Like Father Like Son

Another Fight

Well, my day off was amazing, but now it's time to go back to school. I made sure to wear a hoodie over my shirt today to hide my tattoo. It wasn't that I was embarrassed or not proud, but it was still healing and I didn't want everyone making a big deal of it. The piercing would be harder to hide, but I didn't mind everyone seeing it.

Dad decided to drive me to school before heading to the studio. I still brought my skateboard to ride after school.
"See you later" dad said as I got out of the car.
"See ya dad. Thanks for the ride" I closed the door and watched him drive off before entering the school. Daisy ran over to me as soon as I entered the building.
"Where were you yesterday? I missed you" she whined.
"David didn't keep you busy?" I teased.
"Shut up. So what happened?" She asked. She gasped when she noticed my eyebrow. "You skipped school for that? Looks good"
Not just that. I spent some time at the studio with the band. I also got this" I smiled as I lifted my sleeve, revealing my wrist.
"Parker! Your first tattoo!" Daizy squealed. I shushed her.
"I don't want the whole school knowing" I explained. Daisy apologized and kept staring at my wrist.
"It looks really good" she whispered. I dropped my sleeve and thanked her.
"It's still healing. It will look better once it's all healed up" I said. The bell rang so Daisy and I parted ways and headed to class.

The first half of my day went by smoothly. A couple of kids pointed out my piercing, but most of them were nice about it. Once lunch came around I went to the cafeteria to look for Daisy. She was sitting with David and a group of girls.
"Parker! Come here!" Daisy waved me down so I walked over to their table. I took a seat between Daisy and one of her friends.
"Heard you got some new ink" David said. I rolled my eyes. I loved Daisy, but she wasn't great at keeping secrets.
"Yup" I said as I looked around the cafeteria, avoiding eye contact with him.
"Show everyone Park. Please, it looks so good" Daisy pleaded. I sighed. Only for her. I slowly raised up my sleeve and held my wrist out.
"Kinda small" complained one girl.
"It's my first. I plan on getting bigger ones" I snapped.
"No need to get upset man" Daisy said. She had a point so I took a second to calm down.
"Sorry Daze" I said calmly.
"So, get anything else cool?" Daisy asked.
"My own guitar" I said proudly. Daisy knew I always wanted one of my own.
"Really? You should bring it one day and play for us" David said with a smirk.
"I said at the party I don't play for others. That was a one time thing" I growled.
"You play? Are you good?" The girl next to me asked.
"He's the best" Daisy said. "You really should play, I bet Cody would love it" she had to bring up Cody again.
"I'll think about it" I mumbled. I stayed quiet the rest of lunch, no longer in a good mood.

The rest of the day went okay, but my mood didn't get better. School finally got out and I couldn't wait to get to the studio. Music would bring my mood up. I left the school and jumped onto my board to head out. I was only a few feet away from the schoolyard before a group of boys stopped me. The one in the middle looked familiar.
"Hey man, remember me?" He asked as he put his first together.
"Uh, no. Sorry" I tried skating past them but one of his friends knocked me off my board.
"Really? You got me suspended" the boy growled. Now I remember, that small fight a few weeks ago.
"I got suspended too. Aren't we even?" I asked, still on the ground.
"Nope, not until I get what I want" he said. He nodded towards his friend who picked up my board and snapped it in half.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I screamed. I tried jumping up to my feet but his friend kicked my side, dropping me back down.
"You gonna let me meet your dad? Or at least give me tickets to a show?" He asked.
"He'd never want to meet you" I growled, resulting in another kick to my ribs.
"Don't be stupid man" he said as his friends circled me.
"You're the one being stupid" I spit. I got a kick to the face before a pair of arms stood me up.
"Gonna fight back?" He asked as he got in my face. One of his friends stood behind me, holding my arms back
"Gonna let me go?" I asked, blood now coming out of my mouth. I got a punch to the stomach, making me fall to my knees.
"Come on, get up" he taunted. I growled and stood up, only to be punched again.
"Fuck" I spit, getting blood on the kid's pants. He got madder and picked up half my skateboard and smashed it into my head. I fell over completely and closed my eyes.
"I think he's had enough, let's go" I heard them all walk off.

I collected my strength and used all my energy just to stand up. I looked for my bag, which was kicked a few feet away. I stumbled towards in as I reached into my pocket for my phone. Great, it broke from me falling onto it. I sighed and slowly bent down to pick up my bag. It hurt, but I managed. I didn't even bother grabbing the board, I just dragged myself down the street towards the studio.

My bag weighed me down a bit, and dragging myself made the walk longer. I was sure dad was getting worried. I had to stay strong for him. I was surprised no car passing me stopped to see if I was okay. They probably saw me as some punk kid in a gang or something. Every once in a while I would stop walking, but I knew had to keep going. I would just take a deep breath and recollect my strength.

It took about an hour to get to the studio. It usually took only 10 minutes on my board and 20 if I walked. I dragged myself to the doors and stepped inside. I heard voices arguing in the office so I dropped my bag at the door and stumbled over. Barry bumped into my as I went to enter and he went to exit.
"Brent!" He yelled as I collapsed into his arms. Dad came rushing over and I could see the tears in his eyes.
"Parker!" He ran over and grabbed me, holding me close in his arms.
"I'm okay dad" I said weakly, blood still coming out of my mouth.
"No you're not. We are going to the hospital" dad tried helping me stand up but I collapsed again.
"Did he walk here?" I heard Zach asked. At this point I had a hard time keeping my eyes open.
"I don't know. Hey bud, stay with us" dad gently shook me before picking me up.
"I'm okay dad" I slurred. Dad held me tightly in his arms as he carried me outside.
"We are getting you help buddy, just hold on" he said weakly. I could tell he was getting upset.
"Don't cry dad" I said. As soon as we stepped outside, everything went dark. I had finally ran out of energy to stay awake and passed out.