The Unsocial Freak

Chapter 13-Duke Dougson

I wasn't sure whether I should have cried or been jumping up and down on the spot when Gaby and Stephanie were taken to Juvenille prison the next day. I wanted to tell Stephanie that I'd come visit her when I get the chance to see whether she was alright but I never got the chance to talk to her. There was a bit of me that didn't want to visit her because of the risk of seeing Gaby again but I wanted to be a good friend for Stephanie. Does Stephanie even want to be my friend anymore now that I've sent her to juvenile? I feel really bad for it.

"Hey beautiful!" I turned around and saw Mac who had hugged me from behind. I sighed. I was really a mess right now and didn't know what to feel. "Did you want to see Karlee today?" he asked, noticing how upset I was and putting his hands around my waist.

"Yeah, sure. Thank you." I replied, trying my best at a smile. I really wanted to tell Karlee about what happened and I really missed not having anyone to rant at anymore.

When we arrived to the familiar smell of the hospital ward, I saw nurses with their hands all over both of the patients. They had just received news that Karlee's father had woken up but he wasn't in any condition to leave at all. In fact, he was still looking very pale and it was said that they had to keep an eye on him because he had been having seizures regularly. He was currently taking a small nap.

"I'm going to go get us some food. I love you." Mac said, kissing my forehead as soon as the nurses had left.

I watched Mac walk out and slowly walked up to Karlee's father. He had tubes coming out from all over him and it seemed like the only thing helping him breathe was a tiny machine next to him. His name was Duke Dougson as stated on the sign at the end of his bed. The sign read:

Duke Dougson

Age 52

Car Crash

Karlee had one too. It had said:

Karlee Dougson

Age 15

Car Crash

As I walked over to Karlee's bed, nothing much had changed. She still had one of those gas masks on her face which made her look unrecognisable. Her face was getting paler and paler and I started to wonder when she would wake up. Her father had only recently woken up so surely she'd wake up soon too?

"I love you," I told Karlee for the first time in my life, getting a piece of hair from out of her face. "I have good news though!" I sat down in the chair next to her. "Gaby and Stephanie have been sent to juvenile where they belong. Well, I'm not sure about Stephanie but Gaby definitely belongs there. How have you been? I hope they're treating you right. You know, I'm really lonely at school without you. I feel like the only one that cares is Mac, but I guess that's what he is supposed to do."

I paused for a moment, staring at my blank white vans. Oh, how I missed Karlee. If she could talk to me she'd give me great advice and tell me to be optimistic about the whole situation. She'd make me feel so much better about it and would maybe even joke about it to make me smile.

"Not having you here is like being a cat without a tail." I continued on, taking a deep breath. "Please wake up soon." I was crying now and felt a tear run down my face.

"Hey, is that Emily?" I jumped off my chair and turned around. Karlee's father had spoken. He didn't sound like I thought he would. I suppose it was just the medication that the nurses were giving him.

"Y-yes." I stuttered wearily, wiping the tear from my face. I never thought I would ever meet Karlee's father this way.

"You're a good girl." he told me, spacing out his words. "Karlee is very lucky to have a friend like you, so thank you."

He looked up at me and I felt myself smile. I had barely even met this man and my first impression was that he was the nicest man I have ever met. The way he spoke made me feel warm inside and it made me feel so happy about myself.

"No, thank you." I told him. "Thank you for being such a great father for Karlee. I don't know where Karlee would be without you."

He laughed a broken laugh and for the first time ever I had seen a sick man smile. His pearly white teeth showed and he looked very happy for a man who had recently come out of a coma and is now waiting for his only daughter to wake up too.

We sat there in silence for a bit until Mac came in with Starbucks. He stopped when he saw Duke and smiled at me.

"Who's this?" Duke asked, looking right at Mac. I laughed a little. Karlee hadn't even told her father about Mac yet.

"This is my boyfriend, Mac." I told him.

"So you are Emily's boyfriend!? Karlee mentioned that Emily had a boyfriend before but she never really talks about him." Duke said, talking to himself a bit.

Mac laughed and handed me a simple hot chocolate. He bought one for himself too.

"Thanks." I told him, taking it from his grasp.

"So, how are you feeling?" Mac asked Duke, pulling up a chair for himself.

"I'm hanging in there but these tablets here aren't really working like I thought they would." he said, gesturing to all the medication next to his bed. "Heck, it's bad enough that I have to take my blood every time I eat let alone shoving these things in my mouth too."

"Why do you have to take blood every time you eat?" I asked him suspiciously. Was it something the nurses had to do to keep him healthy?

"Didn't Karlee tell you!? Oh, you sweet child. I have type two diabetes and the food here is absolutely horrible. Don't you ever get diabetes because you really don't want to be living like me. I guess that's the main reason they don't want to get me out of here in a hurry. I feel fine but no one ever listens to me."

"In that case, I guess we should leave you to rest a bit more." Mac told Duke, getting up from his seat. He then looked at me. "Your mother rang looking for you before and she wants you back home now."

I sighed, getting up too. "Goodbye Duke. We'll come visit you whenever we can."

"Once again, thank you." he replied kindly. "I assure you that she'll wake up soon and everything will go back to normal quick enough." He held my small and tender hand in his cold and wrinkly ones. He was already like a father I never had.

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I hope you enjoyed that chapter even though it was hella short. please don't forget to vote. sorry for not updating on time :(. ily all <3