Out in the Wind

Chapter 31

"Thanks for coming so quickly. I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't an emergency," I say to Patrick as I help Andy into the back of his car, Andy sobbing, but I try to ignore it for the moment. I know he's okay. I took most of the blow from Mandy's fist, although I am sure it must not have been nice to be hit in the face again after the injuries he was already sporting.

Patrick closes the car door behind Andy and draws me to the back of the car where he is sure Andy can't hear us.

"What the hell happened to him? And you? It looks like someone gave you a bit of a shiner," he says, touching the redness around my eye lightly which makes me winch a little but I try to control myself, because even if it is hurting, I don't want him to stop touching me either.

"Mandy..." I say. "She threw her toys out of the cot and went for Andy. I got in the middle."

I shrug, trying my best to make Patrick think it is no biggie at all, where in the mean time I feel like I want to fall apart completely on the inside. I thought that Mandy and I would end up being friends again in the long run, but if today has proved one thing is that Mandy and I have outgrown each other completely. We are not the same people anymore and the chance of us ever seeing eye to eye again might be a bit much to ask for at this moment in time.

"Fuck. Mandy seems to be losing it a bit, but what is up with weird kid?" Patrick asks moving his eyes toward the car. "I mean, it's not like he has the best reputation in school or such."

"Does that matter when someone's dad beats him up in this way? Doesn't that require special treatment or something?" I ask wondering if Patrick would judge me this way if I made another single mistake again, not thinking about the reasons behind it. He almost did once before. "In any case. He had good reason to do what he did when he took those photos. I would have probably done the same thing now that I know his reasons for it."

"Nothing excuses behavior like that," Patrick says crossing his arms, probably trying to show me that he is the right one in this situation.

"No! No Patrick! Not everything in the world is black or white. Sometimes it's grey as fuck."

I can feel myself getting mad and I haven't even stopped my hands from shaking after everything that just went down with Mandy. The last thing Patrick should do at this moment is to make me mad, because I will walk off. I will go somewhere else. Even if it is to Jaycee or someone.

"Come on Cory. You can't seriously believe that," Patrick sighs rolling his eyes just a enough for me to notice before he pulls his fingers through his hair like he always does. Like he is trying to look cool in some way.

"Actually I do! Look at me Patrick. Just look me up and down. You know my situation. You know where I've come from and to where I have fallen. Did I do that to myself? Am I a part of that stereotypical bums on the side of the road begging for money? Everything is grey and the sooner you understand that the better," I say feeling the temperature in my body rising. It's not that I am mad at Patrick in particular. I am mad at the world. At everyone that doesn't take the time to ask the question why. They don't care what you have been through, they don't see your journey. All they see is who you have become at the end of the day. They don't want to see you for you, they are only interested in the box that they can put you in in the end.

"Okay Cory. I'm going to trust you on this. But just so that you know, you can't compare your situation with everyone else in the world. Sometimes people just do bad things and that's it. It is as simple as that," Patrick says turning his back to me and making his way to the driver's seat.

I wait until he is inside the car before I mumble: "Nobody is just bad."

I sigh as I walk over to the passenger's seat and climb into the car next to Patrick.