Page 18 of Jager's Prey
He was alone.
“You okay, kid?” I asked, lowering the weapon.
“Sorry.” He blushed. “Nightmare.”
“False alarm!” I hollered down the stairs.
Shoving the gun in the back of my pants, I entered slowly. Dealing with kids was never my thing. Hell, I usually went out of my way to avoid children. Having one with nightmares only made my awkwardness worse.
“Nightmare ‘bout your parents?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Want to talk ‘bout it?”
He paused while picking at the corners of his fingers. “I know I should be stronger. I’m a man.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and exhaled.
“My father always said men didn’t cry.” He told me.
“With all disrespect to him but your father was an idiot.” I replied. “Pain hurts. And how most of us show that hurt is through crying. It doesn’t matter if you’re a man or a woman. Besides, most women think a man who shows his feelin’ is hot.”
“Really?”
I nodded. “The strong emotional types—I think.”
Cage smiled. “You suck at this.”
“I know.” I hung my head. “But I’m the best ya got right now. Look, we know you lost people you cared about. And no one is expectin’ you to be okay with this overnight. The truth is, the pain never really goes away. You just learn to live with it.”
“But it does get easier.”
“It does. Some days are better than others.”
“Did you lose your parents too?”
“Yeah—a long time go.” I replied. “I was born in Nigeria. When I was four there was an attack on my village. Both my parents were killed.”
“But you have a bit of a New Orleans accent.”
I smiled. “I was adopted by a soldier and his wife from N’Orleans.”
“So, you have parents!”
“No.” I shook my head. “A month after, I was in foster care. I didn’t speak English and they weren’t prepared to deal with a child who didn’t understand them who was also going through some things.”
“So, they just dumped you?” Cage arched a brow. “That doesn’t seem right.”
I offered him a smile then shrugged. “It’s a long and tirin’ story. But I’m here. I’m still standin’.”
Cage nodded. “That’s true. I guess if you can be strong after losing two sets of parents…”
“You should get up and get something to eat.”
His stomach growled at us then as if agreeing with my suggestion. Cage blushed, covered his tummy with a palm and laughed.
“I guess I was hungrier than I thought.”
