Collided

Chapter 22 | Progress

I Practiced My Swings And Punches At The Wall And Dave Walked Up Next To Me. I Gave Him A Side Glance And Continued Doing What I Was Doing.

"I Didn't Believe You Could Talk." He Said.
Here He Goes.

"Well, There Is A Lot You Don't Know About Me." I Said As I Swung A Hook.

   "I See. Are You Like A Ninja? The Way You Handled Those Guys---"

I Turned Around To Face Him.

   "Look Kid, I'm Not Your Batman. I'm A Inmate That's Probably Facing Life And Never Seeing The Love Of His Life Ever Again. So I Advise You To Lay Off Or End Up Like Those Guys At The Cafeteria." I Warned.

Dave Held His Hands Up. I Faced The Wall And Did My Swings.

"By The Way, You're Bleeding." Dave Said.

I Looked At My Leaking Arm, And Pressed It Down. I Let Out A Aggravated Sigh. I Was Hoping I Would Get In That Fight And Get Out Squeaky Clean. Now If The Warden Ever Searches For The People In The Fight He'll Definitely Point Me Out And I'll Probably Be In Solitary Or End Up Having More Years On Whatever Sentence I'll Have.

"Damn." I Said Out Loud.

London

    It's Been A Couple Of Days That The Nurses Have Been Helping Me With My Walk, And Correcting My Slurred Speech. It's A Lot Of Deficiency That Could Happen When You're Shot. It's Just Wrong. And Painful!

    The Nurses Laid Me Back Down On The Bed, And Mom Had Held My Hand. She Smiled And Caressed My Cheek.

     "You're Almost Out. One More Day, Can You Believe It?" She Asked, Excitingly.

     "A Little. I'll Still Have Physical Therapy And Deal With All Of Those Expenses From Canceled Shows." I Explained.

      "They Will Understand. Now You Get Some Rest, I Love You."

I Smiled.

       "I Love You Too." I Said As I Closed My Eyes.

   I Raised My Hand Towards My Ear. I Took Two Fingers And Pulled Down On My Earlobe Over And Over Again. I Tried To Remember Zero's Breath On The Back Of My Neck As He Was Doing It. It Was The Most Calming Thing In The World And I Need His Magic Touch Right Now. I Just Had A Near Death Experience And All I Can Think About Is Him.

    Now All Of My Guilt Is Rushing Over Me About The Lustful Situation With Manny. I Can't Believe I Did That To Zero And All He Tried To Do Was Love Me. Now Look Where He Is. In Jail, Probably Getting Beat Up Because Of Me. A Tear Rolled Down My Cheek As I Slowly Drifted Off To Sleep.

***

    My Eyes Opened To A Bright Light. I Looked Over At Mom, And She Was Asleep. I Looked Up At The Clock And It's 10:15 A.M. A Nurse Walked In And Smiled At Me.

"Are You Ready?" She Asked Me.
I Nodded My Head.

"Okay." The Nurse Walked Out Of The Room Then Came Back With A Wheelchair.

   She Placed Me On The Wheelchair, And Gently Woke My Mom Up. My Mom Thanked The Nurse For Everything Then Wheeled Me Outside.

    "Time To Go Back To Los Angeles." Mom Said Through A Sigh.

Zero

I've Just Been Notified That My Court Date Is Tomorrow At Noon. I Asked For A Phone Call Several Times, And The Guard Finally Gave In. I Dialed London's Number And Pressed The Phone Against My Ear.

Please Pick Up The Phone.

     After Long Seconds Of Ringing London Finally Picked Up. Joy Filled Inside Me.

     "I Just Want To Let You Know That My Court Date Is Tomorrow At Noon. I Need You There To Make A Statement That I Am Innocent."

      "Zero?" London Answered.

      "Yeah Baby, It's Me. Look, If I Don't Get A Chance Tomorrow Just Know That I Don't Care About What Happened With You And Manny. I Know He Tried Everything In The Book For You To Give It Up To Him Just To Get After Me, But I Forgive You. I Love You Too Much To Ever Let You Go."

I Heard Her Smile Through The Phone.

      "I Love You Too. Are You Still In Detroit?" London Asked.

      "Yeah. Make Sure You'll Be Here---"

  The Guard Took The Phone Out Of My Hand And Slammed It Down On The Hook. He Grabbed Me By The Back Of My Collar And Led Me Back To My Cell.

     "Are You Crazy? I Wasn't Finished Talking." I Protested While Struggling To Get Out Of His Grip.

     "Your Five Minutes Was Up, Pal." The Guard Threw Me Into The Cell, And Locked It. "I Don't Want Hear Another Peep Out Of You."

   The Guard Walked Away. Dave Helped Me Up, And I Brushed All Of The Dirt Off Of My Jumpsuit. I Sighed, And Continued With My Swings At The Wall.

London

    I Looked At The Phone Confused, And Stuffed It Into My Pocket.

    "Mom, Stop The Car." I Demanded.

My Mom Was Debating If She Wanted To Ask Why, But She Pulled Over. She Faced Me Confused.

    "I Can't Leave Detroit Yet. Zero Is Still Here, And I Have To Show Up To His Court Date Tomorrow. Can We Just Check Into A Hotel?" I Explained.

   My Mom Looked Away And Gripped The Steering Wheel. She Placed Her Head Down. I Tilted My Head.

     "Please?"

She Looked At Me.

      "Fine. I'm Only Staying With You Because You're In Desperate Need Right Now. You Must Really Love Him." Mom Said.

       "I Do."

   Mom Smiled, And Drove Toward The Nearest Hotel.

Lucas

There Is A Party At Our College And Everyone Is Invited Of Course. I Stepped Through The Double Doors, And Looked Around To See Where James Was. I Made My Way Through The Crowd, And Searched For Him. Someone Bumped Into Me, And I Turned Around To See Who It Was.

    "I'm So Sorry. I Guess I Had Too Many Of These." The Girl Said As She Gestured Toward Her Drink. I Looked Over Her, Still Searching. "Who Are You Looking For?"

I Looked At Her.

     "James."

     "Oh Him. He's In The Back With Some Girl Snuggled Up On The Couch." She Stated.

I Clenched My Jaw.

    I Went Directly Toward The Back And Saw Exactly What The Girl Was Describing. Instead She Left Out One Detail. James Is Practically Nibbling On Her. In Front Of Everyone! I'm So Embarrassed And On Top Of That I'm Hurt.

  Once James Removed His Lips From The Girl's Neck He Looks Up And Spots Me. His Face Turns Completely Pale. I Turn Around And Try To Storm Out But James Catches Up To Me.

    "Wait Lucas. What's Wrong With You?" He Asked.

I Turn Around.

     "How Are You Going To Ask Me That When You're Here With A Girl. I Thought We Were A Thing." I Admitted.

James Chuckled.

      "People Don't Need To Know About Us. We're Both In College Doing Crazy Things, It's No Big Deal." James Stated.

I Felt My Stomach Drop.

      "Since Its No Big Deal, Don't Call Me Ever Again." I Retorted.

James Clenched His Jaw.

   I Walked Out Of The Building And Entered Into My Car. I Hit The Steering Wheel And Let My Tears Fall. I Should've Known...