Chapter 5

5

 

 

 

   I was at the Roman A. Thomas Medical Center for forty-two days, in I.C.U. for twelve, and post-surgery for six. I'd had extensive surgeries. I have a scar on the right side of my left eye, where the doctors had gone in to put my nose back together. I had to shave my hair off due to the amount of blood that caked it. They opened up the back of my head to fish out the chips of my skull that occupied it, and now I have a nice 'X' in the back. I had also taken physical therapy for seventeen, and am still going. The P.T. insisted that I use a cane, to balance myself out, and not put any weight on my ankle, I gleefully agreed. Because I was going to deal with somebody when I find him.

The police had not visited me in the hospital to question me, I half-wondered why not and was somewhat relieved. I just assumed it'd be a joint investigation with the school.

 But, my hell is not over. I had a strange feeling that things are only going to get worse.

 

 

   I heard the horn of my car beep twice outside, I sighed, looking around for my cane.

 

            "Here, Dylan" I heard my mother's sympathetically angelic voice behind me. It startled me just a little. Mom had changed since the "incident" as we called it now. She was more of a Watchdog Mom now, always telling me to be careful and the like. Just like a real mother. Not the cookie-cutter humorous lady that raised me.

 

            "Thanks, Mom" I said as she handed me the cane. She held on to it just a little longer as if to keep my attention like she wanted to say something. I looked her in the eyes, she opened her mouth and then shut it.

 

            "What?" I asked.

 

            "Oh, nothing" she forced a smile. "You go and have fun, ok?" She let go of the cane.

 

            "Ok"

 

            "I love you, Dylan" she choked, I already knew that once I got out the door, Ellie K. Wieser, would burst into tears.

 

            "Love you too, Mom" I absent-mindedly gave her a strong hug, she squeezed me back.

 

After our sappy little moment, I headed towards the door.

 

            "We should be back by eleven" I said "You don't want to come with us ?"

 

Mom didn't respond. I just walked out and shut the door. Tonight was my first night home.

 

 

 ***

 

            "How's it go?" Andrew asked, sitting in the driver's seat, I still can't drive at least until next week.

 

            "Don't wann-" I didn't want to be rude. "She's not taking it to well" I replied.

 

   Andrew had gotten picked-up, at Mom's request, by the police the day I was assaulted after I'd gotten to the hospital, apparently I was out for two days.

He had come home due to my father's stupidity, but like  Mom, Sarah and I, we were glad he was back home. Andrew had gone to C.U. to study Law, and thankfully, he'd finished just before he'd come home.

 

            "You doing alright back there, Sarah?" I asked turning around in my seat.

 

            "Yea, thanks" Sarah from the back seat. She had changed as well. She wasn't the annoying gleeful little sister that would trip me in the hallway, or the little girl that teased me about Kada. Sarah had changed and I missed the happy little brat.

 However, I now let her have a little bit more freedom in my car, I'll let her take a spin when she turns fourteen next month.

 

            "So, where's your girlfriend live, little man?" Andrew asked as I turned back around. He started up the car.

 

            "Oh, let's see....Go right on SeaBreeze Road,  head north 'til you get to ERHS, then right on Linner, three lights down, then you should see the "Sapphire Ridge" aartments, her is 38B"

 

My brother looked at me with wry confusion.

 

            "I'll show you were to go" I said

 

            "Fine with me, Little Man"

 

 

 ***

 

We reached Kada's domicile within fifteen minutes. We stopped in front of her apartment.

 

            "Well, aren't you going to go get her? You can't just let her walk out by herself, ya know?...You never know, some crazy dude decked out in football gear could just come out of nowhere and tackle her". Andrew said. I forced a chuckle.

 But realizing he was right I hopped out of the seat and waltzed up to the door. I knocked. I could see movement inside, but I didn't suspect anything fishy. A shadow moved in front of the door, I knocked again. Kada answered, turned around as she opened it, talking to someone:

 

            “No, you f*****g idiot!...He’s not- “ she was surprised by my appearance. “Oh, Hey Dylan”

 

            “Hey, K” I said, nervously waiting for something to happen.

 

            “Whoda phluck is zat?” I heard, heavily slurred speech coming from inside the house. Again, her father was drunk, he wasn’t an angry drunk, but a good-hearted one. At least I think. I had met him last year.

 

            “It’s Dylan!” Kada threw back.

 

            “Oh…Hi, Dillian”. Her drunken father managed.

 

            “Hey, Mr. Hilman” I said embarrassingly.

 

            “Let’s go already!” Kada said, shuffling me out the door.

 

    Kada and I got in the car, she sat in back while I sat in the front. It was awkwardly quiet the entire ride to the theater, but I didn’t mind. I tried asking Andrew things like: ‘What’d you take in College’ or asking Sarah: ‘Had you had any new teachers lately’.

 Things that nobody had an answer for and didn’t matter. I’m sure all our minds were back on the “Incident”, but I didn’t want to push for anything worse.

Author's Note

Just a filler.

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[Patrick Gerlits]

"You never know, some crazy dude decked out in football gear could just come out of nowhere and tackle her". Priceless.