Bird

xxi

Raven's POV
I didn't sleep last night,I couldn't believe I almost bumped into William last night, from the moment I heard his voice I knew it was him.
But what would have happened if we weren't wearing masks? would he be happy to see? I knew I was happy to see him.
I spent hours with my thumb hovering over his number, wanting to call him ,to hear his voice again.
I took advantage of the lick of sleep and cleaned the whole house,then I dropped Caleb off at school and Merce at her set but I still wasn't tired so I went for a run. Ash didn't come home last night but she has a scene today so will definitely be at the movie set and come home with Merce.

My thoughts wondered to William that I didn't see the person in front of me and we collided into each other. The pain that shot through me brought me back to reality and I immediately stood up to help the person I hurt.

"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault I wasn't paying attention to where I was going", I frantically apologized and tried to get him back on his feet.

The man with his hair tied in a low bun looked up at me "it's okay ",he stopped mid sentence as the expression on his face changed into that of surprise and recognition ."Raven?", He asked.

I didn't know who this handsome stranger was and I searched through my memory for his face.

"Scott?", I asked after finally remembering him.

" I haven't seen you in a long time",he got up dusting the dirt from his knees.
Scott is a distant cousin of Kate ,I couldn't recognize him because in the handful of times I saw him he always had a buzz cut.

"I couldn't recognize you because of the hair", I smiled "and I'm sorry for bumping into you", I sheepishly said. I'm surprised he even remembers me because we only exchanged greetings whenever I saw him.

"Yeah last time we saw each other my hair was short and you were dating William",he chuckled.
"Would you like to grab some coffee?",the sun casting a warm glow in his eyes making them look like honey.

But before I could give him an answer my phone rang and it was Caleb's teacher. Caleb had a terrible fall in the playground and twisted his ankle.

"I'm sorry Scott maybe some other time",I hurriedly said and ran back to the house. I didn't even get out of my sweaty clothes and just grabbed my purse and called a taxi.

I rushed to the infirmary and found Caleb getting his leg bandaged up. He saw me while I spoke to his teacher and tried to put on a brave face.

"It's not bad and all he needs is some ice and the swelling will go down and I'll give him something for the pain",the nurse said.

I thanked both her and his teacher and walked towards him.

"Hey bud,does it hurt pretty bad?"I asked and kissed his forehead.

" Not really",he said and smiled. This has always been like him,he takes the role of the brave big brother seriously.

He was given some time off school to recover by his principal and the nurse told us to go to the hospital for further examination just to be safe from fractures.
We don't have insurance yet which means I'll have to take some of the money left to pay for it. I thought of maybe asking for an advance payment for Merce's part in the musical but it felt like I'm profiting off of my daughter. I wanted to save the money for them to go to any University they want. The nurse saw the worried look on my face and smiled.

"There's probably nothing to be worried about, what about waiting for a couple of days and see if the swelling goes down?",

" Of course. Thank you", I said and put Caleb on the wheelchair. I'm trying my best to give the kids the best but it seems I'll have to pick up another job to at least afford insurance for them.

We passed down the hallway and children of Caleb's age were poking their heads out from  his classroom to look at us.
I left him to talk to his friends while I collected his homework for the week.
I noticed he had a frown on his face and finally could help but ask him what was wrong.

"Please don't wear gym clothes when coming here",

" Why is that sweetie? Besides I was so worried I couldn't think about changing my clothes when I heard you hurt yourself", I said and ran my hand through his hair.

" Because everyone kept telling me how hot you were and it's embarrassing",he said and avoided my gaze.

" Alright baby , mommy will listen to you", I said and kissed his forehead.

I called a taxi and we went home when Anthony heard what happened and insisted we went to the hospital just to make sure everything was okay.I couldn't stop him and Ash because they kept on saying it's their duty as the godparents of Caleb and Merce to make sure they are okay.