left?
"Winchester," he finally offered. "I was heading north, thought maybe I could pick up work there."
"Winchester is a fine place," Ben said in response.
"But you don't have to go to another city and find work, you know." Ben sounded thoughtful. "What about college?" Zach smiled softly into his hot chocolate. College was just pipe dream.
"I didn't even graduate, and I don't have the money 76
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
for college."
"You don't strike me as stupid, Zach. You could get your equivalency, get a degree, make a life for yourself."
Pain speared Zach. Everything seemed so damn simple when Ben said it like that, and irrationally, he started to feel angry.
"We don't all have apple pie lives," Zach spat, not sad, but angry, hostile, and feeling trapped. He pushed himself to stand, stumbling slightly and sloshing hot liquid over his hand and onto the carpet. Ben stood just as fast, grabbing Zach's arm.
"Zach, sit down," Ben said in a calm voice, instantly gentling the passion Zach felt and encouraging him to sit back on the sofa. "There is nothing about our lives here that you could remotely call apple pie perfect. We may not have a lot of crime, but we have poverty in pockets like you have never seen. Yes, we have a town that pulls together to help each other out, but we have crops that fail, cattle that die, and stores that close. We don't have a big college; it's desperately under-funded, but we have community
learning. If you took a step back, wait 'til after Christmas maybe and then approached them for a place? This town may not have a lot of material things, but what we do have is a place you could be safe, somewhere to grow, maybe go 77
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
to the college…"
Zach interrupted with a disbelieving snort. "Where in this would you see me living?"
"We'd find somewhere. You could work for your keep, live with me possibly. I have my own house, admittedly a small one, but it has two bedrooms. You could stay with me, stay here in Hill Valley." Ben sounded pathetically hopeful and entirely convinced he had an option Zach should entertain.
"What about money?" Zach snapped in return.
"It's a poor community generally, but some of the farms need laborers. There's at least one store looking for a clerk. I don't know, but we'd find somewhere." Ben was clearly on a roll.
"Why would you do that? You want me to be
grateful? Maybe bend over for you, pay you back that way?" Zach's chest was tight with anger.
"No— god no." Ben finally managed to answer, shaking his head, and his face flushing scarlet. "I just have— I mean, no. Do you…"
"Ben—"
"Shit, I really didn't know how to word this, please.
I'm a cop, I'm trained to help, and god knows… I mean, Zach, you need to stop running. You're eighteen in two 78
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
days. Make a stand, draw a line. Just stop."
Zach unconsciously drew his knees up on the sofa, wrapping hands around them, his usual pose of self-protection. "I can't think," he finally said. "I just can't think." His voice was broken. "Can we just leave this?"
Ben made a decision, flicking through the TV
channels with the remote. "You ever seen Die Hard ?" he asked. "It's starting in five minutes, you wanna watch?"
Zach had heard of Die Hard. Being in mainstream school until thirteen he had a feel for popular culture as much as any person who nobody actually talked to. "Yeah, I've not really seen many movies at all," he replied, almost shyly. At least that would stop him having to think. Ben fiddled with a control, the television showing the news, the main topic of conversation being the snow that had blanketed the town, which then segued into the start of the film. Ben settled back, his hand resting along the back of the sofa, and Zach shifted away a little, wincing at the pain in his back and hoping Ben didn't see. Ben was so damn warm, soft, welcoming, and supportive, and before he knew it, his head was resting on
"Winchester," he finally offered. "I was heading north, thought maybe I could pick up work there."
"Winchester is a fine place," Ben said in response.
"But you don't have to go to another city and find work, you know." Ben sounded thoughtful. "What about college?" Zach smiled softly into his hot chocolate. College was just pipe dream.
"I didn't even graduate, and I don't have the money 76
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
for college."
"You don't strike me as stupid, Zach. You could get your equivalency, get a degree, make a life for yourself."
Pain speared Zach. Everything seemed so damn simple when Ben said it like that, and irrationally, he started to feel angry.
"We don't all have apple pie lives," Zach spat, not sad, but angry, hostile, and feeling trapped. He pushed himself to stand, stumbling slightly and sloshing hot liquid over his hand and onto the carpet. Ben stood just as fast, grabbing Zach's arm.
"Zach, sit down," Ben said in a calm voice, instantly gentling the passion Zach felt and encouraging him to sit back on the sofa. "There is nothing about our lives here that you could remotely call apple pie perfect. We may not have a lot of crime, but we have poverty in pockets like you have never seen. Yes, we have a town that pulls together to help each other out, but we have crops that fail, cattle that die, and stores that close. We don't have a big college; it's desperately under-funded, but we have community
learning. If you took a step back, wait 'til after Christmas maybe and then approached them for a place? This town may not have a lot of material things, but what we do have is a place you could be safe, somewhere to grow, maybe go 77
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
to the college…"
Zach interrupted with a disbelieving snort. "Where in this would you see me living?"
"We'd find somewhere. You could work for your keep, live with me possibly. I have my own house, admittedly a small one, but it has two bedrooms. You could stay with me, stay here in Hill Valley." Ben sounded pathetically hopeful and entirely convinced he had an option Zach should entertain.
"What about money?" Zach snapped in return.
"It's a poor community generally, but some of the farms need laborers. There's at least one store looking for a clerk. I don't know, but we'd find somewhere." Ben was clearly on a roll.
"Why would you do that? You want me to be
grateful? Maybe bend over for you, pay you back that way?" Zach's chest was tight with anger.
"No— god no." Ben finally managed to answer, shaking his head, and his face flushing scarlet. "I just have— I mean, no. Do you…"
"Ben—"
"Shit, I really didn't know how to word this, please.
I'm a cop, I'm trained to help, and god knows… I mean, Zach, you need to stop running. You're eighteen in two 78
The Christmas Throwaway
RJ Scott
days. Make a stand, draw a line. Just stop."
Zach unconsciously drew his knees up on the sofa, wrapping hands around them, his usual pose of self-protection. "I can't think," he finally said. "I just can't think." His voice was broken. "Can we just leave this?"
Ben made a decision, flicking through the TV
channels with the remote. "You ever seen Die Hard ?" he asked. "It's starting in five minutes, you wanna watch?"
Zach had heard of Die Hard. Being in mainstream school until thirteen he had a feel for popular culture as much as any person who nobody actually talked to. "Yeah, I've not really seen many movies at all," he replied, almost shyly. At least that would stop him having to think. Ben fiddled with a control, the television showing the news, the main topic of conversation being the snow that had blanketed the town, which then segued into the start of the film. Ben settled back, his hand resting along the back of the sofa, and Zach shifted away a little, wincing at the pain in his back and hoping Ben didn't see. Ben was so damn warm, soft, welcoming, and supportive, and before he knew it, his head was resting on
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