Bring Him Home - Chapter 9

I let him sleep, like everything else that had happened in the last half hour I wasn't sure when he had last had the chance to properly relax. The pizza arrived and still he slept so I ate a couple of pieces and left the rest for him. I refilled the coffee pot and set it on the timer for 6.00am and found the blankets Esme had used when she was sleeping at the office. I very carefully covered him and then left him a note explaining where the bathroom was and to not worry about the morning I would wake him before the staff came in.

I locked up once more, put the keys on the desk and after lowering the lights to just a soft glow, so he wouldn't be worried if he woke up wondering where he was, I went and set up a bed in my office. I had the same couch so after sorting out a blanket I locked my office door and crashed out for the night.

My alarm went off at 5.45am just like every morning, at first I was shocked at why I was asleep in the office but then I remembered my late night visitor. I unlocked my office door and peered into the corridor, I couldn't see him from here so I quietly walked towards the reception area. A I peered around the corner, he was still in exactly the same position as I‘d left him. He hadn't moved at all, the blanket was still over him and he was snoring gently.

I nipped back to my office and locked the door once more, I slipped in to my private bathroom and had a quick shower before dressing in the spare clothes I kept here for emergencies. As soon as my hair was fastened up and I had a touch of makeup I tidied up and went back into reception. The coffee pot had sprung to life and I set about washing last night's mugs so I could reuse them, we didn't have any breakfast goods in but I could soon get some depending on what he fancied.

All my moving around finally woke him, he was a little disorientated until he realised where he was. I was amazed at how quickly he became alert, I take ages some mornings to just function but he went from a deep sleep to fully awake in seconds. I passed him a mug of coffee and the sugar bowl and he pulled last night's sandwiches out of his pocket. He offered me one, but I refused, so he started tucking in to the ones I'd given to him.

"My staff will be in around 8.00am so you have about an hour before anyone gets here, it's up to you what you want to do, you're welcome to stay here and hang out for the day if you'd like, we have plenty of coffee and food and if you don't want to shower here I can talk to Emmett, he owns the gym down in the basement, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you used the showers down there."

As soon as I finished talking I turned back round to look at him, he was staring at the door and he had tears streaming down his face. I quickly tried to go back over what I'd said to upset him but I couldn't find anything.

"Whatever I said to upset you, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything" I tried desperately to think of something to say to him.

He looked at me and for the first time I heard him speak, he said one word before he shut down again "Emmett".

If I hadn't been looking at him I would have probably missed what he actually said, but I knew I'd heard him repeat Emmett's name.

"Do you know Emmett ? He will be in the gym shortly and chances are he will pop up here into our offices anyway, he's having a bit of a thing with someone that works here, so he is usually around."

His facial expressions seem to go into overdrive, I could tell he was processing what I'd just said, but he seemed to be at war with it. His forehead was all creased and the frown that appeared on his face was not a good sign.

"Don't worry I can head him off if you don't want to see anyone, but my staff will be in shortly and I can't keep them away I'm afraid". I was desperately trying to find a reason to keep him here inthe warmth. I wanted to get him some clean clothes, let him have a shower in peace and feed him.

I turned back to get my coffee and as I stirred the creamer in I heard the main office door open, it was still early but there was always a chance someone had decided to get to their desk for an early start. All of them had a key so they could come and go as they pleased.

" Would you like me to order some breakfast?" I asked turning to see if he would answer me, but he was gone. I stood looking at the couch wondering where he could have gone when I remembered I heard the door, I walked round the corner and saw the door open, the key left in the lock. I remembered locking up last night and placing the keys on the desk, I'd thought he was asleep but apparently at some point he'd seen the keys and figured out which one unlocked the door.

I looked back at the couch and the cream leather was filthy, there was an almost perfect imprint of his shape clearly visible. He'd also taken all the chocolate bars and biscuits I'd put on the table last night. Thinking about it I didn't notice them this morning so he had obviously been awake during the night.

I should have been a little more scared, if he had been up and about during the night and figured out what keys opened what doors there was a chance he could have come into my office while I was asleep, but I wasn't in the least bit worried, I had a strong feeling I was safe with him.  I gathered up the blankets and pillows and put them in a bag so they could go to be dry cleaned and decided to nip downstairs to get some breakfast, I had a craving for a bagel loaded with cream cheese and bacon. I went back to my office and after picking up purse I noticed the smudged dirty hand print on the wall, just above the end where my head had been last night.

I stood looking at it, wondering what the hell I was thinking. No matter how safe I thought I felt, he could have done anything to me last night and I would have been alone, and no one knew I was here. A wave of sadness hit me then, the homeless guy and I weren't that different, neither of us had anyone to go home to, neither of us were missed last night and we were both probably very lonely. I sat down heavy on my office chair, determined not to break down, I'd come too far to get depressed now, this was my life and I had to accept that. I started to get up, determined to go out and get some breakfast when I was startled by a scream coming from what sounded like the reception area. As I started to move towards it I heard Judy slamming about

"Who the fuck ate all my chocolate and why does the couch look like someone has been mud wrestling on it for fuck's sake?". She clearly wasn't happy.

So begins another day and how do I tell everyone just what happened last night  ?