Passion Ignited Read Online Free PDF

protein bar, he placed them in the guy’s
hand. It took both him and his grandpa to help the stranger into a
sitting position. He hissed, clearly wanting to moan at the pain,
but he held in whatever curse he’d been struggling to keep in. They
watched as he inhaled the apple and bar.
    “Slow down, son,” his grandpa said. “We don’t
have much to go around.”
    The stranger swallowed. “Sorry. I’m just
really hungry.”
    “That’s okay, it happens,” his grandpa
replied. “Where did you come from?”
    The guy stared blankly, looking between Kyle
and his grandpa. He blinked a few times without saying a word, his
brows lowering. “I don’t know.”
    Grandpa’s eyes fixed on Kyle, giving him a
tight nod before he focused on the guy again. “Do you remember
anything? Were you in an accident? In a fight? How about your
name?”
    He focused hard, really trying to come up with
answers, but he was drawing a complete blank. It was clear on his
face.
    Kyle felt sorry for the guy and handed him
another protein bar. “Don’t know your name?”
    “No.”
    “Tell you what. Why don’t you come with us?
You can stay with us until you’re on your feet again,” Grandpa
suggested.
    The stranger gave a nearly invisible nod
before he gingerly rolled and pushed to his feet. It clearly hurt,
and he wobbled when he stood. Kyle and his grandfather both reached
out, steadying him. Not that they could have caught him. He was
even bigger standing up. Kyle was gangly as it was already, but now
he just felt like a yardstick compared to the guy. “I’ll call you
Bob,” he said. “You know, until you remember who you
are.”
    Bob looked down at him. “’Kay.”
    The three men walked slowly over the grass,
making their way over to the sidewalk. They had to keep a slow pace
since Bob was injured so badly. Kyle couldn’t believe the shape he
was in. Dried blood was caked all over him: on his face, hands and
clothes, even in his hair. He could only imagine what happened to
him, but he had a feeling that if he were in that kind of shape
himself, he wouldn’t be up walking around. He’d likely be begging
for death.
    “So how did you end up in Washington Park?” he
asked, peering up at Bob’s face.
    “I woke up somewhere just off of Broad Street,
so I picked a direction and walked.”
    “Do you know where it was?”
    “I could find my way back there, if that’s
what you’re asking.”
    The rest of the walk home was mostly quiet. A
few comments here and there, but it was hard talking to a guy who
couldn’t remember anything. Grandpa put in a good comment on the
weather, which Bob was able to respond to, but that had pretty much
been the extent of it. They reached Market Street and hung a left.
Usually Kyle felt invisible as he wandered the streets, but Bob was
drawing a lot of attention. First, from people who saw how big he
was, then even more stares came when they saw all the blood. Kyle
had never felt more visible. Each time anyone asked him if he
needed to get to the hospital, Bob just shook his head.
    They passed shop after shop as they made their
way home. The different smells of hot, freshly cooked food caused
all of their stomachs to growl in response. Especially
Bob’s—although that could have been because Kyle’s ear was so close
to it as he walked beside him.
    They turned off Market Street and headed down
a small alley. It was really dark this time of night, but he could
have made his way through it blindfolded. The alley was full of
boxes that lined both sides of the narrow street.
    “Home sweet home,” Grandpa said. He pointed to
the shelter where Kyle and he had been staying for the last year.
“Course, I didn’t think you were as big as you are. It might be a
tight fit, but we’ll make do.”
    Bob’s eyebrows shot up as he took in the sight
of the little community. “You’re—”
    “Homeless? Yep,” Kyle said. “This is as close
to a home as we’ve got.”
    “Sorry it’s not more,”