The Bad Boy Next Door Stole My Diary | Completed

Chapter 14: Cat Scans and Yugoslavians

Drake: I'm out front
Val: Okay, coming out now
The doctors let me go home yesterday after I got my blood test. Today is the day I get my cat scan. I didn't have my car with me since Gramps needed to use it. So, I asked Drake if he could drive me to the hospital this morning and he said yes with no problem. Nicky is upstate for the week with her parents visiting her uncle and aunt. Duke, Alex, and Matt are at football practice.
Drake got a week of suspension. Madison told Mr. Howard that Drake pushed her out the door physically and verbally abusing her. Drake did agree to calling her names but he said he barely pushed her. Because Mr. Howard didn't feel like dealing with the trouble that Madison is already in, he told Drake that he wasn't allowed to participate at practice and need to go to detention after school for a half hour. The good thing is that he'll get to play in this weeks game. I just hope his parents understood.
After I said goodbye to my last customer I got a message from Drake saying he was outside. I went outside and locked the bakery up. I had it open for two hours like Gramps asked. Not a lot of customers today. I walked into the street so that I could sit in the passengers seat. As I looked through the window I almost didn't recognize Drake for a minute. He had glasses on. They were those thick, black framed glasses that a lot of people wear today. He doesn't look too bad in them. I think he should wear them more often. I'm going to stop talking about him and his glasses now. I'm actually one of those people who wear them. I normally wear contacts when I'm not in the house. When I'm in the house I wear my glasses. I'm going to shut up now.  "G'morning, Drake," I said as I opened the car door. I slid into the car and sat down.
Drake looked over at me as he pulled the stick out of park. "Morning, Val. Ready for today?" Drake asked referring to my cat scan.
"Yeah, I guess so. It's nothing new. I've been getting them ever since I was little," I said. Ever since I was diagnosed with bone cancer, I've been required to get cat scans once every month.
Drake nodded with pursed lips to the side. "Oh, that sucks." Drake began driving away from the bakery to the hospital.
The car ride to me was a little awkward. We made some conversation. He's not very chatty that's for sure. I didn't know if he was annoyed at me about his suspension or if he was just very quite. I had my head leaned against the window next to me. "Hey, so how did your parents react to hearing about your suspension?" I asked curious.
We stopped at a red light. He dropped his hands from the wheel onto his lap. He scratched the back of his head. "Um, they were pretty pissed. They weren't happy about me with the suspension. They're pretty strict. I guess you can say they're sort of like Nic's parents," Drake said. Oh man. I didn't think they were that strict. Freshmen year, Drake and I were assigned partners for a global project. I've only met his dad. His dad was pretty laid back, joking around with us and teasing Drake. "They didn't believe the story I told them and they punished me. I'm off of video games and if I can't get proof that I'm telling the truth, I'm not allowed to go to the beach with the guys on Saturday."
This is all of my fault. I feel like I'm ruining his fun. "Do you think maybe after the doctors you can bring me to your house and I can talk to your parents about what happened and that you're telling the truth?" Drake doesn't deserve to be punished. Yeah, he called the girl that was bullying me names and lightly pushed the girl that was beating me up. But, it's not his fault.
"I guess so," Drake said. I guess so? I think I should be getting a lot more than 'I guess so'. I should be getting, 'Val, that would be awesome! Thanks a lot!' Stuff like that. I shrugged and turned my attention back to the road and cars in front of us.
    Drake isn't an awful guy. In my opinion, he's better than the other three morons. Especially better than Duke. He's pretty quite most of the time and doesn't really care what others say. He doesn't goof off a lot like the other three. Drake takes his school work, football, and soccer seriously. There was this moment in time where I did have a thing for him. But, that ended in sophomore year when he dated Cindy Mason. She dumped him about two months later. Drake and I were seated next to each other in class a lot. Only time we talked to each other was to ask for a pencil, what class we had next, and if we had to work on something together. Our really small friendship ended once Matt and Alex got transferred to our class. Mr. Howard realized that Alex and Matt's grades were worthy for scholars class. When those two came in, Drake sort of dropped me like a hot potato and asked them all of the questions. Or they asked him questions. I guess you can say I moved on. But, I wound up with him again after finding out him and Duke were friends. I thought I could finally get rid of him.
    We pulled into the parking lot of the hospital but stopped before Drake could find a spot. "Why don't you go in and I'll look for a spot. I'll meet you inside," Drake said unlocking the door. I feel bad making him wait with me until I'm done. These things take a while.
    I opened the door and got out. Before I closed it I wanted to make sure it was alright with him. "If you want you can go home and then I'll call you to come and get me," I suggested. "I feel bad making you wait and these scans take a while."
    A small smirk slipped from his mouth. "Nah, I'll wait for you. If I go home I won't be able to go back out knowing my parents," Drake said. "See you inside."
    I nodded and closed the door. I waited until he drove off until I walked to the entrance. When I entered the waiting room, I was greeted by Catherine at the desk. Catherine is the nurse that is good friends with Gramma and told me what happened. "Good morning, Catherine! How are you today?" I asked as I walked over to the desk.
Catherine pulled out a clipboard with some papers on it for me to sign. "Not too bad. How about yourself?" Catherine asked.
"I'm fine. Just here for the cat scan I was required to go to today," I said as I continued filling out the papers. As I continued filling out the papers, Catherine and I turned out attention to the door swing open with Drake rushing in. He looked like he just came out of battle. Jacket hanging off his shoulder, glasses a little crooked, hair messed up. He kept looking back at the door like a lunatic. "What happen to you?" I asked as I handed the clipboard back to Catherine.
Drake took a deep breath before he explained. Catherine and I stared at him wide eyed and worried. "So, I was walking on the sidewalk that leads to the entrance and I saw an elderly man drop his hat. So I rushed over to pick it up." Drake took another breath. He was breathing as if he just ran a race. "So as I bent over to pick it up the man started whacking me in the head with his cane and yelled at me saying, 'don't you touch that, sonny! That's not yours!''' Ha! Drake got beat up by an elder. "So I put the hat back down on the ground and walked away quickly."
Catherine was leaning on the desk with one arm. "Yep, that's Mr. Davidson for you," Catherine said calmly.
I looked at Drake who still looked like a mess. I let out a small laugh. "You look like you just came out of war," I said as I straightened his denim jacket and fixed his hair. I laughed because when I looked at him, he was blushing and had his mouth open a little. "Close your mouth, that's how you catch flies." He immediately closed his mouth.
"Is this your boyfriend, Val?" Catherine asked. Drake and I fidgeted at the word 'boyfriend' and turned our attention towards her with blushing cheeks.
I waved my hands frantically. "No, he's just my friend! I asked him to drive me here since I didn't have the car today," I explained quickly. I looked at Drake who nodded at my answer. I don't know. I feel like I wouldn't be Drake's type anyways. He's more the calmer, cooler type. Meanwhile you got me: the hot mess.
Catherine let out a small laugh. "Well, he's going to need to go in the room with you to hold onto your stuff," Catherine said. What! Drake holding my clothing!? Him?! I looked at Drake who looked a little confused.
"What's wrong with keeping them in the changing room?" I asked nervous and frantically.
"They're being painted. We don't want out patients stuff getting ruined." Catherine walked around the desk with some papers. "If you guys would follow me, you can get ready, Val," Catherine said. Catherine winked at me and lead the way. Oh no. Gramma must've mentioned the boys. Meaning she probably mentioned Duke and now Catherine thinks it's Drake that I've been hanging out with. Great...
    Catherine lead us into the room with counters, cabinets, some posters for kids, and a patients chair. "Drake, you can sit in that chair over there," Catherine said pointing to a chair near one of the cabinets. She gave me a hospital gown to put on. "Open the door when you're done." And with that Catherine left the two of us in the room together.
    I rolled my shoulders and straightened my back taking a deep breath in. I don't know why I should be acting weird. It's not like he's going to see me naked...right? He better stay in his lane and not look. "Um, well, I'm gonna go behind the changing curtain. I'll be out in a minute," I told him. He nodded and walked towards the chair. I sighed and pulled the changing curtain all the way until it hit the end. I started taking of my clothing. As I was staring at the curtain I noticed that I could see his figure through the curtain. I felt my heart racing. I looked behind me to see a window. Thankfully it had blinds on it but some sunlight was coming through. So that means that if he turns around he can see my naked figure. Lovely...as of now I was in a bra and underwear. I gotta make this fast.
˚Drake's P.O.V˚
   I sat on the chair that Catherine told me to sit on. I let out a blow of air. I wanted this to go fast. I already feel awkward for some reason. I don't know if it's because she right behind me stripping down or if it's because Catherine asked if I was Val's boyfriend.
I thought about that moment. I don't know if I would want to date her or not. I try to think of the things that I do like about her and that I hate about her. What I like about her is that she doesn't take shit from anyone, she's pretty I'll give her that, she stands out from all of the other girls in the school. In a good way though. All of the girls in our school focus on their outfits, hair and makeup, getting a boyfriend, being popular, skinny, boob surgery, some of them like to be the same as one another. But Val doesn't worry if she stands out or not. She's pretty basic with her outfits, I don't think she cares if she doesn't have boobs, she's not afraid to tell us what she's like, she smiles a lot, and she actually plays hard to get. She doesn't try to force herself into a relationship. She lets the boys come to her. It's working on Duke and Matt that's for sure.
And things I hate about her. There's actually nothing I hate about her and I think the guys can agree to that. I mean she's the one that got us a job at her grandparents bakery. She's helpful in difficult situations. Yeah she can be a little weird but we like to pick on her about that.
She was taking a little longer than a minute so I decided to text Alex and see what he was up to.
Drake: Hey what r u up to?
Alex: Nothing much. Just watching my brother. Thank goodness you texted...now I have an excuse to stop playing cowboy with him. Man it hurts a lot to be a horse -_- What about u dude?
Alex has a little brother named Mikey who's four. He has a younger sister named Tracy.
Drake: lmao sounds like you're having fun. I'm actually at the hospital with Val...
Alex: The hospital? Again? What happened this time? Do I need come over? Is she alright?
Drake: No she's alright. She's getting her cat scan today. The three of you were at practice today and her grandma is still here and her grandpa is out so she didn't have a car.
Alex: Oh that's right...forgot about that...
Drake: Good thing about it though is that she's going to try to talk to my parents and get me out of trouble.
Alex: Hopefully your parents will believe her. Where r u in the hospital?
I stared at the message for a couple of seconds. If I tell him he's going to start making perverted comments and/or weird comments. Hopefully, they're neither.
Drake: I'm actually in the changing room with her. I was asked by one of the nurses to hold onto her clothing...
Alex: lmao! Really! You're a lucky dog you know that! When you get her clothing take a pic of her underwear. I wanna see if she gets them from Victoria Secrets ;)
Drake: The two of us would be dead if she found out...
Alex: Yeah that's true. Wait you're in the same room as her on the other side of the changing curtain??
Drake: Yeah...so what?
Alex: Can you see her figure through the curtain ;) Check it out
I looked around the room making sure no one else came in as I was texting. I turned my head to the right to face the curtain. Sure enough I could. She was taking off her bra. I turned around quickly and went back to the message.
Drake: Yeah...I can...
Alex: OoO what was she taking off??
Drake: ...I think her bra?
Alex: Damn! You got the best seat in the house dude! Does Duke know that you brought her there?
Crap, Duke! Duke and I have been good friends for a long time. I don't know how he would react to that. If I told him would he get mad at me for not telling him ahead of time? Would he get mad at Val for not asking him first? Would he then drop Val as a date to homecoming?
Drake: Um...no. Not yet. Alex, you gotta promise me that you won't tell him!
Alex: You have my word. I was thinking, if you did he would've been pissed off at practice today...but I won't tell him.
Drake: Thanks bro
"Drake, c-can you come her for a second?" Val asked from the other side of the curtain. What could she want?
"Uh, yeah, be there in a second," I responded.
Drake: Gotta go!
Alex: Have fun ;)
I picked myself up from the chair and stood up straight. I walked to the curtain to see her head pop out from the side of the curtain. "Everything alright?" I asked.
She looked down at the floor and pursed her lips to the side. "I, um, I can't tie the back of string by my neck. Can you tie it for me please?" She asked. She stepped out from behind the curtain and turned around. She lifted her hair up so I can see the two loose strings that needed to be tied. When I picked the strings up and starting tying them into a bow, my hand accidentally touched the skin of her neck. Not trying to sound like a creep or anything but her skin was soft. She jumped a tiny bit but then relaxed. She let her hair fall down and she turned around to face me. "Thanks! Here's my clothing. You stay in here. I'll be back in about twenty minutes." And with that she left. Hopefully, it's good results.
∑Valentina's P.O.V∑
    I walked out of the room to see Catherine waiting outside the door for me. I looked at Drake to see him standing there holding my outfit for the day. I followed Catherine into the room so that I can get my cat scan. It took a little more than twenty minutes. I ran back into the room feeling bad that I left Drake in there by his self. "Hey, sorry about that. I thought I would be a little quicker," I said as I grabbed my clothing from him.
Drake nodded. "It's okay. No rush," Drake said with a small smile. I nodded and went back behind the curtain to get changed. Now it's time to face his parents and try to get him out of trouble.
The ride to his house was a little quite. I wonder what his folks are like. Last time I met them was in freshmen year I'm pretty sure. "So, maybe you can give me a little bit of info about your parents before I waltz into your house trying to get you out of trouble?" I asked. For some reason that sounded like it came out a little rude. But in my head it sounded good.
We stopped at a red light. Drake scratched his arm. "My folks are pretty strict but they can be laid back at times. They're serious about my school work, my safety, and their work. Besides that, they're alright," Duke said.
I feel like I can use a little more information but I don't want to intrude on his life. "Oh, what do your parents do for a living?" I asked.
"My dad is a banker and my mom is a scientist. I don't see them a lot except for in the morning, late at night, and on weekends," Duke answered. I felt a little bad asking about that. I didn't know his parents aren't home that often. I guess it doesn't really bother him since he goes to school, football practice, and then sometimes comes to the bakery to work. "What about yours?"
"What?" I asked. Why would he ask that when he knows my parents are dead.
"What did your parents do for work?" Drake rephrased. Okay that sounded better.
"My dad was a lawyer and my mom was a cop," I answered. Drake looked a little impressed. How about them apples, huh?
Drake parked right in front of the house. As I got out I examined the house. Tall, white, pillars, stair steps, two brown doors. Probably looks better from my description but definitely looks like a banker and a scientist bought it. We went up the stairs to the door. Drake unlocked the door and stepped inside taking his shoes off. He motioned his head at my feet. Taking a wild guess as to why he looked at my feet, I took my shoes off and put them next to his. "Mom, Dad, I'm home!" Drake shouted.
"In the living room!" I heard his mom shout. I followed Drake into his living room to see wooded floors, red walls, a white U couch, a grand piano, a fireplace, and flatscreen. If Drake doesn't like living in here then he's out of his mind.
Drake stepped to the side so that I could step up. "Guys, this is Valentina Cruz. She's a friend from school and-"
"Drejk, šta sam ti rekao o dovođenju prijatelje?" (Drake, what did I tell you about bringing friends over?)His mother said as she and Drake's father stood up. Wait, I knew this language. They're speaking Yugoslavian. That's my second language. Gramps taught me how to speak Yugoslavian. Technically, it's now Serbian since Serbia took over Yugoslavia in war. But, some words are still the same.
"Mama, ona treba da uradi nešto," (Mom, she needed to do something) Drake said trying to defend himself. I should try to do something before Drake gets in more trouble.
"To nije važno. Vi ste rekli da ne-" (That doesn't matter. You were told not-) His father started.
"Ja nisam želeo da dođe da razgovara sa tobom," (I did want to come over to talk to you) I said cutting his father off. The three of them looked at me like I had five heads on my neck.
"You speak Yugoslavian?" Drake asked shocked.
I nodded. I looked back at his parents who sat down on one side of the couch. Drake lead me to the other side of the couch so that we were sitting across from them.
"Well, what did you need to talk to us about," his mother asked. Drake's mom had short, pitch black hair with a bit of a side bang. She was tan like most Yugoslavians including myself and Gramps. She was skinny. It looked like she still had work clothes on: black slacks, black high heels, a blue button down blouse.
I looked at Drake and then back at his parents. Oh man, for some reason they're making me nervous. "I, uh, wanted to talk about why Drake was in trouble," I said holding my hands together.
"Why? Do you have some connection with it?" Drakes father asked. His father was also tan with short, brown hair and he was in shorts and a t-shirt. Guess he didn't have work today.
Well, here goes nothing. "I was the cause of Drake getting in trouble," I said. His parents looked at me with confused faces. Before they could say anything I interrupted them. "That girl, Madison, locked me up on the roof of the school because she thought I was dating Duke Taylor. It started raining and Drake, Duke, Alex, Matt, and my friend had to get me down. Drake was just telling Madison off and he was defending me. He was the one that called the fire department and ambulance for me. I'm really happy I met your son. In my opinion, I think you should unground him and let him go to the beach with the other three. I'm the one who should be taking the blame since I was stupid enough to follow that girl." Please tell me I persuaded them to lighten up on Drake. I feel better that I got that all out but I still feel butterflies in my stomach.
"She's telling the truth guys," Drake said breaking the silence. "I caught Madison in the gym and I only called her a bitch. I didn't sexually assault her or call her any other names. I just shoved her out the door."
His parents got up and with that we got up, too. His mom let out a sigh and created a small smile. "Thank you, Valentina, for sticking up for my son and giving me the full story." I smiled at her. She turned to her husband. "What do you think we should do, Adam?"
Adam smiled at me and then at Drake. "I think Drake should be happy that he met you because you just saved him from more punishment."
"And does this mean that I can go to the beach?" Drake asked leaning back a little.
His parents looked at each other and smile. "Why not," his mom said.
Drakes face lit up. "Thanks guys!"
"I think you should be thanking someone else," his mom said pointing to me.
Drake turned to me with a smile on his face. "Thanks, Val! I owe you one!"
"No problem!" I said returning the smile.
Drake and I left the house and he drove me back home. He seemed to be in a better mood since he was talking more to me. We finally pulled up in front of my house. Once I got out and closed the door, Drake rolled down the passenger's window and leaned onto the passenger seat. "Thanks for taking me to the hospital and driving me home," I said.
"Hey, you were the one that got me out of trouble so it's the least I can do," Drake said. I feel like he's not so bad of a guy.
"What's going on guys?" We heard a familiar voice asked.
Drake got out of the car to stand next to go give this guy a handshake. "What's going on, Duke."
"Nothing much. I was on the porch and I saw Val talking to someone and I thought I see who it was," Duke said. "Where'd you guys go today?" Duke asked.
"Why? Did you miss me?" I asked with a smirk.
"Who would miss you?" Duke asked with a grin. He won.
"I needed someone to take me to the hospital today for my cat scan. You, Alex, and Matt weren't available and neither was my grandfather. So I asked Drake if he could get me. And then I went to his house to get him out of trouble so that now he can go to the beach with you guys," I said sounding very proud of myself.
"Ah huh. And, Drake, don't you think we should invite the little lady to the beach with us since she got you out of trouble and now you can come with us. I mean I now need to thank you for saving his sorry ass," Duke said laughing. Drake laughed a bit and punched Duke on the arm. He shrugged his shoulders and smiled. I looked at Duke. "You wanna tag along with us?"
Oh man the beach! My favorite place! With four people I don't like. Then again, the beach sounds nice. I haven't been to one since seven years ago. "Sure! Why not? Can't wait!" I said happy.
"Great! See you guys later!" Drake said rushing back to his car. We waved goodbye to him and he drove off.
"Why is he in such a rush?" Duke asked. "Did something happen between the two of you?"
I shrugged. "I don't recall anything happening. He did get beat up by an old man today," I said.
"You wanna tell me that story?" Duke asked with a little laugh.
I smiled. "Sure, you wanna come inside and maybe play some video games?" I asked. I had nothing better to do today so why not.
Duke nodded and we went inside. It's now bothering me. Why did Drake rush off so fast before. I don't think I said or did anything to bother him. Oh well...