Blue Read Online Free PDF

walked. She tried to walk quickly so he wouldn’t get too cold, but he was shaking visibly when they got to the restaurant and she got a good look at him in the bright lights. He had the bluest eyes she’d ever seen, in a sweet, still childish face that gazed at her full of innocence. It felt as though their paths had been meant to cross that night. It was warm in the restaurant, and he jumped up and down to warm himself. She wanted to put her arms around him to help him but didn’t dare.
    “What would you like?” she asked him gently. He hesitated. “Go for it,” she encouraged him. “It’s almost Christmas, live it up.” He grinned and ordered two Big Macs and fries and a large Coke, and she ordered a single Big Mac and a small Coke. She paid for it, and they went to a table to wait for their order, which was ready a few minutes later. By then he’d warmed up and had stopped shivering. He dove into the food with a vengeance, and was halfway through the second burger before he stopped to thank her.
    “I could have paid for it myself,” he said, looking mildly embarrassed, and she nodded.
    “I’m sure you could. My treat this time.” He nodded.
    She watched him, wondering how old he was, still startled by how blue his eyes were. “What’s your name?” she asked cautiously.
    “Blue Williams,” he answered. “Blue is my real name, not a nickname. My mama named me that because of the color of my eyes.” She nodded. It made perfect sense.
    “I’m Ginny Carter,” she said, and they shook hands. “How old are you?” He looked at her suspiciously then, suddenly afraid.
    “Sixteen,” he said instantly, and she could tell that he was lying. He was obviously worried that she’d report him to Child Protective Services. At sixteen he would have been exempt.
    “Do you want to go to a shelter tonight? It must be cold out there in the shed. I could drop you off, if you want,” she offered. He shook his head vehemently in answer and drank half the Coke, having already finished both burgers and most of the fries. He was starving and ate as though he hadn’t had a meal in a while.
    “I’m fine in the shed. I have a sleeping bag. It’s pretty warm.” She considered that unlikely but didn’t challenge him.
    “How long have you been out on your own?” She wondered if he was a runaway someone might be looking for. But if so, whatever he had run away from had to be worse than what he was experiencing on the streets, or he’d have gone home.
    “A few months,” he answered vaguely. “I don’t like shelters. There’s a lot of crazy people in them. They beat you up, or rob you, and a lot of them are sick,” he said knowledgeably. “It’s safer where I am.” She nodded, willing to believe it—she’d heard stories about violence in shelters before. “Thank you for dinner,” he said, smiling at her, looking more than ever like a little boy, and nowhere near sixteen. She could see that he didn’t shave yet, and despite the life he was leading, he had the appearance of a child, a very wise child, but still a child.
    “Would you like something else?” she offered, and he shook his head, and they left the table. She stopped to order two more Big Macs and fries and another Coke, and handed the bag to him when she got it, to take with him. “In case you get hungry later.” His eyes were wide with gratitude as he took the bag, and they left the restaurant and walked back the way they had come, hurrying along the street in the cold. It was still snowing, but the wind had died down. They got back to the shed quickly, and when they did, she unzipped her parka, took it off, and handed it to him.
    “I can’t take that from you,” he objected, trying to refuse it, but she gave it to him, standing in her two thick sweaters in the falling snow. It was freezing, and she could only imagine how cold he was in the thin T-shirt and nothing else.
    “I’ve got another one at home,” she reassured him, and he