Time Will Tell | ✔

Chapter 19 - A Surprising Apology

time will tell

"Luck of the draw only draws the unlucky
And so I became the butt of the joke
I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked
Clearin' the air, I breathed in the smoke."

Daylight, Taylor Swift

—

Two days had past since I returned home. Two days had past since Mr. Redley had a heart seizure. And it had also already been two days since Mr. Johnson told me to basically get the hell out of this town — and that's what I was about to do because it was time for me to get back to Pennsylvania. I barely slept for the past couple of days because, but what's new? Per usual my thoughts were keeping me up at night and once again, I kept tossing and turning in bed until I got so mad that I threw my pillow against the door. Those damn thoughts simply didn't allow me to rest and it was getting the best of me since I felt very weak and extremely exhausted now.

"Miles?" My father called out before he opened the door to my room slowly. "Hey."

"Morning," I responded, rubbing the dark blue circles under my sleepy eyes.

"You sure you want to come, right?" He asked, leaning his head against the doorframe. "He'll be happy to see you."

I nodded my head. "I definitely want to come, dad. Maybe this will be the last time I can ever talk to him again... I would never forgive myself if I didn't visit him today."

He smiled. "Alright. Be downstairs once you're ready." Before he had the chance to close the door, he looked up at me again. "Are you hungry? I've made some pancakes since your mom left early to go to the hospital with Kimberly to take care of Mr. Redley before all the visitors arrive. They may not taste as good as your mom's, but they're still eatable if you add lots of maple syrup."

I shook my head this time, hiding my laughter. "Thank you dad. I appreciate your effort, but no. I'm not hungry."

When he disappeared from the doorframe, I yawned and moved towards my old wardrobe to chang my clothes. I had to mentally prepare myself to be confronted with Mr. Johnson again if he decided to visit Mr. Redley in the hospital as well. I couldn't describe the feelings inside of me, but they were a mixture of fear and determination somehow. Sadly, the fear was eating me alive and there was not a single thing I could do about it other than allow it to destroy me from deep down within me.

...

Thankfully the hospital wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be. Other than my dad and I there were about three other people who came all the way to check on Mr. Redley. And to my surprise, they were about to leave when we entered this old building. A young lady at the reception provided us with some information about Mr. Redley's current state and his whereabouts. About a minute later, my dad knocked on the door one of the nurses guided us to and once a female voice responded, he opened the large door that separated us. "Hello Kimberly."

"Oh hello Brent," she greeted friendly and once she spotted me behind my father, she walked towards me with open arms. "Oh wow, hello handsome." I couldn't stop myself from smiling at her comment as I opened my arms to embrace her in a hug. "You're all grown up, Miles."

Although her son and I weren't on good terms, I always had a soft spot for his mother. "You're not looking bad yourself," I teased, adjusting my sweater. She laughed out loud before she put her right hand on top of her mouth to silence herself and looked behind to check whether she woke up Mr. Redley.