Under The Surface [Editing]

Chapter TwentyNine Stupid Bad Boy

The sky was still dark with the night as my dad drove. Inside the car was as silent as a tomb. Rob even came with us sitting in the back quietly, we all were still tired and sleepy and rudely awake from the phone call my dad received. I had no idea where we were going but it was not the hospital he was not driving in that direction. I started to recognize some of the surroundings we were driving by vaguely as part of the town Nathan called the neighborhood.

I was feeling very calm despite how scared I was and not knowing anything about the situation except that it involved Nathan. The anxiety was eating me alive. I kept wringing my hands together nervously. Quietly, out of nowhere, behind me Rob reached up and squeezed my shoulder gently rubbing it for a minute. I turned my head slightly and he had a small smile on his face, a reassuring smile. He was just trying to be helpful and comforting. I patted his hand in a ‘thank you’ gesture and he sat back. For just now formally meeting me he sure felt like a friend.

I attempted a few breathing exercises to calm myself and my nerves. My breathing was becoming more rapid as blue and red flashing lights came into view on top of black and white Ford Taurus police cars. The rounded square of red, white and sometimes blue and orange ambulance trucks appeared next to the two police vehicles. My dad began to slow down as we arrived. Not many people were out on the street watching being nosy, most were peeking their noses out of their windows from behind their curtains. I guess in this neighborhood you don’t willingly expose yourself.

A round in the belly officer came walking up to us.

“Are you Greg?” he barked.

“Yes, what has happened?” my dad called holding out a hand to keep Rob and me behind him for now. The officer looked annoyed, he was balding and trying to cover it up with his police cap he was tired and looked rather mean as he finished his stride over to us.

“Officer Dupree,” he offered his hand stiffly to my father who shook it, “Sorry for the time but all we found on the kid was a piece of paper with your name and number on it,”

“What happened?” Greg asked again.

“One of the neighbors heard some shouting and something like fighting outside and called the police, once we got on scene we only found the kid slightly unconscious and pretty banged up drunk as a skunk on the cement,” that was why he was annoyed.

“His name is Nathan Braddox,” Greg said firmly.

“Oh well he had no identification other than your phone number on him, are you the father?” the officer asked as if how dare Greg address him that way.

“No, I am his guardian, is he okay?”

“He was pretty bloodied and banged up the EMT’s are attending to him now, looks like he has a cracked cheekbone, I think some cracked ribs, not completely sure they are still working on him,” he pointed towards the hunched over on the ground medical technicians, “He won’t say anything though he is hardly aware but he keeps repeating the name Dawn over and over,”

That’s when I snapped, I had to see him, and I bolted from behind my dad’s arm towards the medical technicians.

“Nathan,” I croaked as loud as I could but from my sleep it came out hushed. I was grabbed by the arm by another police officer as I approached.

“Miss,” but I wiggled out of his grasp. My heart was pounding in my chest as I got closer and could see the EMT’s more clearly but Nathan was still blocked from my view. They were talking quietly in medical jargon that I could not understand.

“Nathan,” I yelled as I found my voice and tried to approach more, another officer grabbed my arm more firmly this time effectively stopping my forward momentum. Tears streamed down my face as I fight against whoever is holding me back.