The Little Boy Who Had Hope and a Red Balloon

Chapter 8: Finding a Way

A/N: Hey everyoneeee! I feel so accomplished with life right now. Round of applause for moi👏👏👏anyways, here's your long-awaited chapter! Be sure to vote/comment!!

Georgie had been clutching to Mathias's hand, as the doctor pushed the wheelchair down the long hallway. The doctor was a tall fellow, with gelled hair and warm, brown eyes. He seemed to know what he was doing, which made it more comforting for both Mathias and Georgie. There were a lot of beeps coming from unknown locations, doctors and nurses rushing around, some frantic, others calm and collected. Georgie's eyes were wide as he looked around the hospital, trying to take in everything.

"Alright, we're going to go in this room here. I'll need you to get up on the bed, and change into this hospital gown." The doctor said, turning them into a room down at the far end of the hall. He handed Mathias a red hospital gown that was wrapped in a thin, plastic bag. With that he walked out the door, shutting it behind them. "Why did he leave?" Georgie asked. "He wanted to give me privacy to change, little one." Mathias replied. "Oh." Georgie said, plopping himself down against the wall. He put his face in his knees saying, "I'm tired."

"Me too, Georgie. Me too." Mathias said, unbuttoning his shirt swiftly, but with caution. Once he was all changed, Mathias noticed that Georgie had lifted his head from his hands. "Hello again Mathias!" He shouted, causing Mathias to cover his ears wincing. The doctor walked in upon hearing this. "Everything okay in here? Oh, good you're done changing." Mathias nodded his head. "My name is Dr. Matthews. I would've introduced myself sooner, but I wanted to take of your wound so badly, I guess I forgot. Sorry about that. I'm just going to ask you a few questions, but first I would like to examine your wound." Dr. Matthews said.

Once more, Mathias nodded. He walked over and lifted the gown where the wound lay. "That's a deep bullet hole. We would have to do an x-Ray to see if the bullet is still in there." "The bullet isn't in there, my friend took it out for me." Mathias said. Dr. Matthews looked skeptical, but he reluctantly accepted it. He went over to the cabinets and pulled out a bottle, some dressings, and medical tape. "The best I can do for you is to clean it, then dress the wound. I could also give you some antibiotics and pain medication as well, if need be."

"I can handle that. I would like the pain medication too, if that's not too much." Mathias said. The whole time this was going on, Georgie had been sitting there silently. He was observing how well Dr. Matthews treated Mathias. "Let me go get that for you, I'll be right back." With that Dr. Matthews left the room again. "Why can't he do more?" Georgie asked Mathias. "There's not much he really can do for me Georgie. I'm a homeless person, I have no money to pay, no home to live in, no family left." He said.

"I'll be your family. You can live with me and protect me from my momma." Georgie said walking over to the bed, trying to climb on top. Mathias helped him up and he instantly laid down upon Mathias's legs. He felt that Georgie didn't realize how much what he had said meant to Mathias. The boy simply amazed him, without even trying to. Mathias had relied on his faith mostly, but after he became addicted, it was hard to put time away for God. He regretted that now, but Georgie made him see that he should go back to it.

"Boy, don't ever change yourself. Who you are is an extraordinary person. You have strength, courage, and bravery beyond belief. You don't care what people think, you don't judge others either. When you grow up Georgie, life gets harder. You suddenly are out on your own, trying to make a living for yourself, swimming in the sea of big fish. You're mature for you age, keep in mind of who you are. Don't lose sight of your goals either. Promise me that now, Georgie."

"I promise." Georgie said holding up his pinky. So they shook, as soon as Dr. Matthews walked in with the pain medication and antibiotics.