PDLM prequel

Chapter Five

"Logan, you have a visitor."

The whiteboard says October 10. I fiddle with a piece of paper Patton left behind, hoping that today is the day he visits again so I can give it back to him. The window is open, and I don't have the energy to ask to close it.

"Let them in," I tell the nurse.

I thought it would be Patton. I so badly wanted it to be Patton.

Instead, I'm met with a man in a suit.

"Hey, Lo. How's it hangin'?"

He says it so casually, like we're longtime friends. I wonder if we are.

"Hi there. Um, do I know you?"

The man's eyes widen and his jaw tightens like he's screwing it in to keep it from dropping. "Patton wasn't lying, oh my god."

Then he realizes what he's doing, and shakes his head as if to reset his expression. "Sorry, Logan, I thought... it doesn't matter. You do know who Patton is, right?"

"Yeah, he came to visit me a few times. I haven't seen him in a while, though." My hands go back to folding the paper. "I guess since you know him, maybe you could tell me if he's okay? I saw him on the 6th, and now it's the 10th. He tries to come visit me every day."

The man crossed one leg over the other and sighed. "Well," he recalled, "he came to school on the 7th and before he went home, he came by my office and told me you weren't doing good. Said to visit you as quickly as possible. Then he started crying and ran to the buses and I haven't seen him since."

I thought I'd see him today.

"Can I-"

I hesitate. The man looks up.

"Can I call him?"

Sympathetically, he replied, "Of course, Logan." He handed his phone to me with the number already punched in. "It's a good thing I have his contact for his tutoring lessons."

This man really doesn't seem like the type to wear a suit.

I went to call Patton, but stopped for a moment and snorted.

"What's so funny, Logan?"

I blushed. "Sorry, I just realized I'm using your phone to call someone I barely remember, and I don't even know who you are."

"Ohhhh!" The man chuckled to himself. It was a deep rumble of a laugh, throaty and warm, despite his suit fitting a bit looser than expected. It filled the room like Christmas bells.

I swear I've heard it somewhere else.

The man quieted down, his eyes shining. I had given him hope, I think.

"I'm Mr. Bruns, your math teacher. Your favorite, I think. I don't know, Patton told me so. I always thought you liked science better, but maybe I was wrong."

"Well, I guess it's good to meet you... or, see you... again- I don't know how these interactions work."

The sound of waterfall on rocks warmed the room once again, but it was soft this time. Like his voice was holding a baby in its arms, rocking it to sleep.

"It's alright, Logan." The man knelt by my bed and patted my arm.

Unlike Patton, I didn't flinch.

"Alright, why don't you call Patton? Leave it on speaker, too, if it's not too personal."

My mouth curved upward. I knew my eyes were twinkling.

I could see why Bruns was my favorite teacher.