Second Chances

Chapter 4

      Jason walked over to me with two plates of food in his hand, one for me and one for him. He placed his on the table and handed mine to me, along with a fork and knife. "Thank you," I said. Jason smiled and sat down beside me again.
      I dug into the turkey and mashed potatoes. I didn't remember the last time I had had such a good meal. My mom could cook. I heard Jason burp, which made me laugh, and the side eye I got made me laugh even harder.
      A middle aged guy walked out of the bathroom and saw me and went, "Ben, my boy! How ya feeling?" My face must've been a mask of confusion. He glanced at Jason, who cleared his threat and said, "Mr. Williams, Ben hasn't fully recuperated yet. He may not remember you." The look on the guy's face worries me. His face gave off the expression that he was confused, upset or angry. "What do you mean, 'he may not remember you'?" Mad. He was definitely mad. "How would he not remember me?! I raised him!"
      Jason looked at me and said, "Ben, say hello to your dad before he gets even more upset."
      "Hi, Dad. How have things been here?"
      "They've been good. We've been waiting for you to come home for a couple days now. AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T REMEMBER ME?!"
      "Umm..." I said. Thankfully Mom came into the living room and said, "Ron, you stop that ruckus right now! Leave the boy alone, he just got home!" Dad grumbled and went into the kitchen with Mom and started arguing with her. "I don't know if you remember this, but your Mom and Dad got a divorce the night we were in the accident," Jason said. "The only reason your Dad's still here is because he wanted to see you before he moved back home."
      "He's going back home? Where's that?"
      "Raleigh, North Carolina. It's about 1,000 miles away."
      "Oh. Is he going to be coming back?"
      "I don't know," Jason said. I looked at the food on my plate, and my stomach grumbled. Jason laughed, saying, "You better feed that beast before it eats me!" I smiled and picked up my fork.
      I finished my food just in time for my mom to bring in a big white cake with the words "Welcome Home Ben!" on it. I raised my eyebrows and looked at Jason. "Umm, how long was I in the hospital?"
      "About two weeks."
      "Oh. I thought I was only there for that day," I said. Jason shook his head as my mom placed the cake on my legs and lit the candle. I took in a deep breath and blew it out. The room shaked from all the cheers and shouts.
      The cake was delicious. Definitely enough sugar to fill me up for a week, but it was completely worth it. As I set my fork down after taking the last bite, Jason looked at me and laughed. "What?" I asked.
      "You have a little something on your chin."
      "Could you get it off? I can't see it." Jason smiled and leaned over. He wiped the icing off of my face with one finger and held it up to my mouth. I smiled and quickly whipped my napkin off of my lap and wiped the icing from his finger. "No no no," I said, teasing him. "None of that."
      "Oh my god, you're ridiculous," he said as he lightly punched me in the arm. I smiled and put my plate on the table in between us. Placing both of my hands on the armrests, I hoisted myself up and stood, swaying back and forth slightly. Jason jumped up and grasped my shoulders as I tipped forward. "Whoa," he said. "Ben, you know you shouldn't be standing right now."
      "I know," I said, sighing. "I just wanted to try to see if I could. And I can't, obviously. Can you help me to my room?" He nodded and we slowly walked towards my room at the back of the house. Jason opened the door to my room. My bed sat right behind it, and I slumped onto it as I got closer. I pulled myself onto the bed fully and lied my head down on the pillows.
      "Do you want me to stay with you?" Jason asked.
      "No, you go enjoy yourself," I said. "I'm gonna rest up." Jason nodded and leaned down to kiss me before leaving the room. He closed the door behind him, and I let out a sigh. I needed to figure this out, and soon. It all was so confusing, and Jason wasn't helping. Whoever I was before, I wasn't that person anymore. I'd changed. I don't know by how much, but I definitely did know that I had something to do, some sort of purpose, and I felt that Jason was getting in my way. That needed to change.