Complications

2|nametag

Tyla Bradley

"What happened to you?" My mom asked when I stumbled into the house. My leg felt stiff now and the pain was a lot worse. To make matters worse I'd noticed a large gash on my elbow that I'd missed. All in all, I looked like I got hit by a car.

"Some stupid kid ran into me," I hissed pulling out a stool from the table.

"Let me grab you some Neosporin and some bandaids," she glanced at the cuts and nodded, "lots of bandaids."

"Why do boys have to be the dumbest creatures alive?!" I exclaimed as she disappeared into the office where we kept our first aid kit.

"Good question, your father was one of those dumb boys. Other than you I regret every moment I spent with him!" She yelled in response.

It wasn't foreign of my mom to talk about my dad. She trash talked him on a constant basis and he deserved it, but every time I brought up boys she'd bring up how horrible he was and how their whole type were a bunch of idiots not worth a woman's time.

'We don't need them,' she'd say.

"Did a boy do this to you?" She asked reappearing with the kit.

I nodded, "we both weren't watching where we were going but of course I had to be the one put on my rear end. It didn't help that he was wearing football gear."

And yes, I'd taken a peek at his butt as I'd passed by him. He had a good one, the football pants helped. My mother would never hear that out come out of my lips. It was better she thought I still thought boys were gross and had cooties.

"You know sweetheart, we are better off without them." Told ya. "All men do to woman is leave them broken and bruised."

It hurt to know my mom had gotten so hurt by my dads stupidity and his leaving us. I wish she'd move on, but she'd convinced herself that men were evil and she didn't need them. And we didn't. We got along just as fine without them, but I still wanted the chance at love. She'd had it, I can remember when they were happy, when she was so happy and in love. And than it ended just like that and I sometimes, when she says that line—which she says often—I feel like she never wants me dating.

If only she knew.

I let her clean up the elbow and bandage it while I used my right hand to clean up my leg. Starting with the lower part and than moving up. It stung, and we used a lot of Neosporin but after a half hour I was all cleaned up and feeling the sourness coming on strong.

"Okay," I said through gritted teeth, "let's get those brownies going."

She waved her arms, "are you crazy?! Go lay down and relax. I know you have to work in a couple hours. I'm not going to keep you on your feet for the next couple of hours with all those injuries you sustained from that awful boy."

"I'm fine mom."

She rolled her eyes and pushed me in the direction of the living room, "not a chance. Go in the living room and lay down. Do you happen to know who the boy was, I'll call his mother and..."

"Not a clue," I said loudly but slowly, didn't want her catching on that I was totally lying.

"Do you know what number his jersey was?"

I couldn't give her a random number because that would get somebody in trouble.

"I think I was so mad that I missed the number, that or I'm having a hard time recalling it right now."

"Did you hit your head at all honey?" She asked rubbing my head softly. It totally messed up my hair but it got her off Walkers trail so that was good enough. There is nothing quite like the scorn of a Bradley woman, especially Rachel Bradly. I've learned that lesson and I may be pissed at Walker for running me over but not enough to sick my mother on him. That's too harsh of a punishment.