.

When we got out to the big white cargo van that Leo said belonged to the center, I saw that boxes filled it almost completely.

“Local donations to the center,” he explained. “They’re not heavy; it’s mostly clothes and blankets. You wouldn’t know it by the weather today, but it gets pretty cold at night when you’re sleeping on a park bench.” Looking at the boxes, I felt sadness fill me once again. One of those blankets could be destined for Jamie. I couldn’t stand the thought of him sleeping on the street.

“Find anything on your friend?” Leo leaned up against the side of the van. It seemed that the work had stopped, at least for the moment.

“I found a shelter where he’d stayed the night, but he hasn’t been there in weeks.”

“Kid, there are thousands of homeless living in San Diego, and almost half are eighteen or younger. A lot of them won’t go anywhere near a shelter except maybe to eat. They’re everywhere, but they’re invisible. People just walk past them, even the kids, and don’t give them a second thought. A lot of the teenagers turn to drugs and prostitution because they help them survive.”

I started shaking my head. “No, Jamie wouldn’t—” I started, but he stopped me.

“I’m not saying that he would, kid. I’m just trying to prepare you for what you might find, assuming you even find him at all. Riding in on your horse to try and find your lost friend is a big romantic gesture, but it doesn’t work that way in the real world. I just don’t want to see you lose yourself while trying to find your friend,” he said quietly and carried one of the boxes through the door and into the house.

I considered what he said as we carried the boxes up the stairs and stacked them in the common room. Dropping everything and moving to California didn’t seem like some kind of romantic gesture to me; it was just what I had to do.

After we carried the last two boxes upstairs, I walked back over to the computer.

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