The Good Boy | ✔️

Chapter 3

My sides and knees ache as Jason and I run on the sidewalk about half a mile from the school. Jason pants next to me and reaches over to pat my back.

"Hey. You're doing great. Just half a mile left and then we're done," he encourages as my breaths come out short. I just nod and push myself to go further. I look up and see the school coming up in the distance.

"Yeah, Axton. You got it dude." I hear an unfamiliar voice behind me and before I can turn to see who it is, I'm shoved from behind. My knees scrape the ground first and my hands catch the rest of me as I fall forward.

"Luke, what the heck?" I hear Jason call out and look up to see Luke and his two friends laughing as they continue to run away. I sit back on my butt with a huff and brush off my hands before looking at my knees. Pebbles are edged into parts of my skin and blood starts to flow from a scrape on my one of my knees. My hands shake as I brush off the dust and pebbles lightly. The open skin stings and I wince slightly when I brush the scrape.

"Here, let's get you up and to the bathroom. Can you still run?" Jason asks, holding out his hands for me. His breathing has calmed down and I notice mine has as well.

"Yeah. I can run," I state, grabbing his hands and letting him pull me to my feet. The sting on both my knees intensifies as I move but I shake my head and force myself to run with Jason all the way back to the school. We look at the group of runners that have already finished their own five mile runs and notice there are still people running.

"Okay, we have some time," Jason says and ushers me into the bathroom in the weights room. I grab paper towels and run them under water. Jason does the same as I sit down and start to wipe off my hands. Small scrapes cover the bottom and top of my palms, but no blood comes from them. Jason kneels next to me and lightly wipes one of my knees.

"Do we tell Coach?" He asks after a second. I start to wipe off my other knee and sigh.

"Let's just keep this to ourselves."

He nods slowly and after a few minutes my knees are cleaned up other than the scrape that continues to bleed. I stand up and hold back a limp as we walk out of the bathroom.

"I have a band aid in my bag. Do you want it after Coach dismisses us?" Jason asks and I nod. We walk over and join the other runners to stretch. I reach down for my toes and wince when I feel my knee ache.

"Is your knee okay?" Jason asks. I straighten back up and shrug.

"It's getting that ache again. You know, the one that feels as if it's in the middle of my bone?" I ask and he nods.

"Do you need to get it checked?" He asks and I scoff.

"There's no way I'm going to the doctor again. I'm sure it's just bruised from the fall. I'll ice it when I get home."

"If it gets worse, go to the doctor," he demands before adding, "I mean it, Ax."

"I know, I know. I'm sure it's nothing. The doctor said I'd have problems as time goes on, but there's nothing else I can do other than ice it," I reassure him, and he rolls his eyes.

"Having problems five years after your knee surgery? Doesn't that concern you?"

It's my turn to roll my eyes. "I have a metal plate in my knee. I'm going to have little aches every now and then. Especially after a fall like that."

"Okay, I believe you. I'm serious though. Go to the doctor if it gets worse," he says, and I nod. The rest of the group joins us, and I notice Olive among them. I watch as her as she brings her hands over her head as she tries to catch her breath.