The Incident (TFP Book 1)

Chapter 5

Bulkhead took a deep breath, and knocked on the door. He suddenly heard a commotion on the other side of the door. Someone was running through the house yelling 'I'll get it!' He smiled it had to be Miko, her heard a woman scold her and a man telling her to behave herself. 'Oh boy' he thought. The door opened and there stood Miko smiling, she gave him a big hug, grabbed his hand and pulled him into the house. He was introduced to the parents, who seemed pleasant enough, and after a little bit they sat down to dinner. Miko seemed to be the only child in the home, and the parents would act slightly annoyed at times, and they would remind her to behave. Bulkhead felt uncomfortable and awkward.

After dinner Mikos parents asked her, more of demanded, that she go upstairs to do her homework. She started to protest but got a very stern look from the man, she sighed told Bulkhead she would be back, and went upstairs. The wrecker now felt really uncomfortable and awkward, the parents were looking at him funny.

"Thanks for having me over, it was a great meal." He said. There was no response. After what felt like forever, the host parents looked at each other then at him.

"We want to make sure Miko is safe with you, and not getting into trouble." The woman said. Bulkhead stared at her for a moment, feeling as though they were trying to say something else, without actually saying it.

"I assure you, that Miko is extremely safe with me, I wouldn't let anything happen to her." The wrecker said.

"Well, we don't feel that she has the best influence in her life right now." The father said glaring at him "Miko was sent here to improve herself, and become a better and more sophisticated young lady, not a hooligan." He said the last word as if that's what Bulkhead was.

"What he means is, we are in charge of her well being, and we promised her parents she would become a better young lady." The mother said "Ever since she has been hanging around you, her grades have suffered badly." The wrecker felt himself getting angry, was it really his fault the girl was struggling?

"Basically what your saying is, you want me to leave her alone for a little while." Bulkhead growled trying not to get to angry with them. The father slammed his hands on the table and stood up. By this time Miko was hiding in the hallway listening to the conversation.

"What we are saying is we don't want her hanging out with the likes of you!" The father all but shouted. Bulkhead stood up and towered over the man, who took a step back. In reality he was afraid of Mikos friend, who looked as though he could crush him like a toothpick. The two men stared at each other, neither dared to move. The mother stood up hoping she could solve the matter.

"We feel its best for the girl, if you walked out of her life. That way she can become the young lady her parents expect her to become." She said. Miko put her hand to her mouth to keep from crying out.
Still staring at the man Bulkhead clenched his jaw, which made the man twitch slightly, and glared at the couple.

"I feel I have over stayed my welcome." He said dryly. The wrecker thanked them for the meal, and headed to the door. Miko wasn't sure what to do, as she heard the door open and close, she ran down the stairs. Her host parents yelled at her about something, she flung the door open and saw that the wrecker was already half way down the yard.

"BULKHEAD!!" she yelled. He stopped and turned, she ran to him, tears starting to flow. When she got to him, she jumped and wrapped her arms around his neck, he held on to her as she cried.

"Don't leave me..." She said through her sobs. The wrecker bit his lower lip and looked up to see the host parents watching at the door. He felt a single tear escape his eye, and he knew it would be hard to leave her.

"I won't, I promise to always be there for you." He whispered into her ear. The wrecker gently set her down, and she looked into his eyes as her tears continued to flow. He smiled sadly and wiped them away, he told her it would be alright, gave her a final hug and walked across the street to his car.

Miko watched as he got in and drove away, she ran after him for a short distance, but then stopped. As his car turned the corner, the girl fell to her knees and cried. Miko felt as though she would never see him again, and her heart felt like it had been ripped out of her chest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had pained Bulkhead to see her run after him, and he wanted so bad to stop. But he knew he couldn't. He did promise himself that he wouldn't walk out of her life. She needed a friend, and he had promised he would be there.