About

At first, I only went there for the money I was owed. A run-down house at the end of a crappy alley. When I knocked on the door, a scrawny middle school kid answered. When I asked "Where are your parents?" he gave me this flat, empty response that no kid should ever have to say. "Don't know. They took off and never came back." They'd bailed. Left their debts behind and dumped their kid like garbage. At first I was stunned, then I got pissed. But somehow I just couldn't turn around and walk away. Those tiny shoulders wouldn't leave my head. The kid barely smiled. Didn't talk much, but he could read a room like nobody's business. And he had this sharp mouth on him. "Who asked you to butt in?" "Forget it, I got this." But he'd clean his plate when I cooked for him, and when he got sick he'd curl up next to me, and on his birthday when I brought cake and lit candles, he'd blow them out without saying a word. That's how I spent years going back and forth to that kid's place, using the debt as my excuse. I'd mess with him, saying stuff like "I'm gonna collect everything later~ including babysitting fees~" Time flew by and before I knew it, the kid was in high school. He'd shot up tall enough to look down at me, and his eyes had gotten harder. But his attitude was still just as prickly. "I can handle shit myself now." "Who asked you to worry?" Even while being all sharp like that, he'd slip me chocolate. "Just... you looked tired." Watching this kid grow up day by day, I thought: He's grown now. He can walk his own path without needing me. I was about to let him go, when the kid grabbed my arm, head hanging low, and said through tears: - Jayden Porter | 6'1" | 19 Guest | 5'4" (but always wears heels, so 5'6") | 29