Read Shelter for Free Online Page B

ready to pounce on the man. The intense cravings and withdrawals mixed with the adrenaline and he was about to blow.
    “Elias?” Caden’s face appeared from the blur of the line, “Is everything okay?”
    “No, it’s not,” the man answered for him, “this dude thought he could push through the line.”
    “I’m sure it was a mistake,” Caden apologized for Elias with a smile, pulling him to one side, “what are you doing here?”
    “Why do you care?” Elias yanked his arm free as Caden attempted to continue to pull him to the side, “I need to get in there.”
    “Are you sick?” Caden’s eyes danced over Elias, looking for a sign of what was going on, “You look like you’re running up a fever.”
    Caden’s hand headed towards Elias’ forehead but he batted it away. Quickly wiping away the sweat, his eyelids fluttered as he ran his fingers through his short hair. He could only think about one thing and it was driving him insane.
    “Come outside for some fresh air.”
    “I don’t want air!” Elias cried, catching the attention of Ronda who fired him a warning glance, “I need to see my sister.”
    Caden somehow managed to navigate Elias towards the seats lining the wall of the doctor’s office. Under a poster about the effects of alcohol on the body, Elias doubled over in the chair, leaning his arms on his knees as he panted for breath. Knowing that it was all in his mind didn’t make things any easier. All he wanted was something to take the edge off because alcohol wasn’t doing that anymore.
    Focusing on his breathing, he slowly felt his throat open up, not even realizing at first that Caden was gently rubbing his back. It felt foreign and comforting; Elias wasn’t sure if he liked it. He wanted to launch at Caden, to tell him to leave him alone but the adrenaline had completely vanished.
    “What happened?” Caden asked softly, his hand still rhythmically rubbing between his shoulder blades, “What’s triggered this?”
    “Nothing’s triggered anything,” he snapped, “I just need to see Ellie. I just need something to calm me down. I can’t do this.”
    Caden’s hand worked its way firmly up and down Elias’ spine, the more he rubbed, the more surface area he covered. Sitting up straight, the hand disappeared and Elias stared up towards the light, not wanting to admit that Caden had managed to calm him down.
    “You could have called me for some help,” Caden leaned his head against the poster, joining Elias is staring at the light, “I would have come.”
    Elias couldn’t deny that he had spent the couple of days since Caden’s visit staring at the number on the refrigerator. More than once, he had found the phone in his hand but he didn’t know why. Caden was just some support worker who he could already sense was trying too hard. He’s wasting his time on me, I’m beyond help.
    “You can’t help me,” his head rolled along the wall, “I’m just prolonging the inevitable. I’ll give in eventually.”
    “Or,” Caden sucked the air sharply through his teeth, “you keep pushing through and eventually you’ll see the light.”
    “Fuck, man. Not everything has a silver lining,” Elias clenched his eyes tight, trying to block out the rising chatter of the busy reception area.
    “You’re right. It doesn’t. Some things are broken and can’t be fixed but I don’t think that’s you.”
    “How do you know that?” Elias opened his eyes and tilted his face to stare at Caden.
    Caden did the same, his pale green eyes glittering under the harsh strip lighting. A network of fine lines surrounded his eyes as his cheeks peaked into a soft smile. It made Elias’ stomach flutter in a way he didn’t recognize. Dismissing it as hunger, he clenched his jaw as he waited for Caden to respond.
    “I don’t,” Caden shrugged softly, his pale lashes fluttering, “it’s just a feeling.”
    Elias looked down to the paper clutched in Caden’s hand, instantly recognizing it as a