Chapter 3: One Week
1068 Words
For the first few days, Riley wasn’t sure what to do with Owen.
He was always there.
At breakfast.
In the car.
At school.
At dinner.
Even when she wanted to sit beside Ethan on the couch, Owen was somehow already there.
She didn’t like it.
Not because she disliked him.
She just wasn’t used to sharing everything.
On the fourth morning, she walked into the kitchen and found Owen sitting in her usual chair.
She stopped.
“That’s my chair.”
Owen looked behind him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I sit there every morning.”
Ethan walked past them with a piece of toast in his mouth.
“You weren’t here first.”
Riley frowned.
“I was.”
Owen stood immediately.
“You can have it.”
She stared at him.
“I didn’t say you had to move.”
“You said it was yours.”
Riley suddenly felt bad.
She pulled out the chair beside him instead.
“Sit down.”
Owen hesitated.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
He sat.
Riley pushed the bowl of cereal toward him.
“You can have some.”
Owen shook his head.
“I already ate.”
“You’re lying.”
Ethan stopped chewing.
“How do you know?”
“Because there’s nothing on his plate.”
Ethan looked at Owen.
“She has a point.”
Owen shrugged.
Mrs. Parker placed a fresh bowl in front of him.
“Eat.”
He picked up the spoon.
Riley smiled.
She was beginning to understand something.
Owen didn’t ask for anything.
Not food.
Not toys.
Not clothes.
If someone offered him something, he’d accept it carefully, as though he expected them to change their mind.
She didn’t understand why.
But she noticed.
By the fifth day, Riley had stopped asking her mother when Owen was leaving.
She didn’t even realize she’d stopped.
Instead, she started asking Owen questions.
“What games do you play?”
“Football.”
“Do you like cartoons?”
“Sometimes.”
“What is your favorite?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know anything.”
Ethan laughed from across the room.
“He doesn’t talk much.”
Riley looked at Owen.
“You should talk more.”
Owen smiled faintly.
“You talk enough.”
Riley gasped.
Ethan burst out laughing.
“Finally!”
Riley grabbed a cushion.
“Take it back.”
“No.”
“Take it back!”
Owen shook his head.
“You talk too much.”
She threw the cushion.
It hit him in the chest.
For a second, nobody moved.
Then Owen picked it up.
Riley expected him to throw it back.
Instead, he handed it to her.
“Here.”
She stared at him.
“You’re boring.”
Ethan laughed again.
“You’re impossible.”
Riley smiled despite herself.
Owen did too.
On the sixth day, Mrs. Parker took them shopping.
Owen tried to stay close to her.
Riley noticed.
He walked quietly while she and Ethan argued about which cereal to buy.
At the clothing store, Mrs. Parker picked up shirts and held them against Owen.
“Do you like this?”
He shrugged.
“What about this?”
Another shrug.
Riley watched him.
“Do you like anything?”
Owen looked at her.
“I don’t know.”
She picked up a blue shirt.
“This one.”
Mrs. Parker smiled.
“Good choice.”
Owen looked down at it.
“You like blue?”
Riley nodded.
“So do I.”
Ethan appeared beside them.
“You both like blue?”
“Yes,” Riley said.
“That’s boring.”
“You’re boring.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
Owen laughed.
Mrs. Parker shook her head.
“Three children and one shopping trip. I already have a headache.”
The three of them laughed.
Owen looked at her.
For a moment, he seemed surprised to hear himself laughing with them.
Mrs. Parker noticed.
She reached over and fixed the collar of his shirt.
“You look handsome.”
Owen looked away.
“Thanks.”
She squeezed his shoulder.
“Come on.”
He followed her.
On the seventh day, Owen woke up before everyone else.
He sat on the edge of the bed and listened.
The house was quiet.
He had been here for a week.
Seven days.
He still remembered the mall.
The rain.
The police station.
The moment he’d been told his parents weren’t coming back.
He remembered sitting at the Parker dinner table that night.
He had been afraid to touch anything.
Now there were clothes in his room.
Books on the shelf.
A schoolbag beside the door.
A toothbrush in the bathroom.
Small things.
Things that shouldn’t have meant much.
But they did.
There was a knock on his door.
Riley stood outside.
“Mom said breakfast.”
Owen nodded.
“Okay.”
She didn’t leave.
“What?”
She shrugged.
“Nothing.”
He waited.
“Are you staying?”
Owen looked at her.
“I think so.”
Riley smiled.
“Good.”
She turned around.
“Come on.”
Owen followed her downstairs.
Ethan was already at the table.
“You’re late.”
Riley pointed at Owen.
“He was getting ready.”
Ethan looked at Owen.
“You take too long.”
Owen sat down.
“Sorry.”
Ethan shrugged.
“It’s fine.”
Mrs. Parker brought breakfast to the table.
Three plates.
Three cups.
Three sets of cutlery.
She sat down with them.
“Ready for school?”
The children nodded.
Riley looked at Owen.
“After school, we’re playing football.”
“I don’t know how.”
Ethan grinned.
“We’ll teach you.”
Owen looked between them.
Then he nodded.
“Okay.”
Mrs. Parker watched them quietly.
A week ago, there had been two children at her table.
Now there were three.
And for the first time, Owen didn’t look like he was waiting to be sent somewhere else.
He looked like he was waiting to see what they would do next.
That was enough for her.
“Eat,” she said.
Riley reached for the bread.
Ethan reached at the same time.
Their hands collided.
“Hey!”
“You took mine.”
“I didn’t.”
Owen laughed.
And this time, he didn’t stop himself.
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