Dead Dreams ((Young Adult Paranormal Romance) ( Dead Dreams Trilogy)) (15 page)

“
Then be my guest, I’d love to help you poor kids.
”

Adam
considered him
to be
either
nuts or
a guy with a sinister agenda. The short time he’d spent in the
city had taught him that it was easy to
disappear without a t
race never to be heard of again.
Summer
was less
cautious;
she dreamed
of a few luxuries
and was prepared to throw
cau
tion to the wind just to get off the streets.

“
You’d better not try anything.
I mean if there’s something else you’re after you can forget it.
”
Adam warned
him in no uncertain terms.

“
No, don’t even think that way,
I like
to help homeless kids that all
.
”

S
hort and slightly overweight
somewhere in his
early
thirties
he
appeared
to
be respectable and
Summer
was
praying that
he
would agree to go with a
stra
nger that she
’d already
trusted.

“
What’s your name?
”
Adam asked fuelled with suspicion.

“
My name is Reginald, but you can call me Reggie.
”

“
Your clothes
are really retro.
”
Summer
replied,
laughing at his appearance.

“
I love
the 70’s, call me a freak if you want, but that’s me.
”

They decide
d
to check out
his
place even if it
was
only for a good
nights sleep an
d a chance to get clean then they would
be on their way the following day. A
surprise was
in store when afte
r a short walk
to a
three story house
they
discovered they
were
far from
alone
. I
t was full
of
down and out drunks
and homeless teenagers.

“
Is this some kind of shelter?
”
Adam
asked,
shocked at the sheer numbers.

“
It’s the Reggie shelter…
like it?
”
He was proud of his home from home and couldn’t wait to show it off.

Unsure of what to make of
the man
and
his dishevelled house
filled to the brim with
a myriad of
people
, Adam thought he’d
entered a paralle
l universe
.
E
verything that
had
happened since he left home
was
making
less and less sense, the weirdest people, coldest city and a screwed up girl that
he couldn’t figure out
.
For
some unexplained reason he
still felt obligated to take care of her even though she got on his nerves constantly
and,
the more he searched his mind for the logic
as to why
-
the less he found
the
answer.

His
frustration
was increasing as
all the regular conversations that
he’d
depended on since childhood
with his father had stopped
.
He was beginning to think
it was his own fault.

Maybe he’s pissed that I’ve left home, maybe he’s ignoring me on purpose?

“
First a shower, I have toothbrushes, then some soup and dessert and a good night’s sleep.
”
Reggie said
as he directed
Summer to the bathroom.

Adam ignore
d
the other residents, most of them
were
older
.
H
e counted
about fifteen men and women either lying on mattresses or sitting on the numerous
couches
in
the
large
comfortable
living room.
The scene left
Adam
suspicious.

This guy might be crazy but he must be loaded, a house like th
is and feeding the f
ive thousand. W
here the fuck does
the money come from
?

Summer appeared
wearing a borr
owed bath robe two sizes to big, she had
transformed from
dirty and
dishe
velled
to stunning and beautiful.
H
er hair
was
shining and
the sweet smell of soap
and shampoo caught
Adam’s attention. In spite of how attractive she looked he couldn’t wait a moment longer and headed up the stairs
to wash away the last few horrible days of his life.

The
hot
water felt
so good and
Reggie
had
supplied
everything that Adam needed even
a razor
and
aftershave. A
fter
everything
it was
like being in a
five
star hotel.

Emerging clean and scrubbed in a bathrobe,
their clothes
in the wash
a sense of relief
swept over him. He could
n’t
help feeling
relaxed for
the first time in days as
he found
Summer
in the
communal
kitchen at a large table
enjoying her soup. Worried that she was
going to
do what she always did-
he shot
her a knowing glance.

“
No, no I’m okay…I won’t do it cause
do
n’t feel the need to.
”
She said
reassuringly.

A middle aged woman
placed
a bowl of soup
with two chunks of fresh bread
on the table
for Adam
and it was bliss. H
e devoured
the
soup
with gusto.

“
My you’re a
hungry boy.
”
The woman remarked even though she’d seen it many times before.

“
First proper food I’ve had in days.
”
He replied between mouthfuls.

She
tried to start a conversation
,
but the only
thing on
Adam’s
mind
was to eat and get his clothes back. Summer was
already
on dessert, a
large por
tion of cheesecake that she ate
with
lightening speed
resulting in her making a quick exit back upstairs
.

“
It’s a
shame isn’t it?
”
The woman
said
,
“
A
young girl like that with such a problem.
”

Adam was
suspicious
about how
she
knew
that
Summer was bulimic. His paranoia
then
turned to thoughts of
witchcraft, satanic rituals and sacrifices and
that
they were being set up
as lambs to the slaughter.

Forgoing dessert he decided
to confront
Reggie
.
Searching endless
rooms he eventually found him
and
-
couldn’t wait to speak
his mind,

“
What’s your agenda man?
What the hell
is this place and what do you want with us!
”

“
Re
lax,
I don’t want anything from you kids
I’m only trying to help you to see
.
”

“
See what?
”

“
That you need to move on, it’s not good wandering the streets with no direction.
”