Shelter Read Online Free PDF Page B

discouraged.
    “Look, Elias,” Caden closed the file, “I’m here because the court said you needed follow up, but that isn’t all this has to be. You can really benefit from -,”
    “Don’t tell me. I can become a functioning member of society? Get a nice little job somewhere? Maybe get married and have some sweet little kids and live a normal life?”
    “Exactly.”
    “Sure,” Elias tossed his head back, “aliens will land and we’ll have a woman in the White House before that happens.”
    Elias jumped up and headed over to the kitchen. Caden watched as he poured himself a glass of water with shaky hands. It wasn’t rare for people fresh out of rehab to start using again but Elias didn’t seem high.
    “Do you want to talk about your time in rehab?”
    “Nope,” he gulped the water.
    “What about your mother?”
    “Double nope.”
    “Anything?”
    “No,” Elias tossed the rest of the water into the sink, “if that’s everything, you can go now.”
    Caden wasn’t going to give up that easily. An average session could range anywhere from ten minutes to two hours, all depending on what the person needed. A quick glance at his watch told him he had been there for six minutes.
    Elias headed into the bathroom, leaving the door open. When Caden heard the sound of peeing, he re-opened the file and scanned over Elias’ file. Words like ‘ cocaine ’, ‘ repeat user ’ and ‘ serial offender ’ caught his eye in a flash. Snapping the file shut, he stood up and dumped it on the couch, heading over to the kitchen. Pizza boxes and empty beer cans were piled up next to an overflowing trashcan. T-shirts, jeans, underwear and socks were stacked high in front of the washing machine and dirty cups and plates were dangerously balancing by the sink.
    Shrugging off his denim jacket, he rolled up the sleeves of his stiff white shirt and started to fill the sink.
    “What are you doing?” Elias reappeared, tugging at his manhood through his underwear.
    “Washing up,” Caden shrugged.
    “Whatever,” Elias sighed, heading back over to the couch.
    As Caden squirted a healthy dose of dish soap into the water, Elias flicked on the TV, turning it up over the sound of the running water. Reclining on the couch, his eyes fixed on the screen as a group of reality wives argued about wine.
    It wasn’t Caden’s job to be a cleaner but he knew that if he showed he was willing to help, no matter how he was helping, Elias might open up. Turning off the faucet and dunking the dishes in hot soapy water, he glanced over to Elias who was acting as though Caden wasn’t even there.
    “I never knew the mayor had a son,” Caden said as he scrubbed a plate.
    “That’s what she wants you to think,” he mumbled, “I bet you knew she had a daughter though.”
    Caden cast his mind back. Now that Elias mentioned it, he was sure he had seen something on the front page of the Havenmoore Herald about a daughter graduating.
    “Is she a doctor?”
    “Bingo,” Elias rolled his eyes, “everybody knows about Ellie.”
    Elias shared the same black hair and dark eyes as his mother but he didn’t seem to share any of her people skills. Rinsing off the soapsuds, he stacked the dishes on the strainer. Drying his hands on a towel looped over the front of the oven, he moved onto filling the washing machine with the dirty clothes. They smelled strongly of an unwashed man.
    “Detergent?” Caden looked over the counter.
    Elias shrugged as he turned up the volume on the TV, “How should I know?”
    Sighing, Caden started to look through the cupboards until he found a bottle of detergent and a bottle of softener. Dumping them into the washing machine, he set the cycle after figuring out how the machine worked. It looked unused.
    “Do you want me to show you how to use this?” Caden called over.
    Elias shook his head, not looking away from the TV as he scratched his balls. Caden looked around the kitchen for more things to do. When he found