The Dying Generation

Chapter Nine

"Alright.. lets see here.." Cedric rubbed his chin, taking my right foot into his fingers.
My breathing went a little shaky to the situation but I allowed him to do what he needed to do.

He tested me and moved my foot around, watching my expressions.
I squinted my eyes a little, by the time he caught sight of the littlest pain in my expression, he would stop.
"Alright.. it doesn't seem like it's making much progress with recovery.."
He started writing things down onto a clip board.

I looked down, at the table beneath me, then back up to him.
"C-Cedric..?"

"Yes, Ma'am?" He responded, not even removing his eyes from the paper or slowing down in his task of writing.

"W-Where's Alton?"
I sat more up, crossing my legs Indian-style.

"Out with friends." Cedric spoke in his deep voice, setting the clip board back down and huffing. Looking back to me.
"He should be back sometime tonight." He tossed the pen off to the side for it to land next to the clip board.

The loud tap of the pen hitting the table made me jump.

He sighed is frustration, staring at my ankle, thinking.
"We need to do more about that ankle of yours.." He stood, my eyes followed him while he walked around the table and opened a drawer off to the side. He grabbed something I wasn't able to see clearly, then he marched back to another room.

I could feel the slight tremors in the ground and hear his loud foot steps when he came back, setting the stuff he had collected in front of me while he took a seat.
Two pencils, two rubber bands, and an old wash cloth.
"Probably should have done this sooner.. Didn't get a chance to, couldn't bring myself to.." He mumbled, setting the objects up a certain way.

He grabbed some scissors that were already off to the side and began to cut through the cloth to make it smaller. He tossed the extras he cut off to the side, then brought what he cut out, over to me.
I shifted a little, bringing my legs out of their crossed position.
I couldn't help the feeling of my heart drumming in my chest from seeing his hands so close to me.
He started to wrap the cloth around my ankle, but it was still slightly too big for me and the cloth covered my ankle and about to my knee.

While he was wrapping my leg up, giving it enough cushion, I tore my eyes away from what he was doing and looked back up to his face. His hands being so huge took up a lot of my view and partial of my view of Cedric's face.
"W-why couldn't you bring yourself to this?"
My voice remained sounding quiet and innocent.

He took a moment before answering, keeping his eyes on his task.
"I felt bad. You went through so much and was so scared. I didn't want to scare you anymore than you were. I still should have wrapped it. Because now, the healing process isn't as far along as I would have hoped. I guess that's my fault.." He finished wrapping my leg and reached for the pencils.

I looked down, running a finger over my left knee.
"No.. it's my fault.."

Cedric placed a pencil on both sides of my leg, getting the rubber bands and looping them over my whole leg to keep everything in place.
"How is it your fault?"

I took a second, refusing to look up at him. The whole incident flashing by in my mind.
"I was the one to cause it.. I was the one that tried to run.."

Cedric finished wrapping my leg up, making my leg so stiff that I couldn't even move it. Making it a little heavy too.
The pencils were originally sharpened already so they were already pretty small but dulled down and didn't have the lead anymore. Probably with Cedric trying to make it safer.