Catch Me, I'm Falling

"You don't even know me..." Gabriel muttered, rolling his eyes.

"You're a kid," said Sammy. "These streets are no place for you."

Gabriel shrugged, reaching for his drink after coughing again.

"Look, at least stay until we get you well again, and if you aren't comfortable here then I'll take you to a shelter or something," said Sammy.

"I'm just cold," Gabriel said quietly. "I'm fine really..."

"No you're not," said Sammy. "You're pale, you're flushed from fever, and you're nearly skinnier than my seven and a half year old."

Gabriel frowned and hung his head, looking down at his arms. "I could just normally this pale..." He said.

Sammy shook her head. "How long have you been out there, Gabriel?"

"Out there?" Gabriel said. "Few weeks..."

"You've been on your own longer than that, haven't you?" Sammy asked.

Gabriel nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"How old are you?" Sammy asked.

"Almost 16..." Gabriel answered after finishing his drink.

Sammy shook her head. "You've barely started high school, and you're living like this?"

Gabriel just shrugged, looking away nervously.

Adam came back into the room not long after, looking curiously at Sammy.

"Gabriel," said Sammy. "I'm not trying to upset you, I'm just trying to understand why you're in this situation, you're so young..."

"I left." Gabriel said, going quiet afterwards, still not looking at Sammy.

"You left home?" said Sammy. "Why?"

Gabriel didn't respond, staring down at part of the blanket.

Adam satyed in the doorway of the room, watching quietly.

"Okay," said Sammy. "You don't want to talk about it, that's okay," she said. "Are you hungry?"

Gabriel shrugged, frowning. He laid his head on his knees, a pained look in his eyes.

Sammy cocked her head to the side for a moment, perplexed. "Those eyes..."

Gabriel quickly turned his head away, confusing the look on Sammy's face for something else, thinking he'd done something wrong.

"What...?" Adam asked quietly.

"I'd know those eyes anywhere," said Sammy. "Same honey brown color as yours," she told Adam.

"What?" Adam asked, confused.

Gabriel ran a hand through his hair again, mostly to use his arm to cover his face, feeling uncomfortable.