Disclaimer: This is part of an original work of fiction. These characters belong to me, as well as their lives. Do not steal them from me.
Thanks. Enjoy.
~~~
As soon as Mr. Arthur Johnson and I were left alone for more than a minute, I instantly regretted choosing to stay at the E.R. with he and Kyle.
"So, February-"
For God's sake.
"August."
"August. Are you Kyle's latest girlfriend that he's too embarassed to tell his parents about?"
God, that's certainly a way to start a conversation with a stranger. I open and close my mouth once or twice before I have a grasp on what I quite want to say.
"No, sir, I'm not."
Simple, but effective.
"Oh, good," He sighs with a small smile on his face. "You have no idea how uncomfortable it is to meet them."
It's been too long of a day for me to just roll over and take this shit, but I stay quiet for a second because a nurse is rolling Kyle up behind Mr. Johnson in a wheelchair.
"I'm back."
He's smiling comfortably, and I get the feeling that someone gave him better painkillers than my meager wallet dose.
Mr. Johnson clears his throat and speaks to the nurse.
"Well? How's it look?"
The nurse sighs, but he smiles. "He's got a spiral fracture in his femur-"
"My thigh bone," Kyle interjects.
"-but his knee is okay. Just bruised."
"So, how do we fix it?" Mr. Johnson asks.
"He's going to need surgery. After that, he'll be in a brace and on crutches."
"Surgery." I say. That seems drastic, he just jumped out of the bed of a truck.
"Yes," the nurse says, nodding his head and addressing me as if I am the parent, not the adult sitting in front of me. "and if you're all right with it, we'd like to begin soon."
"I- well- yes, you may as well get started."
The nurse nods and begins to roll Kyle away, but Kyle reaches back and taps him on the arm.
"Wait a second." He smiles at his dad. "Two things. First, Dad, I think you should tell mom that I'm here."
"I called her on the way here, remember?" They've had this conversation before- just twenty minutes ago.
It's been a long hour and a half for all involved.
"Oh," He's confused. "How'd she take it?"
"Good. She's coming to visit in a week."
His parents are separated? Huh.
"Cool. That gives me... uh..." He snaps his finger, looking for a word.
"Time?" I offer.
"Yes! Time!"
The nurse is still smiling, watching us talk. I imagine we must look strange together- a mismatched group of a hurt and slap-happy boy, his uncomfortable father, and his not-really-friend.
"Are you ready now?" The nurse pipes up.
"Yes. To the bat cave, Jeeves!" Kyle points away, laughing. He then beckons me forward, to follow him.
His father and I both rise to follow. As we are heading toward the surgery room, I decide it's time for me to go. I really don't want to stick around to watch them dig around in Kyle's leg.
"Sir, I really should be going home. I have to return the truck I borrowed, I have to pick my neighbor up from baseball-"
"Oh? Which boy is your neighbor?"
He seems to be missing the point of what I'm saying.
"Emily Turner."
"Oh, the girl. Kyle says she's a decent ball player."
That's nice, but I'd like to go home now.
"I agree with Kyle on that, but I really do need to be going."
"Oh. Well, thank you. For everything." He holds out his hand for me to shake.
I take it, and say: "Would you like my cell phone number so that you can call and let me know how everything's going?"
"Of course."
~~~
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