A Complicated Life [COMPLETED]

Chapter Seven

Nicole's Point Of View

"When do you think he'll be here?" Calvin asked. I lowered myself onto the steps in front of the school and sighed.

"I don't know. He's normally here by now," I said softly. I was worried about him. He was never late for anything. "We can wait for awhile. He'll be here, soon," I said. Calvin nodded.

"Of course he'll be here. He's probably caught in traffic or something," Calvin said. I was beginning to think that even Calvin was worried. "Hey, I'm right here. You're ok," he said softly. I smiled slightly. He reached his hand out and placed it on top of mine. The warmth that spread through my body was surprising to me.

"Are you sure he's picking you up?" Cleo asked, looking down at me. I nodded.

"Yeah. He's just... late," I said quietly. "What's wrong?" I asked. Cleo shook her head and looked down at me.

"Hmmm? Oh, nothing. Just... yeah, nothing," she said, looking back at her watch. "Calvin, you call me if he doesn't pick you guys up in another ten minutes. I will not let my child sit here and risk him being abducted," Cleo said. Calvin sighed, but he nodded.

"Yeah. I'll call you when I get to the house. And, again, thanks for letting me go to her party. It means a lot... to both of us," Calvin said. Cleo smiled slightly and nodded as she walked back to her car. She shut the door and pulled away from the school.

"I can't believe you managed to talk her into allowing you to come over," I said, standing up. I stretched my lower back and then sat back down.

"It was pretty difficult. But, I told her that I already had a present for you," Calvin said. "It was the weirdest thing. She took the drawing from me and I thought she was gonna get so mad. But... she smiled and handed me the drawing. She nodded and told me that I could go," Calvin said. "It's like something in that drawing brought out the happiness in my mother," he said softly.

"Hmmm," I wondered, as I looked down at the drawing. I smiled and continued to look at the picture. "Maybe the smiles made her smile," I said, lightly running one of my fingernails over my mother's smile. "They make me smile."

"Maybe," Calvin said softly. He looked up at the road and sighed. "Do you wanna go play on the playground?" He asked.

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. I turned around and put the drawing in my bag. I put my arms through the straps and stood up. "My dad can just text me when he gets here," I said softly. Grandpa had bought me a phone and given it to me as an early birthday present when he came over.

"I'll push you on the tire swing," Calvin said once we had made it to the playground behind the school. He rested his bag on one of the benches and I did the same.

"I have a better idea," I said softly, a mischievous smile spreading across my face. Calvin climbed onto the tire and sat down on one side of it. The swing tilted. "Hold on tight," I said, pulling the tire back. With my hands still on the chains, I jumped, lifting myself onto the tire. The swing spun in a giant circle, swinging back and forth at the same time. We both laughed as the tire swung upwards.

"My turn!" Clavin exclaimed once the tire had come to a stop. I nodded and readjusted myself on the tire. Calvin did the same thing I did and jumped onto the tire. It didn't swing as high as mine had, but it was still fun.

Clawd's Point Of View

"It's been a long time, Heath. Where is it?" Manny asked. Heath shook his head in utter confusion and kept walking. Clawd sighed and sped up his pace to catch up to the two in front of him.

"I'm late, already, guys. I need to go pick up Nicole. She's probably worried sick," Clawd said nervously, glancing behind him as they walked.

"I'm sorry, dude. We missed the bus that was supposed to take us here. And, they moved it. To where, I don't know," Heath said. He ran the back of his hand along his cheek. "I need to shave again," he said softly. Manny rolled his eyes.

"You get distracted too easy," he said, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence, just as it always did when he held back one of his bull-like growls.

"What can I say? It's a curse," Heath said as he winked at the woman that walked past them. Now, Clawd rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I'm gonna text Nicole," Clawd said, pulling out his phone. I'm gonna be late. Just stay at the school. Clawd waited, phone in hand. Ok. He smiled and let out a breath he hadn't know he had been holding.

"Found it!" Heath exclaimed. "They moved it to the center of the place," Heath said, shaking his head. He held out his arms in a way that said, "Ta-Da!". Clawd walked forwards until he saw what Heath had been talking about. He stopped in his tracks and stared at the statue. There it was.

A giant statue of Draculaura stood tall in the middle of the town fountain. Clawd covered his mouth with the back of his hand. The statue was Draculaura kneeling down, three children surrounding her, each one with a giant smile on their face.

"But..."

"She did a lot of things for the people in this part of town. She donated a lot of old clothes to them," Heath said. "She came down here all the time and read books to the little kids. She even taught some of the homeless kids how to read and write," Heath finished.

"They named the new library after her," Manny added. Clawd ran his shaky hand over his eyes to wipe away the few tears that ran down his face.

"A toast," Heath said, holding up the can of beer that he had brought with him. Manny handed a can to Clawd, "to the greatest monster to ever walk the earth," Heath said. All three of them opened the cans and took a drink. "I thought you should see it. That's all," Heath said, looking at Clawd. Clawd nodded happily, a smile on his face.

"Thank you. Both of you."

Clawdeen's Point Of View

Clawdeen's eyes slowly fluttered open. Her head pulsed in time with the quickness of her heartbeat. A loud ringing echoed in her ears. Where was she? She couldn't even remember what had happened. All she remembered was darkness. She shifted in her seat, a grunt of pain escaping her. She turned her head to look out the window. Her vision was blurred red, but she could see the road clearly. Whatever had happened, she was upside down, she thought as the blood rushed to her head. And in her car. She brought one hand up to her face and rubbed at her forehead. Blood. She was bleeding? She tried to move her other hand, but she couldn't. Everything hurt. And what didn't hurt, was numb.

She tried to move to open the door, but the car groaned. Something heavy was on top of her car. And then it clicked. She had been in an accident. She had been texting Clawd back and a semi had hit her. At a green light. She groaned and tried to move her head. That much, she could do. It hurt like hell, but she could move it. She put her chin to her chest in order to look down at the damage. The entire front part of her car was smashed, her legs trapped in the mess. Her right hand was pinned down, too. But, on what? She leaned forwards more and looked. She gasped and leaned back, a cry escaping her. Her hand was impaled. A piece of metal had gone strait through her hand and into the passenger seat, pinning her to where she was. She looked back down at herself to check everything else out.

Her legs were completely numb, and she couldn't move her toes. She couldn't feel her right arm, but her right hand throbbed with pain. Her chin to her chest, she could see the giant slash across her upper chest. And although she couldn't see the cut, she could see the blood seeping through her shirt, and the piece of metal that stuck out from it. Again, something else pinning her to a seat. She let out another cry and turned her head to the left. From what she could tell, her left arm was the only thing that was ok. And her neck wasn't broken, because she could turn her head. She turned to the right one more time. One thing caught her eye.

Nicole's birthday cake sat in the passenger seat, right behind her hand. And it was completely intact.