Carlos looked down at the boy, a little surprised by his apparent sheepishness. Max was usually more confident than this.
Immediately Carlos turned to face him fully. “Hey – no, I haven’t seen a cat. What does it look like? Do you need help looking for it?”
“Th-they…”
Max shivered, clearly fighting back tears as he tried his best not to
cry. “Sometimes they h-hit me… or.. lock me outside and don’t let me
ba-back in…” He whimpered, tears slowly forming in his eyes.What in the actual hell? Carlos thought angrily. That was unacceptable. “I am so sorry to hear that, Max,” he said softly. “You’re right – that is not something parents do.”
He pulled down the collar of his sweater to reveal a red mark around his neck. “S-sometimes…” He started, choking back tears. “Sometimes they’d even… e-even..” He couldn’t even finish the sentence. Tears rolled down his cheeks and he shook, quietly sobbing.
Carlos reached into his pocket for his packet of tissues. He noted that he was running out as he pulled one out and offered it to Max. “Here you go, buddy,” he said softly. “It’s okay – you don’t have to tell me right now.” Carlos could already guess. That was just… not acceptable in any sense of the word. Something had to be done to protect Max. After they found his cat, Carlos was going to have to sit down with him and talk seriously with the boy.
He thankfully accepted the tissue and quickly dried his eyes. “Thanks Carlos…” After having dried his eyes he smiled softly, “Can we go find my cat now..?”
“Sure,” Carlos said, offering the kid a smile back. “Does she answer to her name at all? Sabrina, I mean?”
He nodded, his soft smile not leaving his face. “Yes, she does!”
“Alright. Let’s try calling out for her, then. Go ahead, Max.” The cat was more likely to react to Max’s voice than to Carlos’.
“Alright.” He cleared his throat before calling out to Sabrina. It took few tries but after sometime a quiet meowing could be heard from nearby bushes.
“I think I hear something, Max,” Carlos said.
The Perfect Scientist 