“Uh? Oh, um… thank you….Wait, Max? Is that you?”
“Max? No, i’m not- well, technically I am but, no one calls me that anymore.”
“You’re… you’re not? Wait… you’re not my Max, are you?”
“‘Your’ Max? No, i’m not. You can just… you can just call me Pure.”
“Oh… ah… it’s you.” Carlos wasn’t very thrilled with having finally met this kid. “You can call me Mr Ramon.”
“Oh you’ve… heard of me..?” He tilted his head curiously, though the tone of Carlos’ voice intrigued him.
“Yeah – You took Max out on a robbery spree.”
“I- I never-” He sighed, lowering his head. Lying wouldn’t get him anywhere. “Yes. Yes I did.”
Carlos just hummed. “Where are your parents or guardians? Do they know what you’ve been up to?”
He froze. Parents? Guardians? He simply stared at the ground, tears starting to fill his eyes. “I… I don’t..” He could barely talk, a few teardrops hitting the ground. “I don’t have parents…” He whispered quietly, biting his lip.
Carlos blinked at him. Well, damn… he wasn’t sure what to think of now.
“Who takes care of you, Pure?”
“….no one..” He talked quietly, gently wiping some of his tears.
Carlos just stared at him. “How long has it been like this for you?” he asked calmly.
“I don’t…. know…” He shrugged slightly. “As long as I can remember, really…”
“Do you remember any parents? Or anybody before then?”
He shook his head, still not daring to look at the other.
Carlos just hummed. Okay… now wasn’t the time to push on that subject. “When did you meet Max?”
“A few months ago…” Pure smiled at the thought of Max. “I think it was last year… in October…”
“And what do you think of him, Pure?”