Bridging the Gap

chapter two

"I thought you wanted to stay at your father's over night? When did you get back home?", Kai asked after Jay had led Cole back inside and launched him into a kitchen chair.

Cole's injured foot was resting on Zane's lap who was now wrapping a bandage around it.

To Kai's question he just shrugged and fixed his eyes to the ground again.

Then he flinched as Zane pulled the bandage tighter.

"I am sorry, Cole. But this has to be tight like this or else the bleeding won't stop for a while. Also, you should eat and drink something, get your blood sugar back up, you look dehydrated and totally exhausted"

He was.

At first he didn't notice due to the coldness then the adrenaline and pain of his wound.

The bit of coffee he had drunk wasn't really helpful to get him out of his tiredness and now that he was sitting inside, a warm blanket wrapped around him, the pain still there but already fading, he really felt every muscle of his body and how they were longing for rest.

Lloyd was already on it.

The green ninja had set a pot of tea on the stove and now put the teabag and a lot of sugar into the boiling water.

Jay suggested to make a sandwich but Cole abdicated.

He really wasn't hungry.

Not thirsty either but he guessed the tea will sure help his exhaustion and get his levels up again.

Lloyd placed the cup on the wodden table and Cole gave him a quick smile before placing his cold fingers around it and sighed deep.

The others shared a look.

Cole knew he could trust them with that.

But still it was difficult for him to open up.

Zane, on whose lap Cole's feet still rested, spoke first.

He cleared his throat, which was for real unnecessary since he was a nindroid.

Can they get raspy voices?

"Cole, now again to our questions...", he began.

Cole, again, didn't look up.

"I got home an hour or so ago", he told them.

"Why that early?", Lloyd asked.

"Lou didn't have that much time for me", he said in a bitter tone.

It was still weird for the others that Cole called his own father by his forename most of the time.

They knew about what had happened in the past - well mostly - but still the harshness of his words sent them all into an alarming state.

"Cole, eh.. Don't take this the wrong way but... isn't your father... unemployed. I mean... as long as he doesn't have a gig or something... Like, he can work whenever he wants to...-"

Cole looked up now and fixed Kai with narrow eyes.

"Songwriting and producing still needs to be done", oh over the years he got so good at lying.