Hearts Are True

Chapter 2: Thank You

I looked up at him, he stared into my eyes with his mouth hanging open a little. “Hi…” He said with a little quiver in his voice. “Hey,” I replied. He walked over to the table and set the Gauze pads and Peroxide down. He looked at my arm, “What happened to you?” I looked at the wound, “I slipped on a patch of ice and fell on a jagged rock.” I said.

“Damn, it looks like it hurts.” He said crossing his arms and shaking his head. Ian came into the dining room, “Alright, let’s take a look at that arm.” He pulled up a chair. He held out his hand to take my arm. He grabbed it gently and pulled it closer to him. “Alright, it doesn’t look broken and it doesn’t seem like you’ll need stitches.” He said. He knows a whole lot about medical situations, “How do you know all of this?” I asked.

He looked at me, “Our mom is a nurse. She teaches us these sorts of things on a weekly basis.” I nodded my head. Ian began to patch me up, first, he began with the peroxide (which hurt like hell), second, he grabbed a couple of gauze pads and placed it on my arm, and lastly, he wrapped it with some bandages to keep it in place.

“That should do it,” Ian said, finishing up. I looked at my bandaged, “Thanks.” He nodded his head and smiled, “Of course. It’s my pleasure to help.” Caden stepped forward., “You’re the new kid in town, where are you from?” He asked. I’m from Las Vegas.” I said.

Caden shook his head in shock, “Jesus, what are you doing out here?” I laughed, “My mom and dad got a new job. I didn’t exactly want to come here. I had to” Ian leaned back in his chair, “When did you move here?” He asked. I paused for a minute, thinking how long ago it had been, “I think it was about three and a half weeks ago.” Caden pulled up a chair, “How are you liking it in New Jersey?” I chuckled a little, “It's.. different. I lived in a desert. I’m not used to seeing so many trees and having to deal with snow on the ground.”

Caden and Ian laughed a little, “That is true. The winter’s here are long and brutal, but the summer almost makes it seem worse. Hot sunny and humid day, plus the rain. The list goes on and on.” Ian said. I smiled, “I remember in Las Vegas, we have very hot dry summers. Some days it would reach 110 degrees outside. On those days, I would always go to Daniel’s house. He had a pool and it was just a day of fun.”

“Daniel? Who’s he?” Caden asked. “Daniel is my best friend. He and I go back to the 6th grade. I met him on the first day of 6th grade when I was being bullied by a group of kids.” Caden leaned in, “It sounds like he taught you a lot and is a really great guy to be around.” I nodded my head with a bright smile on my face, “Yeah, he taught me lots of stuff. One of the things I’ll always remember him for was him being there for me the day my grandmother passed away.”

Ian raised his eyebrows, “Wow, I’m sorry to hear that. What was the most important one?” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Well, you say he taught you a lot of ‘stuff’, so I’m curious as to what the most important one is to you.” He said.

I leaned back in my chair and thought for a minute. Daniel has taught me a lot of things like, “how to say goodbye” or “how to be strong during tough times”. I spent a good few minutes thinking before looking up at both of them, “I think the most important thing he taught me was, ‘How to be strong during tough times.’” 

Caden tilted his head, kinda like a dog, “Why do you say that.” I looked at him, “We’ll a little over a year ago. There was a terrible accident at our Middle school that put him in a coma. I did everything I could to keep it together and to be strong for our group of friends.” I said. “What happened?” Ian asked. I looked at him, then the floor, “I- I don’t really want to talk about it.” I said choking up.

Ian and Caden both scootched their chairs forward before placing a hand on my shoulders. “We understand,” Ian said. “Yeah, you don’t need to talk about it if it still gets to you that badly,” Caden added.