There were a few old men sitting in front of the building, under a roof that protected them from the rain. They gave me a few glances as I walked past them, but otherwise, the yard was empty. No one stopped me from walking up to the green boat. Halfway now…

“Hello?” I spoke loudly when I reached the boat and didn’t see or hear anyone around.

“Just a minute!”

I could already smell the ashtray… My alpha almost physically gagged at the horrid smell, and it got even worse when a tall alpha in his forties stepped out of the boat and waved at me.

“You got my breadsticks?” he asked.

I frowned, but decided to play along.

“I got them right here,” I said, showing him the bag.

He seemed happy and jumped off the boat with a small, black leather bag in his hands. And holy hell, he smelled bad… My alpha really wanted us to get away from him…

“Here you go,” the man said, shoved the bag to me, and took the plastic bag with a smile. He peered in, but didn’t check what was in the box. “Thanks a lot. Now I can finally get going.”

And without waiting around for a second longer, he started freeing his boat from the dock.

“Bye,” I said, and he waved at me.

And since he ignored me, I sprung around and started making my way back to Lorenzo.

Honestly… If this was what I had to do for twenty bucks, I was more than up for it. It wasn’t even that long of a walk. Now I just hoped they would actually pay me twenty bucks… If only he’d pay at least ten… I could buy that salve for my brother…

His wounds would finally heal…

I tried not to run all the way back to Lorenzo’s, but finally, I stepped in, holding the bag under my arm. It was empty, except for Simon. He was still there, eating pizza. He looked up and spotted me, then smiled and gestured for me to come to him.

“You made it! How did it go?”

“It was fine,” I said. “Where’s Lorenzo?”

“At the back. Sit down while you wait. Is that what the guy gave you?”

I nodded, but didn’t give the bag to him. He wasn’t even asking for it, though. Only a moment later, Lorenzo appeared behind the registers, and clapped with a smile when he saw I had returned.

“No one followed you?” he asked when he came to get the bag from me.

I shook my head. I chose not to mention the blue car… It was probably just nothing, after all.

“Great. And here’s your tip…” he said and pulled cash from his pocket.

I tried to act cool and calm when he put two ten-dollar bills in my hand… I almost couldn’t believe my eyes… They actually kept their promise…

I could buy that salve now!

“So. You want to be one of my runners?” he asked, and I immediately nodded. “Good. Twenty bucks firm for every run. Sometimes the gig is longer, sometimes short like this.”

“And how will I know when you need help?” I asked while putting the money safely in my pocket.

“Just drop by once or twice a week. I always have something going on. And I know people who have their things going on. If not, you can always sweep the floors for a few bucks,” he said, gesturing at his restaurant.

I nodded eagerly. “Thank you. This is… Thank you.”

He smiled and patted my shoulder. “We have to take care of each other. That’s the only way we can get this city back up on its feet.”

“Right…” I muttered.

I could actually go buy that biggest bottle of salve for Alex… And once a week? Twice a week? That was a lot of money!

“You still hungry?” Simon asked and gestured at his half-eaten pizza. “Want a slice?”

“I…” I really wanted it, but… “I should go get Alex something to eat…”

He waved his hand at me as a no, then turned to Lorenzo. “Can I get this boxed for the kiddo? He’s got a sick brother waiting at home.”

“Sure,” Lorenzo said, took Simon’s leftovers, and went to put them in a box.

I almost broke down crying at that point… I’d thought so badly of this skinny alpha…

“You didn’t have to…” I muttered.

“I’m full, don’t worry,” he said and stood. “I’ll walk you back.”

“It’s fine… I need to go to the pharmacy,” I tried to explain, but he wasn’t having it.

“It’s on the way back, right?” he asked with a grin. “I need to buy painkillers and stuff like that as well.”

I paused to stare at him. “Why are you helping me?”

He shrugged. “We have to take care of each other, right?”

I nodded slowly. “Yeah…”

Lorenzo came back with the leftovers safely in a box in a plastic bag and gave it to me. “I’ll see you later this week then, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I said when I took the bag from him. “I’ll be here.”

“Great! Now off you go,” he said, waved, and retreated back behind his registers. “I’ll be seeing you.”

“See you,” I said, and followed Simon out of the pizzeria.

The pharmacy was thankfully open today, and with the money burning in my pocket, I stepped in and made a beeline to the skin care aisle. The biggest bottle of Alex’s salve practically glowed when I hurried to grab one. I was so happy… It would last at least for two weeks! And as I hugged the bottle against my chest, I wondered if the kids with homes and families felt like this when they got gifts… Probably… But this salve here was the best gift we could get right now.

It was a little over ten bucks, so I still could get something else as well… Maybe disinfectant? We desperately needed it. And bandages so we could protect Alex’s biggest wounds. Maybe soap too.

But as I went to get the disinfectant, then the bandages, and my total was getting to sixteen bucks, I stopped to hesitate in front of the soaps. If I got a bar, that would leave me with two bucks, and I still had to buy water… That would mean I couldn’t go get anything from the grocery store…

I glanced at the bottle of salve. I could get a smaller tube, which would leave me a few extra bucks… But I’d dreamed of buying the big one… We wouldn’t have to worry about it in two whole weeks…

I breathed out. We had the pizza, so today we would eat like kings, and tomorrow, I could go beg for money or food. I’d go back to Lorenzo’s in two or three days, and I could use that money on food alone since we’d already have all these necessary things for Alex.

Yeah… Yes, that was the right thing to do.

So, I grabbed the soap as well, making sure it was for sensitive skin, and my happy mood came back. We could finally treat Alex’s wounds again…

Simon was still searching for the stuff he needed, so I headed to the registers. The lady who was always kind to us spotted me and came to help me.

“Good morning,” she said in a kind tone. “How are you today?”

“Great,” I said, smiling. “Especially now that the storms are finally over.”

“Indeed,” she said as she started ringing me in. We talked about the rain while she was at it, and once she was done, she gave me my total. “That would be seventeen dollars and forty cents.”

I frowned a little, since I’d counted eighteen something, but I wasn’t going to make a fuss about it. It wasn’t the first time she’d given us a discount, so I just handed her the money. But she gave me back seven dollars and sixty cents. I took the five-dollar bill and tried to give it back to her.

“I only gave you two tens,” I noted, but she refused to take it.

Instead, she leaned closer and bowed at me to stare at me over her glasses. “Are you telling me I don’t know how to count?” she asked, her tone friendly.

“But I gave you–”

“I’ve been doing this job for all my life. I think I know how to count,” she said, interrupting me. “Now – do you need a bag?”

I stared at her, then at the five-dollar bill. Then I smiled and put the change in my pocket. “Sorry, yeah, I could use a bag.”

“That’s a good boy,” she said, put my items in the bag, and gave it to me. “Now have a good day.”

“You too, ma’am,” I said, bowed a little, and went to wait for Simon by the entrance.

It didn’t take long before he was ready to go as well, and we stepped back outside. I hardly even noticed the cold rain now as I hugged my bag against my chest. I was having one of the best days of my entire life, and I was so happy I wanted to skip my way back home to show Alex all the things I’d bought us. And I still had money left for the grocery store!

“Thanks, Simon,” I said, and he gave me a curious look. “We really needed all this stuff, so thank you.”

He waved his hand dismissively. “Figured you could use the money.”

I felt so, so bad for thinking badly of him, and for doubting him… My alpha was still giving him suspicious glances, but it did that with everyone, so I was feeling safe enough to ignore it. Simon hadn’t really given it any reason to be wary of him. Suspicious, sure, but this guy seemed like a decent human being. He hadn’t given me the ick at any point, and he even gave us the rest of his pizza, even though he really looked like he could use more food.

We talked a little about Lorenzo and what kind of gigs he usually had, but we stayed silent for the rest of the way. Simon was peering at our surroundings quite often, so it was clear he didn’t feel too safe to talk about the job. Or he just didn’t feel safe in general.

When we reached our grocery store hut village, he stopped me before we could go our separate ways.

“By the way… If you ever need something, just ask. I can’t promise I can help, but maybe I can figure something out,” he said.

I smiled at him. “Thanks. And likewise.”

He snorted in amusement. “You just take care of yourself and your little brother.”

“Sure,” I said.

He bowed a little and took a few steps back. “Aight. See you around.”

“See you,” I said, watching him walk away for a moment, but then I had to hurry to Alex. I needed to give him the great news.

I was back at home in a heartbeat, and Alex jumped up in his bed as soon as he heard me crawling in. He stared at me, then at the two bags I had, and when I gave him a big grin, his worried frown turned into excitement.

“They kept their promise?” he asked excitedly.

“They sure did. And look! They gave us pizza!” I said, hastily grabbed the box, and opened it. 

“No way…!” Alex gasped with wide eyes.

I stopped to stare at the food, feeling emotional again… On top of the leftovers Simon gave us, Lorenzo had sneaked in a handful of breadsticks too! I couldn’t believe how kind they’d been to us… And I hoped…

Maybe now our luck had finally turned around.