Chapter 3

“No, the navy shorts were as close as I could find,” Dave said. “I threw your clothes in the washer. There was some blood on them. You okay?”

He noticed Kyle’s left cheek was already turning a bit purple, and he had a small cut there, too. There was a bruise developing by his mouth. Dave suspected his ribs were probably bruised, too, if they weren’t broken. He wondered if Kyle had any head injuries. He really should have insisted on taking the kid to the hospital.

“Yeah, I’m all right. Just a bit banged up.” Kyle smiled crookedly. “Maybe a bit sore, but I’ve had worse.”

Dave nodded. “You working the streets?”

“You mean selling my body or something?”

“Yeah.”

Kyle shrugged. “I’ve done it before, but it’s been a while. A couple years, at least. And I only did it for a short time.”

Dave spooned Chinese food on to the plates. “Drug habit?”

“Is this the Spanish Inquisition or what?” Kyle sighed. “Maybe I should just go.”