Heal my Heart

Chapter 5 - Hope

Despite his general state, Grizz had the most restful sleep he had had in ages. When he woke up, a slight early breeze was passing through the curtains of Luke's large quiet bedroom. Grizz took a moment to appreciate the general peaceful atmosphere emerging from his friend's bedroom before slowly opening his tired green eyes.

He was only slightly surprised to see that Luke was nowhere to be seen. It was a quiet Saturday morning and he had no doubt that his friend had already plans for the weekend. He gently got up from his bed to prepare for the day when a sharp pain sized his bruised ribs. "Oh yeah, I forgot about this..." did he think, slowly massaging his side. 

The door opened gently and his best friend's smiling face appeared from the hallway.

" Hey, buddy ! Slept well ? " Luke said, with a large grin on his face.

" Yeah, thanks ! It's good to finally be able to rest for a bit. Any plans for the day? "

" Well, nothing out of the ordinary, I have to meet with Jason and Clark on the field this afternoon but what about you ? Are you already going back home ? " Luke said, worry written all over his gentle features.

" I really don't want to go home but I didn't take my medication yesterday night and you clearly don't wanna handle a passed out Grizz on the field today. "

" What ?! You didn't take your meds ? Are you okay, does it hurt somewhere ? Do I have to bring you to the hospital ?! " Luke panicked.

" Hey dude, calm down, I'm fine. Those meds are only useful to stabilize my heartbeat if I have to do physical efforts. As long as I don't start running all over the place, I'm fine. "

" Oh... okay, if you say so, bud. Do you want me to come along so that you won't be alone with your father...? " asked the young boy, a mix of worry and anger in his voice.

" Well, I'm not really thrilled to face him again but I prefer doing it alone... No offense but I wouldn't bear him hurting you too. "

" I don't care if he tries to hurt me Grizz, you have to be safe and I'm not letting you go alone if there's even a chance of him laying his hand on you. " said an agitated Luke.

" Luke, please, just... let me do this. It's already hard enough to be rejected and beaten up by my own father without having to worry if his gonna turn his anger on my friend. I promise I'll be careful not to upset him and if anything happens I'll just run straight to you, alright? "

" Okay... but I warn you, if I don't hear from you before this afternoon, I'll call the cops. " warned Luke.

" Fine, but I have a check-up appointment at the hospital this afternoon so I may be unable to contact you before the evening. Just don't freak out, okay ? "

" I won't freak out, I promise. "

" Great, thanks Luke. " said Grizz, while finishing changing. " I'll just join you on the field when I come out of the hospital and you can teach me a thing or two about your barbarian game. " he said, with a smile on his laughing face.

" Well, first, it's not a barbarian game ! It's very tactical and for gentlemen only. Don't you like football ? I thought that maybe, when your heart will be fine, you could join the team. "

" My heart won't ever be fine, Luke, you know it. But it's sweet anyway. It's not that I don't like football, I really wish I could play with you guys, it's just... You know, I always dreamt of taking dance classes so I guess I just never really could get into your sport. "

" Why haven't you ever tried taking dance lessons if you like it so much ? " asked an intrigued Luke.

" My mum had promised she would sign me up but it was just before... you know... " Grizz whispered the end of the sentence, sadness showing in his eyes.