Page 47 of I Am Salvation

Teddy seems to know how to walk on a leash, which is good. I take him to the elevator, press the button to our floor, and then take him into my room.

Once I take off the leash, he runs around, sniffing every corner of the room.

I take out the dog bowl that I bought for him and fill it with water.

“Come here, boy,” I say.

Once he spies the water, he darts toward it, lapping it up quickly.

I got him some basic kibble and some dog biscuits. I know enough about animals to know that when they’re starving like this, you can’t give them a lot of rich food all at once, so I leave the canned dog food alone for now.

Once he’s done drinking, I take out a dog biscuit. “Are you hungry, Teddy?” I hold the biscuit in my hand, making a fist around it, letting him smell it in my hand first. He’s probably so hungry, he might snap my hand off otherwise.

Then I open my hand gently, and he takes the biscuit from me, crunching it between his teeth.

“I bet that’s nice for your belly, huh?” I measure out a cup of kibble and place it in his bowl.

He gobbles it up.

I don’t like to see him eat so quickly. Some dogs have sensitive tummies and will throw up when they snarf down food like that. But Teddy seems fine after he finishes, so I put him back on the leash and take him downstairs so he can do his business. I grab the doggy waste bags that I purchased.

As I wait for the elevator, the doors open, and Dragon walks out. “All taken care of,” he says.

“Great, thanks. I’m taking him down to go to the bathroom.”

Dragon simply nods.

I get into the elevator, and as the doors close, I lean down and pet Teddy’s head. “You’re going to get a bath tonight. I know you’re going to hate it, but you’ll smell so much better when we’re done. You’ll feel better too. As for Dragon?” I sigh. “I guess it’s just you and me, Teddy. And I have to be okay with that.”

Chapter Thirteen

Dragon

Seventeen years earlier…

New meat.

I think that’s what one of the bigger guys says when I arrive at the new group home.

I can still hear their low voices.

I heard some stories from the boys who had older brothers in the system about the stuff that happens at this particular home.

I didn’t believe any of it. After all, there are counselors, proctors, guards. Every group home has them.

New meat.

The words make the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

I learned long ago not to fear hardly anything. Not a fist coming at my face, not the loss of a meal, not a dressing down from the counselors… Certainly not being abandoned by my parents.

Been there, done all that.

Right now, though? I could puke. Like really toss some chunks. My flesh is crawling with invisible centipedes.

New meat.

The group home for boys aged thirteen through seventeen is a large, aging building in a densely populated urban area, closer to the school I attend. The paint is faded, and a chain-link fence surrounds the small yard. I follow David up the cracked concrete steps.

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