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*Looks out cautiously before opening the door anyway*

Hello? Nobody's home right now. Want to leave a message?

Anson freezes, his fist already raised to bang on the door once again. He blinks at the kid and slowly lowers his arm, feeling more than a little foolish.

"Uh...sorry."

Big blue eyes look up at him from under a mop of brown hair. The boy looks to be about Salem's age, maybe a little younger. Anson feels a growing sense of dread. Could he be...?

He looks at the boy intently.

"You...uh...you live here?"

Tayler looked up at the guy with an eyebrow arched. It didn't affect him that the man had clearly had no idea about him living there, after all, Josh seldom mentioned him to people these days. He was waiting for the standard question, since the guy was clearly pissed at Josh for something. Probably over drugs or money, Tay thought.

"No problem," He tried to smile encouragingly, Tayler was a bit of a people pleaser when he could be. Quickly he answered the other question. "Yes, but Josh isn't home tonight."

He tilted his head, trying to get a feel for the man. "I am going to guess that you aren't here to sell us something, are you?"

It was a dry attempt at humor, but the statement and it's serious tone of delivery were the kids best to offer at the moment. He shrugged after a moment, though continued to look into the man's eyes.

"Uh...no," Anson says awkwardly. "I just want to talk to him about something." He hesitates, weighing whether or not to say anything more. He doesn't want to scare the boy, but if there's a chance that maybe he's seen something, heard something...

And then there's the boy himself. So slight, so young. Just like he likes them, Anson thinks bitterly. He stares at the kid, wondering who he is and what he's doing there. Sure, he says he lives there and refers to himself and Josh as 'us' but that could be because he's too afraid to say otherwise. Maybe he's been brainwashed, or maybe just terrorized until the thought of asking a stranger for help is literally unthinkable.

And yet...

If he is there legitimately, it's not right to scare the shit out of him. The boy hasn't done anything wrong, and it's not gonna help find Salem any faster.

At last, Anson decides to proceed...but carefully.

"I'm looking for a friend of mine," he says, as casually as possible. "I was thinking maybe Josh might've seen him around."

Blue eyes stared, trying to read the older man. He was clearly troubled about something. Maybe he was connected to one of the bands that Josh handled, though Tayler didn't think so. He also didn't think that Josh owed the man money, which had been one of his initial suspicions. He just seemed so honestly worried or confused, or even both.

The kid realized that he'd been just staring blankly for a few moments. That was a habit of his that tended to illicit undesired perceptions. In school it had earned him a poor grade for participation, though his own thoughts were already progressing fluidly in his own mind. Promptly, he gave a response.

"Oh. Josh hasn't had any friends over for a while. One a few nights ago, but since then he hasn't been home." Tayler had always liked to be helpful. "I'm hoping he'll come back home today, I could give him a message? By the way, my name's Tayler."

He wanted to know more, so that he could better help the man. It would have been rude to ask though, and so he kept quiet until it was again his turn to speak.

"He did?" Anson says quickly, immediately wondering if the 'friend' the boy referred to could have been Salem. "What did he look like? Do you remember anything about him?"

Anson pauses and frowns. There's something...

"A few nights ago," he echoes, looking at the boy, puzzled. "You mean he went away and left you here alone?"

Edited 2008-03-02 03:54 (UTC)

"Oh," Tayler almost smiled, in a bashful type of way. He wanted to help, since the man clearly was worried about his own friend. The staring continued as if he was unaware of the possibility that it could unnerve. "I don't... I wasn't here, it was late. So it was probably a girl."

"The only time I meet his friends is if they come over in the day or if there are a lot of them."

He really wasn't supposed to talk about Josh to people, the man didn't like it. Tayler nearly stopped things, "He doesn't-"

He'd changed his mind though, doubtful that the man was a cop since he hadn't asked to come inside like in the television shows.

"I stay alone all the time. Josh comes in late since he works a lot and has a life. When I go to school, he stops in sometimes. Otherwise it's when I'm asleep or at least in bed. I think he's just been busy lately."

Tayler really did want to help, but he feared that he wasn't doing the man much good.

The kid's got the biggest blue eyes Anson's ever seen. He just keeps staring up at him, like a...a rabbit or a puppy or something. Anson sighs inwardly. He doesn't have time for this. He's supposed to be looking for Salem right now. And this kid is not his problem.

And yet...

"You're Josh's son?" he asks, the light bulb finally blinking on. He pauses for a moment to let this sink in. Let's see. Kid left home alone for days on end while Dad's out picking up underaged prostitutes no older than he is. Right, Anson. Let's see you walk away from this one. Anson chews his lip for a moment, deciding how to proceed.

Carefully. Very carefully.

"You, ah...must be home alone a lot," he ventures, smiling and hoping to put the boy at ease, though he already seems curiously okay with his father's absence. Probably been like this all his life, Anson muses grimly. Probably has no idea what a normal life is like. "You doing okay? You need anything?"

Edited 2008-03-02 21:44 (UTC)

Staring, studying, Tayler often got lost that way, in a person's eyes. He analyzed and considered things deeply, and often became caught up in his thoughts and daydreams.

"Hm?" He said as if he'd been in another place after a moment. The boy shifted with only the slightest change in demeanor at the word son. It was a conflict internally for him, since he took great pride in Josh as a father, and yet he knew that Josh disliked the word. On occasion he'd even introduced him to other people as a friend. Usually though, if Tay didn't already know people, Josh didn't bother with introductions.

"Pretty much all the time." The young teen answered. "I can do a lot of stuff to keep myself busy so I don't get bored. And I take care of the house too, to like make a contribution."

Tayler immediately looked away for probably the only time at the very last question. As soon as he looked down though his eyes bounced right back up to Anson's, his lips curled in a smile encouragingly. "I'm fine."

Even if Josh didn't have anything to do with Salem's disappearance, Anson is still going to kick his ass on general fucking principle.

What is this kid, thirteen? Fourteen? He's too young to be left alone for so long. He's too young to be worrying about shit like keeping the house up 'to make a contribution' and when, or if, his father is going to bother to come home.

Anson studies the boy. He says he's fine, but there's something in his eyes, something in his voice that tells Anson he's pretty fucking far from fine. Anson smiles at him, a little sadly.

"Okay," he says gently. "You wanna answer that last one again? The truth, this time."

Edited 2008-03-04 00:43 (UTC)

Tayler made a redoubled effort to smile convincingly. He didn't need strangers to worry for him, and he didn't want them to think that Josh was a bad person or anything, he was just busy. It was hard, after all, to support the both of them and worry about everything else too. Then again, that wasn't the line of thoughts that the boy would like his mind to trace. He knew where it led. One thing that bothered him was worrying other people, or feeling sorry for himself. Everything was the way it was for a reason.

"I really am. Fine is relative anyway right? Fine for you might be great for someone else, but for another person it could be very bad. Yet for you it's simply fine. We have a different situation I guess, but it's what works, it's our style."

The kid's good, but Anson's not buying that 'I'm fine' bullshit. Not for a minute.

Still, he nods and smiles, wanting to keep the boy at ease. It's none of Anson's business, but he's involved now. He was involved the moment Tayler opened that front door and told Anson his father left him alone. Anson frowns. Okay, the kid's a teenager, if barely. He's obviously capable of functioning on his own. Like he has a choice, Anson thinks sourly. But we're not talking about a couple of hours here. There's a big difference between running to the store and flat-out disappearing for who knows how long and leaving the boy to fend for himself.

Anson rubs at the back of his neck, thinking. He's in a hell of an awkward position. The irony of this being Josh's son is not lost on him, ever mindful as he is of Josh's extracurricular activities. Anson's interest in Taylor is as wholesome as it gets, God knows he's not into kiddies, but in this day and age, just being alone with someone else's kid can be enough to make you suspect.

And still, Tayler's looking up at him with those big blue eyes, pretending so hard he doesn't need any help. It gets to Anson, makes him think of his own child. What if it was Annabelle standing there, instead of Tayler?

That decides it.

"Uh, look, Tayler," he begins carefully. "Did your Dad leave you money for food and stuff? Is there anything you need?"

Tayler didn't like to have people feel sorry for him or worry over him. He'd always hated to cause problems for people. All he'd wanted was to help this man find what he was looking for and in the end the guy was trying so hard to help him. Or at least that's what it seemed like. It was truly an awkward position since there really hadn't been anyone who'd acted this way before. Correction, there had been one person who'd gone out of the way to help him once and he had really needed it that time.

"I have some food still. I know how to cook and all, it's just-" He stopped himself, "Josh isn't a bad guy. You're probably thinking that, not that I should be jumping to conclusions or becoming presumptuous of you. His memory is just not good because of all the stress he's under. I think he just forgot that he didn't give back the credit card. I'm okay though. I don't even really get hungry all that much."

Tayler was starting to worry now though because he'd said so much. He didn't want Josh to get in trouble over him. He also didn't want to be taken away, which had been a fear since Josh had first brought it up. As twisted as it might seem to someone uninvolved with the situation, Josh was really and literally all that the boy had left at this point.

"Please don't worry." He attempted to change the subject though that wasn't really a talent of his. "Can I help you find your friend?"

Anson frowns. The more he hears about Josh, the less he likes him. Anson gets the feeling he 'forgets' a lot of things, like making sure his son has enough food to last him when he's on his own.

Which is just about all the damn time, he thinks grimly.

It breaks Anson's heart to hear the boy defend him, to see the sincerity in his eyes when he says Josh isn't a bad guy. Anson sighs. He wants to discuss this food issue more, find out just what the kid's got on hand and if he needs some money, but the boy's offer to help makes him stop for a moment and think. He hesitates, because, after all, the chances of the boy actually knowing anything useful about Salem are slim. But Anson's desperate, and a slim chance is better than none at all.

He digs in his pocket for the photo of Salem. It's been riding around in Anson's jacket ever since Salem disappeared and it's got the creases to show for it. Anson smooths it out and hands it to Tayler, hope blooming in his heart despite his doubts.

"That's him. You seen him around by any chance?"

Like when Josh had a 'friend' over the other night? he wants to say, but he doesn't. He just watches the boy's face intently, alert for any sign of recognition.

Edited 2008-03-09 07:34 (UTC)

Tayler smiled harder as the man frowned. It was a bit of an effort for him to keep that smile strong as he usually didn't waste energy smiling excessively. Finally, he let his mouth resort back to it's indifferent state.

He looked carefully at the photo. He hadn't expected it to be someone so young. Maybe he was in a band, or looked young for his age. Tayler reminded himself that Josh looked young for his age.

Handing the photo back, he shook his head remorsefully.

"I'm really sorry." The kid replied, "I don't know him. Is he in a band?"

Anson takes the photo and slips it back into his pocket, disappointed in spite of himself.

"No, I don't think so. I think his friend's in a band though. Salem helps him out sometimes."

Anson glances around, suddenly feeling awkward. It's almost sundown, time for the kid to be battening down the hatches for the night. He has a moment of grim reflection as he thinks that, if he were someone with bad intentions, the kid would never have stood a chance. He hesitates a moment, unsure how the boy will take what he's about to do. Then he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. He flips it open and reaches in. He's got about eighty bucks in cash on him, four twenties. He pulls them out and folds them in half, handing them to the boy along with one of his cards.

"There. You can use that if you need food or something, or just put it away for emergencies. And that's my cell number. You can call me anytime day or night, okay?"

He pauses, shoving his hands in his pockets. He can only imagine how this might look to a boy Tayler's age.

"Look," he says awkwardly. "I'm not a...I mean, I don't want...anything from you, if that's what you're thinking." He smiles, albeit a bit nervously. He tends to go overboard sometimes, especially when it comes to kids in need, and it wouldn't be the first time his desire to help was misconstrued. "I just wanna make sure you're okay, and that there's someone you can call if there's a problem and your...Josh isn't around."

Tayler concluded that that had to be the place where Josh knew the guy from since he didn't look like he could be older than eighteen, at a stretch. When Anson handed him the money and card, Tay looked through it in a spacey sort of way. As if he'd never seen money before almost, or as if it were another clue to finding the lost boy. Carefully, he counted it and read the card to himself. He placed the card in his pocket while still eying the money. He appeared to be at a loss.

The bit about calling didn't seem odd. The fact that Anson was handing over money though, that was slightly strange. And there was way too much. He couldn't even accept half of that amount of money from a friend, let alone a stranger.

"I can't-" Tayler stopped as Anson spoke again. "What?"

Anson's words had clearly confused him. "I'm confused. And, I can't take this money."

Anson takes a deep breath.

"Okay, let's take one thing at a time. What are you confused about?"

"Well, I can't take your money for one thing." Tayler told him, a small frown playing at his lips. "And if you offered me money, what would I think that you wanted?"

Anson's not offended by the question. If anything, he'd have been worried if the kid didn't ask. A strange man turning up on a kid's doorstep, offering cash...it's bound to raise eyebrows, especially these days.

"I'm glad you asked that, Tayler. You should question it, and I'm proud of you for doing it. Look," Anson says, "you've got to be careful around strangers. You really shouldn't even have opened the door to me, being here all alone like this. And I can't make you take the money. All I can do is tell you the truth. I don't want anything for it. It's just that I'm a Dad myself, and I'm worried about you being here alone. It's just a good idea to have a little something put away, know what I mean? I mean..." He pauses, thinking. "What if Josh's car breaks down? What if he's stuck in an airport somewhere and can't get home because of a storm or something? At least if you have a little something for emergencies, you won't go hungry."

Tayler mulled it over behind his blue eyes. Though it might not look like it to some onlookers, he was giving thought to Anson's words rather than just spacing out. He had to admit that Anson was really an interesting and strange sort of guy, but Tayler liked him for it.

"Oh. Well, I suppose that everything happens for a reason. Not to say that people should just roll over and accept things, but there would be something to take away from a situation like that. Besides, I'm not afraid to open the door. Nobody knows I'm here alone and I just don't feel like anything would happen anyway. Still, it's curious that you'd be concerned. Thank you. You really are a nice guy."

Tay didn't know what the comment of Anson's being a dad had anything to do with things, but he hadn't questioned it. "He's got a lot of friends. And I have a set of keys to his old car if I-"

The kid caught himself. People were absolutely not to ever know about his driving. That had been something special that had happened and Josh had given him the keys as a reward under the condition that he not get caught. He'd told Tayler that he was a natural, and the kid clung to that even after his father had later contradicted it. Josh contradicted himself a lot, though, so Tayler wasn't concerned.

"Need to find someone to drive it."

"I really would feel weird taking that much money from you." He frowned. "If it would make you feel better, maybe you could just give me twenty?"

Anson gives him a knowing look.

Need to find someone to drive it? Uh-huh.

He smiles and folds his arms, considering it for a moment before deciding to make a counteroffer.

"Forty. And you promise to keep my cellphone number someplace safe in case of an emergency."

Edited 2008-03-16 01:38 (UTC)

He ignored the look. Anson had gotten way more than he needed out of Tay, and he knew for a fact that Josh being angry was the last thing for him to worry about regarding him driving.

Tayler conceded after ruling out another option. He couldn't agree to less because it wasn't cooperative and because Anson had had all twenties. He nodded, putting forty dollars into his pocket.

"Deal."

Anson grins.

"Well, all right."

He tucks the rest of the money back in his pocket.

"Well, I guess I'd better be going. I'll, uh...catch up with Josh another time. You lock up now, okay? It's almost dark."

Tayler agreed, reflecting again on the strangeness and goodness in this man.

"Thank you. Good night, be safe."

Anson pauses, smiling as he turns to go.

"You too. Night."

Edited 2008-03-16 04:16 (UTC)