He had dropped his bag. His hands were clenched around two handfuls of soil. And when he took a step towards the hole, he stumbled and almost fell down. Hugo instantly jumped to his feet and ran towards the boy. Grabbing the other's arm, he pulled him up before letting go. "Are you okay?" He asked quietly, hoping to minimize any loud noises.
The boy didn't respond at first, just kept staring at the ground. Hugo couldn't tell if he was crying or merely staring at the soil underneath him, but it didn't seem to bother him that much anyway. He glanced at his backpack lying nearby, which contained several cans of soda and snacks he usually brought with him to work. Maybe the boy was hungry or thirsty.
Without another word, he crouched next to the backpack and dug around in it until he found a couple of bottles of water. Handing them to the boy, he watched with interest as he accepted them, his grip tight.
"Take your time drinking," Hugo said. He stood up slowly, careful not to make too much noise. "I can walk you to my car if you want. I don't think you should stay here alone. Your parents aren't home either?"
The boy nodded. His eyes never lifted from the ground.
Hugo sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that," he muttered softly. He suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to take the other man home. How embarrassing! How stupid! He quickly tried to come up with some excuse, something to convince him to come with him. But it was clear that the other man wasn't going anywhere. He didn't even seem interested in talking to him. So, once more, Hugo decided to drop the subject.
He knelt down in front of the boy once more and held out his hands. "Come on now, let's get you somewhere safe, okay?"
The other nodded again, slowly raising his gaze to meet Hugo's. But then, he looked away again, dropping the bottles of water to the side. Hugo frowned as he recognized the look on his face. He knew that expression; it was the same one his mother used whenever she had just finished yelling at him. His heart ached as he watched the boy's shoulders begin to shake. Suddenly, the tears rolled down his cheeks and he sobbed loudly, dropping the bottle and burying his head in his hands. Hugo rushed over to his side and gently placed his hands on his shoulder, trying to reassure him. He wasn't very good at comforting people, but he figured this boy needed it badly.
After a few minutes of sniffling and hiccupping, the boy finally calmed down. Taking a deep breath, he wiped his face with his hands and gave a weak smile, which turned into a wide grin as soon as he saw that Hugo's concerned expression was gone and replaced by an equally wide grin.
"Hi, Hugo!" His voice sounded chipper and cheerful, like all of his previous emotions had vanished. The smile faded from Hugo's lips as he stared at the boy, confused as to why he was acting that way.
Hugo swallowed hard. This was the first time he had ever seen him with such a happy expression and it made him uneasy. For some reason, he didn't want the boy to become sad again, to lose that light in his eyes. "Where'd you come from, buddy? Did you fall down from the sky or something?" He joked, although he hoped the joke would cheer up the boy.
The boy burst into laughter. It was short and brief, but it was a sign of progress. "No, actually," he replied as he wiped the remaining tears from his cheeks, "I just went home early