The Homeless Boy

seventeen.

"Miles, let's go inside, " she yelled through the rain. "It's getting stronger."

He remained at his spot, staring up at the sky. Raindrops drenched his clothes, but he didn't care at all.

"Wait, Elle. Come here, " he pulled her to him and held her hands. They stood there in the middle of her driveway and the storm.

  She flinched when a thunder echoed in the clouds. "Miles, can we please go inside?"

  "Just...close your eyes."

  "I–"

  "Trust me, Elle, " he murmured softly, his words silencing her. The way he looked at her made her want to melt in his arms right there.

  She closed her eyes.

  "Do you feel the drops? One by one, falling onto you?" he asked her soothingly; she nodded. "Most people see rain as something that makes their hair frizzy, which may or not be true. But there's a deeper meaning behind rain."

  His words, his voice were music to her ears. "Rain, Elle, just wants to be free. It stays locked up in the clouds, waiting for its moment to simply...fall. Of course, because of evaporation, they're just going to go right back up again. But they live for that fall. It's when they're truly free in the world. When falling."

  His hand gently touched her cheek and trailed down to her lips. She felt her heart pound as his fingers lingered on her lips.

  Ever so tenderly, he whispered: "I want to fall, Elle."

  Her eyes flew open and met his instantly. He was inches away from her face. She couldn't even feel the rain dropping down on her anymore.

  Nothing, but him, mattered in that moment.

  "Miles..." she trailed off and he smiled. Her eyes widened when he began to lean in. Sucking in a breath, she closed her eyes and waited.

  But instead, he pressed a kiss to her forehead before leading her inside. "I could go for some hot chocolate right now."

  She let out a nervous chuckle and nodded.

  —

"So, tell me, Elle. What made you want to start Castillo Charities?" he asked her as they drank their hot chocolate in her living room. The faint pitter-patter of the rain comforted them.

She glanced down at her mug. "Unlike most would think, it's not much of an inspirational story. It–it's actually pretty, um, traumatic for me."

  He set his mug down on her coffee table and put her hands on his, causing her to lift her gaze.

  "Elle. You can tell me anything in the world and I would never judge you. But, I don't want you to feel obligated to do that. Everyone has a past. I respect your decision to keep it as that, just the past, " he reassured her, his eyes sincere.

  She took a moment to think.

  The longer she looked into his eyes, the more she wanted to tell him everything. He knew and understood parts of her that she had never discovered before. Parts of her soul. This was all that was left for him to know.

  She desperately desired whatever they had to last. First, though, he had to accept her past.

  "Before I built a multimillionaire company and began Castillo Charities, I was a nobody. Just a girl trying to pay her rent. Somewhere in between the holes and cracks, I fell in love, " she exhaled shakily; he squeezed her hand for support. "He was wonderful, in the beginning. We were wonderful. I moved in with him and we started talking about marriage."

  Her voice broke. "I had a whole future planned out with him and...I was so happy. But then, he got fired from his job for budget reasons. Everything went downhill from there. He started drinking, he forgot to pay rent, and he would come home past midnight everyday."

  That reminded him of his mother's boyfriend, Ray.

  "One day, I was so tired of it all. I warned him that if he didn't get his act together, I would leave him. And you know what he did? He slapped me. He yelled at me, saying how worthless I was. He told me I couldn't do anything and that I was just a poor, little, defenseless girl."

  His jaw clenched at that.

  "He brought me down to my knees and broke me apart, Miles. He didn't let me leave. I would suffer through the same thing every single day. Sooner or later, I started thinking he was right. That I truly was worthless, " she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks.

  He wiped away her tears and hugged her tightly. "You're not worthless, Estelle. You are amazing beyond words."

  "I figured that out on one fortunate night when he wasn't there. I took all of my things, all of my money, and left. Never looked back, " she smiled proudly. "One day I realized that I was everything he said I wasn't. My company and my success proved him wrong. That's why my charities are mostly for protecting and preserving women strength."

  "Estelle Castillo, you are so beautiful. Your heart and soul are the most pure and angelic in this world, " he said as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

  Her eyes bored into his.

  Their heartbeats matched.

  They could feel the intensity in the air.

  And that was when they knew, how much they had grew.
 

A/N: what an emotional chapter. Does it deserve your vote?

  See you next chapter. Hint: it'll be incredibly momentous!