Chapter 3: The Place Where No One Looks
The alley behind the old pharmacy smelled like wet cardboard and rusted metal.
Ethan stopped halfway in, rain dripping from his blazer, his expensive shoes already ruined.
“Hey,” he called softly.
No answer.
Then, from behind a stack of broken crates, a familiar voice.
“I told you I don’t want anything.”
The boy stepped out slowly.
Up close, he looked even younger. Not just poor—exhausted in a way sleep couldn’t fix.
Ethan didn’t approach. He just held out the plastic bag he had grabbed from the restaurant before leaving.
“I brought you food,” he said.
A pause.
The boy stared at it like it might explode.
“You don’t get it,” the boy said. “People like you don’t come back. You say thank you, you feel good for five minutes, then you forget.”
Ethan swallowed. “I didn’t forget for three weeks.”
That landed differently.
The boy looked away.
“My name’s Noah,” he finally said, almost reluctantly, like it cost him something to say it.
“I’m Ethan.”
They stood in silence while rain hit the pavement like scattered coins.
Noah took the bag, but didn’t open it.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
Ethan gave a small, tired smile. “Probably not.”
Behind them, headlights flashed at the end of the alley.
Vanessa had followed.
She stepped out of the car slowly, heels clicking against wet ground, but she didn’t speak right away.
May you like
This time, she didn’t look at Noah like a problem to solve.
She looked at him like a question she was only beginning to understand.
