A Place To Call Home

Arabella hurried down the sidewalk, her bag strap digging into her neck, the crying newborn baby a heavy weight in her arms.She herself was crying, silent tears that ran down her cheeks and froze there. Her feet were sore, her body exhausted, her head ached and she really just wanted to lay down right there in the middle of the sidewalk.She didn't care that it was the middle of the night, she didn't care if it was snowing, she was tired and she wanted to sleep, but she couldn't.She had responsibilities to take care of.She was almost there, to the orphanage. Once that was taken care of, then she could sleep. She didn't really have a place she could sleep, but she didn't care.She would find the closest dumpster and sleep there.Arabella stumbled a bit when her foot hit a crack in the ground. She held the baby tighter so as not to drop him and continued on her way.She didn't want to do what she was about to do.She had already become attached to the little blue-eyed bundle of joy t

Two years later, Cailen sat in the exact same spot.This time his feet just skimmed along the floor, his face in a scowl again, his hands clenched the ends of the armrests in frustration as he listened in to the newest addition of the list of reasons why no one wanted him."He's just so different," the man said.He heard Ms. Willow sigh."He's not like other boys.""Okay," Ms. Willow cut him off.She sounded fed up which only made Cailen feel worse.Ms. Willow was a nice person, the only thing even remotely close to a parent he had and he was causing her distress. But it wasn't his fault. He was only being himself.He couldn't help it if he didn't like toy cars and baseball. He couldn't help it if he didn't like playing with the other boys at school. All they talked about was baseball and other sports.He liked playing with the girls at school. They did more stuff that he was interested in. He couldn't help it."I'm sorry, but he's not normal," the man said.Cailen didn't even bother

"Cailen, they're here," Ms. Willow said from Cailen's doorway.Cailen sat on his bed, his small bag stuffed with his few articles of clothing sitting beside him. He raised his head when Ms. Willow spoke, suddenly feeling nervous. He nodded anyway and stood from his bed, grabbing the strap of his bag.He shuffled past Ms. Willow and down the hall where he saw Eden, William and a girl standing, waiting for him. When William saw Cailen, his face brightened and he took off at a run towards him.It startled Cailen, making him stop in his tracks."Cailen!" William shouted as he barreled into Cailen, throwing his arms around the older boy. "I missed you," William said squeezing Cailen tight.Cailen was unsure of what to do. He hasn't received a hug in... Ever.He's never been given a hug. He quite liked them, he decided.He dropped his bag and awkwardly placed one arm on the younger boy's back. He saw Eden smiling at the two of them standing just a few feet away so he tried his best to retur

As promised, Eden woke Cailen up the next morning and told him to get dressed to go shopping.Cailen was tempted to argue that she shouldn't waste the money on him. But figured it was futile, so instead, he crawled out of bed and sleepily shuffled his way into the bathroom, quickly doing his business and washing up, then meeting Eden downstairs by the door.Cailen had enough time last night before bed to look around. William had taken him on a tour of the house, showing him where the kitchen was and all six bathrooms. He showed him the basement which had a recreational room in it that had a pool table and also had another room with a couch and a television along with the laundry and one of the six bathrooms.Cailen had a pretty good memory so he pretty much remembered where everything was.Eden smiled at him as he put on his shoes, waiting patiently.Cailen was a little hungry since he just woke up and hadn't eaten yet but he didn't want to be a bother and ask for some breakfast. He s

The three boys split apart, looking behind them and shutting up once they saw a new person had entered the washroom.It was Asher, William's friend from lunch.He looked confused for a second, taking in his surroundings. He looked from the three startled boys to the scared looking boy that was fighting with himself on whether to look at the ground or at Asher."Come on," Billy spoke and soon, Cailen heard them shuffle out of the room.It was quiet for a moment. Cailen thought maybe Asher left with the rest of the boys because why would he want to stick around with him?He was nothing special. Just an orphan who nobody wanted.But soon he felt a small hand on his shoulder and then Asher was bending down a little and sticking his face under Cailen's so he could see him.Cailen turned away, ashamed of the tears evident in his eyes."Cailen, are you okay?" Asher asked, his voice soft.Cailen sniffled and brought his hand up to his eyes to wipe at them.Asher backed up a step as he did so,