On The Sidewalk Bleeding

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Kyle

            I go stand outside and I see Payton's parents leaning against the wall, holding onto one another tightly, a duffle bag beside her mother's feet. They look up at me as I go to lean against the wall beside the door.

            "Looks like you got a little bit roughed up there." Payton's father raises an eyebrow in question at me. "I don’t want you around my daughter if you make getting in fights a daily occurrence."

            I could only stare at him for a second before nodding my head. Did this mean that he was alright with me spending time with Payton? However, before I could ask, the nurse comes out of the room and immediately goes over to Payton's parents, speaking with them for a couple seconds before walking off around the corner. Her parents look at each other before walking into the room. As I slide out of the way for them, Payton's father pats me on the shoulder.

            "Payton's able to come home today, I just thought I should let you know." He pauses for a second. "I like you Kyle, don't give me a reason not to." And with that, he slips into the room and closes the door.

            I can barely hear what they're saying through the door, but they came out as mumbles. I didn't really try too hard to hear, my head hurt and my ribs ached. I should probably have them looked at, but I really couldn’t bother with it.

            A couple minutes later, Payton's parents come back out. Payton's dad took me by the arm and pulled me over to the opposite side of the hallway.

            "I didn't get the chance to properly introduce myself. My name's Mark, and my wife's name is Tara." He holds out his hand to me, and I give him a firm handshake in return. "You're definitely the little boy that Payton used to invite to birthday parties, that's for sure." Her dad grins at me, telling me that he's joking. I grin at him in return.

            Tara pulls me into her arms, and squeezed me tightly, making me wince slightly. It was kind of awkward because I was just about a foot taller than her. We must have looked pretty weird too because she is such a petite woman and then there's me, tall and thick with muscle, not to boast or anything. She lets me go, but holds onto my shoulders and smiles at me. I smile back, and she brings a hand up and pats me on the cheek.

            Payton had the same hair colour, facial features, and body type as her mother, but it was obvious that she got her height from her father.

            "Sir, I would-" I get cut off by Payton's dad.

            "Call me Mark." He tells me. "Sir makes me sound old." He grins at me, and I realize that I'm starting to like this guy. I nod and smile at him.

            "Mark, I would like to ask if it would be alright if I drove Payton home. I need to talk to her, but I understand if that's not alright with you. But I would also like to ask her if she would like me to drive her home as well. However, I would really appreciate it if you would take it into consideration." I look away from them for a second and then turn my head back. "I'll be right back, I need to go find something to eat."

            As I'm walking away, I can't help but wonder why I just informed them of that.

            I keep walking until I come across a vending machine. All it has is chocolate bars and gum, nothing of which I am interested in, so I keep walking.

            I'm walking past a room, not really paying attention when someone calls out my name.

            "Kyle!" I hear a small voice call out my name again. I turn around, and standing at the doorway I just passed is Ellie, the girl I met earlier. She smiles at me, and then looks over her shoulder into her room, and then looks back at me and smiles again. "Hi stranger."