Standing In Shadows - 8. Chapter 8

SIS 8

The next morning I woke up to the early morning heat. The humid air caused me to sweat and I peeled myself off the air mattress. I was alone in the tent and when I emerged I saw that Greg had already cleaned the campsite. The fire had been lost to the storm last night and was a pile of soaked ash on the ground.

I was about to say something to Greg, when I noticed that he was on his cell and when he saw me, he held up his finger and started walking away. Last night had ended strangely, with the storm and then the kiss. I didn’t expect him to kiss me and I didn’t expect to like it. Now thinking about it, it made me nervous. It was something that just wasn’t talked about around here, nothing that really happened that I was aware of and definitely something that Dad wouldn’t accept.

“What’s wrong?” Greg asked, surprising me. His phone was in his hand, flipped shut. I forced a smile, shrugging my shoulders.

“Who was on the phone?” I asked, not wanting to tell him what I was thinking.

“Oh the unlucky groom,” Greg responded, not returning the smirk that crossed my face. I knew he was lying then, but I didn’t want to push it. If he didn’t want to tell me who it was, then I wasn’t going to force him to tell me. It would be something Dad did to me and it always annoyed the hell out of me.

“Is he wanting to bail on Sara?” I asked as he stepped around me and started pulling the air mattress out of the tent. Being bigger than the tent’s entrance Greg nearly tore the tent down, but he finally gave up and hit the air release valve.

“No,” Greg answered looking down as the mattress slowly deflated. When it had lost enough air for him to bend the sides, he pulled the mattress out and started folding it.

“Is something else wrong?” I asked, noticing he started working faster when I took a step towards him to help him shove the mattress back in the carrying case.

“No,” he answered glancing in my direction. He was sweaty from the effort, but he wasn’t making any progress so I turned around and started taking down the tent.

After Greg shoved everything into the back of his jeep we left the lake. Unlike the trip here, we didn’t speak. He turned up the music loud enough to stop any attempt I would make at conversation. Last night suddenly felt like a mistake, but I wasn’t the one that pushed or kissed him. It was him.

Reaching over I held my finger down on the volume button until the music died in the jeep. He looked at me, but when I removed my finger he didn’t turn the music back up. He did slide on a pair of sunglasses, but the morning was bright already. So I didn’t think this was just another way for him to back out of any conversation I would start, right now though I wasn’t brave enough to ask him what was on my mind. Mostly because I knew that what happened last night was the reason Greg was ignoring me this morning.

“I won’t tell anyone about what happened,” I said and he pulled to the side of the road.

“That would be a good thing,” Greg answered, “and I’m sorry I kissed you, it won’t happen again.”

“Yeah,” I said, wanting nothing more for him to start driving again. I sat back in my seat, looking straight ahead at the curve of the road. “Probably better that it doesn’t.”

“Yeah,” he responded then pulled back onto the road, the tires screaming on the asphalt. I turned the music back on this time and waited for the trip to be over.

When he dropped me off at home he didn’t stay. As soon as I closed the door he started backing out of the driveway. Luckily though, Dad wasn’t home. He was probably meeting his old teammates again today. He had a lot of time to kill in the summer. Now that I was free of the store, I had done nothing but make mistakes. Part of me wanted to walk next door to the store and beg Mom for my job back. That would just end in a lecture though and questions and I knew I couldn’t answer any.

Inside I noticed a note hanging on the phone. The untidy print told me that Jenny had called, worried about me. Dad had written the note and had probably talked to Jenny about me again. Rolling my eyes I ripped the taped note from the phone and noticed writing on the back as well. She had invited me to a flag football game this afternoon, if I could fit it into my schedule.

Tossing the note in the trash I stepped into the bathroom wanting nothing more than a shower, hoping it would make me feel better. I was still wearing Greg’s shorts, frowning I pulled them off and turned on the hot water. The water was almost hot enough to burn my skin as I started washing my hair. I could smell the sweat from last night mixing with my soap, another reminder of what happened last night. It made me realize that I still didn’t know anything about Greg. I didn’t know why he acted the way he did or what drove him to kiss me last night. Maybe it was the storm and how pathetically scared I was. I had always been afraid of storms though and being in a flimsy tent didn’t help. He had also been the one to kiss me and it made my skin tingle remembering the light kisses he placed on the back of my neck. It had made me forget about the storm last night.

“Get your ass out of the shower,” Dad bellowed banging on the door. It caused me to jump. I turned the water off and quickly dried myself. He was waiting for me on the other side of the door, beer in hand.

“Good mornin,” I said as he stepped back and let me enter the narrow hallway.

“Good afternoon,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You’re going to be late for flag football.”

“I’m not going,” I answered and I heard the beer can crunch as his fist closed around it. Luckily it was nearly empty.

“Yes you are,” he said, “you’re going to stop hanging out with that Greg kid and pay more attention to other friends.”

“You mean Jen,” I said, knowing I shouldn’t make him mad, but I didn’t want to face Jenny, or anyone else that would be playing.

“Yes I mean Jen and you’re going,” Dad countered, “or you can mow the lawn then get your ass to work, you’re not going to be sitting around all summer.”

“Fine I’ll mow the lawn then go in to work,” I argued and I saw his eyes narrow as he grabbed my arm with one hand and pushed me into my room.

“Get your clothes on, I'm driving you,” Dad said as he slammed my door shut behind him. I heard him walk away wearing his heavy boots. I looked at my arm, surprised that there weren't any red marks or future bruises. It had hurt when he grabbed me just below the elbow, even if my arms were well toned, he was still able to get a good grip. Knowing that I shouldn’t keep him waiting I dressed quickly and grabbed a football.

“Fine, I’ll go,” I said as I jogged into the living room. He had opened another can of beer and was waiting by the door. “I’ll drive myself.”

“Good,” he said smiling as he walked past me to sit in front of the television. “I’ll know if you skip out on football too.”

“I know,” I said as I closed the front door and walked down the steps to my car.

The football field was open to flag football tournaments and games all summer. It was mostly neglected though as no one really wanted to play football in the heat of the day when it was open. Today was a hot day too, no clouds to cover the sun even for brief moments. The next day after a storm was always the most humid as well.

When I arrived it didn’t take long for me to reconsider skipping. My eyes darted right to a green jeep. I wanted to avoid Greg after his reaction to me this morning. It was strange that he was here, but if Jenny planned this game then it was likely that he had to come. She also invited Cj, his new black truck took up two parking spaces, not wanting anyone to park around him.

Pretty much everyone from the baseball game Greg’s first night in town was on the football field. They were in small groups talking and trying to decide on teams when I stepped onto the field. I forced a smile when Jenny noticed me, she was the only one to look up and see me approaching. She was wearing a pair of shorts that barely covered her ass and a bikini top, that at least covered her better than the green one she had on yesterday.

“You actually came,” she said looking me over.

“You pretty much guaranteed that when you told Dad about it,” I answered and she smiled, looping her arm in mine.

“It was your dad’s idea,” she answered and I rolled my eyes. She led me to where everyone was standing and let go when people started looking at the two of us.

“High school lovers back on?” Aaron asked, tossing a football into the air and catching it.

“Shut up Aaron,” Jenny answered glancing up at me. “Let’s divide teams, Sara are you and Amy going to play?”

Not knowing an Amy, I scanned the crowd of familiar faces and landed on a petite brunette. She was nearly laying on Greg, who had his arm wrapped around her waist. I could tell from a few feet away that her boobs were fake and she had a deep tan already, probably from a few visits to a tanning bed. Greg looked away when our eyes met. I watched him kiss her as she and Sara walked to the sideline, neither of them wanting to play.

“Well the teams are uneven so someone is getting an extra girl,” Aaron said as he finished counting heads.

“Or quarterback can go back across town,” Clinton said, smirking as he looked over at Cj.

“At least there’s no river to fall into, right Corey?” Cj asked and I took a step towards them, only to be stopped by Jenny grabbing my elbow. Her small soft hand didn’t compare at all with Dad’s rough grip. It had the same effect though.

“Stop being an asshole Cj,” Jenny said, “we’re here to play football.”

“Right, I pick first,” Aaron said, “we’ll let the groom be the other team captain.”

“Alright,” a guy I didn’t know answered and stepped up beside Aaron. They were the same height and I knew Aaron was his brother, but I had never met Sara’s future husband. He, like the rest of the college guys that came with him, wasn’t from around here anymore. Even if Greg used to live here, he didn’t call this place home. He didn’t tell me where he lived now either.

“I pick the quarterback,” Aaron said and I smiled, tossing my spare football to the sideline. It bounced up and almost hit Amy. She glared, but I ignored her and watched as everyone started being picked.

My team had the extra girls, Aaron deciding that the girls were dead weight and we put on the flag harnesses that belonged to the school, used for P.E classes. Sara’s future husband, Brandon got the ball first. I threw the ball, simulating a kick off and the game started. Andrew’s team didn’t score, the extra people on our team made it easier for us to pull the flags from the ball handlers before they got too far down the field.

“I’ll be the person that stands in front of Corey!” Jenny said as she took the ball and lined up in front of me so close that her ass grazed my crotch. Everyone started laughing and she looked around as I took a step back. As soon as she snapped the ball Cj pushed her out of the way so I had to run. I saw Aaron down field waving his hands for me to pass it to him, so I stopped and threw the ball. It was then I felt two bodies slam into me, knocking me to the ground. All I heard was my right arm pop underneath the weight.

“Get the fuck off me!” I yelled trying to roll off of my arm, the pain causing my stomach to lurch and my eyes to blur.

“It’s called flag football dumb asses,” Aaron said, not realizing that I had broke my arm. He tried to help me to my feet, but I slapped his hand away.

“I think I heard something pop,” Clinton said, sounding concerned.

“Oh my god,” Jenny said as she knelt down and put my head in her lap. The pain began to throb a few inches above my wrist.

“Dude gets tackled all the time,” Cj said and I saw him standing over me smiling, “and he breaks his arm playing flag football.”

“Yeah flag football,” Greg growled shoving Cj back, “you did this to be an asshole.”

“Hey, I didn’t mean to break the dude’s arm,” Cj countered, “come on Clint we’re getting a burger.”

“Shouldn’t someone take him...”

“Let them worry about it,” Cj interrupted and Clinton stood, brushing himself off he didn’t look back as he followed Cj off the field.

“I’ll take him to the hospital come on Corey,” Jenny said as she gently laid my head back on the grass. They carefully helped me to my feet and I held my arm gently against my chest trying not to vomit. I didn’t argue as Jenny buckled my seat belt, but I was surprised when Greg handed Amy the keys to his jeep and got into the back seat.

“Don’t bother,” I whispered looking at him through the rear view mirror.

“Who else is going to take you?” Jenny answered and I looked at her.

“I wasn’t talking to you Jen,” I answered, trying not to grind my teeth. She smiled then slowly backed out of the gravel parking lot and turned towards the business part of town. She took me through the small hospital’s emergency room. No one was in the waiting room, the nurse at the receptionist’s desk slid open the small glass window.

“He might have a broken arm,” Jenny explained, “football accident.”

“Riley C. Wells, right?” The receptionist asked, looking at me.

“Yeah,” I answered, not surprised she knew my name. Mom used to work here on weekends before she took over the store. Her job here and as a kindergarten teacher through the week paid well and we lived only a half mile away, in a two story house right across the street from Cj. It was considered the best part of town, with the richest, most influential people living there. Now I lived on the other side of the county, barely within the school district. On the edge of everything.

“We will call you back in a minute,” the receptionist said, then she slid the glass closed.

“Jenny could you go call my mom?” I asked, “you still have the store’s number right?”

“Yeah,” she said, giving me another smile, but she glanced at Greg, who sat down beside me. “Do you want anything before I go, a cup of ice or water?”

“I’ll get it, if he needs it,” Greg offered and I smiled up at Jenny, nodding towards the sliding doors.

“Please make sure it’s Mom on the line,” I said as she started walking away. “Not Dad, let Mom tell him.”

“Ok,” Jenny said, looking amused by my apprehension to have Dad knowing first. I know I wouldn’t be able to hide a broken arm from him, but Mom would at least try to calm him down before he got here. Hopefully by then he wouldn’t blow up and cause an embarrassing scene in the waiting room.

“Why did you come?” I asked turning to Greg, thankful that the waiting room was quiet. The throbbing in my arm was getting worse and it had started to swell.

“To see if you needed any help,” Greg answered looking down at his cell. He was playing with it, flipping it open and closing it back.

“Amy your girlfriend?” I asked, feeling my face getting hot. I didn’t want to have this conversation with him, not really. But he was sitting here beside me and I wanted a distraction, even if it was an unwelcome one.

“We’re getting married in the beginning of August,” Greg answered, still not looking at me.

“So why pay any attention to me?” I asked looking around to make sure we were still alone.

“I don’t know, you just looked lost,” he answered.

“So you, what?” I said, wanting him to look at me. “Decide to take pity on the pathetic kid?”

“I don’t know,” Greg answered sliding down in the uncomfortable plastic chair.

“You don’t know much of anything,” I hissed standing, I walked back over to the sliding glass. The receptionist was on the phone, she held up a finger and turned her back to me.

“Just calm down,” Greg said as I leaned against the wall on the other side of the waiting room. The brick walls were cold and felt good when the cool feeling seeped through the thin cotton shirt. I was about to answer him, but the doors slid open and Jenny walked back inside. She looked at me, then glanced at Greg before she walked over to stand beside me.

“Your Mom is really upset,” Jenny said, “but she is on her way.”

“Thanks Jen,” I said and put my good arm around her shoulders. She nestled in closer to my side smiling.

“Do you need anything?” She asked leaning over to look at my arm. I still had it laying against my chest. The longer we stood in the waiting room, the more painful it got.

“Yeah a damn good pain pill,” I answered expecting her to laugh, but she shrugged off my arm and pecked on the glass. The receptionist started to hold her finger up again, but Jenny slid the glass open anyway.

“What’s taking so long?” She asked, keeping her hand on the glass window to keep the receptionist from closing it.

“Jen,” I said, but she held her finger up at me, not turning to face me.

“There’s no one else here and he’s in pain, hello, a broken arm,” she said and the receptionist put the phone to her chest.

“I’m sorry, but we’re waiting on the Radiologist,” she said, “but if he is in pain we’ll get a nurse.”

“Thank you,” Jenny said, sliding the glass closed. She smiled at me as she turned and stood beside me again. After Jenny’s scene it didn’t take long for a nurse to walk around the corner searching for me.

“Cory,” she said and I started following her.

“Your friends can come back with you,” she said and I was about to tell them to wait, but they both stood, so I bit my tongue and followed the nurse as she led us down the hallway to an empty room. “Since you are still a minor there is little we can do until your parents get here.”

“I’m sorry,” I offered as I sat down on the bed. Jenny and Greg had to sit together on the small plastic seats that matched the waiting room. It wasn’t a type of hospital that kept patients over night or for any length of time. If anyone needed to stay overnight or longer, they were transported to the larger hospital an hour away.

“It shouldn’t be long,” Jenny said, “his Mom is on her way.”

On cue the door flew open, Mom looked scared and Dad’s face was red. His arms crossed and I saw veins popping up on his forehead. He only got that way when he was ready to start yelling, but he didn’t, his eyes landing on the young nurse trying to take my blood pressure.

“Hi Mom, Dad,” I said and Mom walked over and stood beside me. She patted my shoulder, earning a glance from the nurse.

“Is it just your arm?” Mom asked, looking worried.

“Yeah,” I answered, “I don’t know if it’s broken or not, the radiologist isn’t here yet.”

“Your blood pressure is fine,” the nurse said as she started looking at my eyes with a small flashlight. “You didn’t hit your head or anything?”

“No,” I answered, “we were playing flag football.”

“Ok,” she said, offering me a small smile, “can I see your arm?”

“Yeah,” I said sliding my arm off my chest. She gently placed my hand on her palm, but my hand was a lot larger. She looked at the swelling, gently turning my arm to look at the underside of it.

“I’ll get the doctor to prescribe you something for the pain,” she said, “it looks broken.”

“Thanks,” I offered and Mom replaced her hand with the Nurse’s as the nurse stood and walked out of the room. I was hoping she would leave the door to my room open, but she closed the thick wooden door behind her. It was the time Dad was waiting for, the vein in his forehead hadn’t subsided, and he hadn’t uncrossed his arms.

“Now tell me just how you broke your arm,” Dad hissed ignoring Jenny and Greg completely. “Playing flag football.”

“I fell Dad,” I said, “people fall all the time.”

“But that’s not how...” Jenny started, but I shook my head, pleading for her to be quiet.

“What really happened?” Dad asked, his blue eyes narrowed and wild looking.

“I was tackled and all three of us landed on my arm,” I answered, turning to look down at my lap, waiting for him to explode.

“Just who the hell tackled you?” Dad asked, his voice rising with each word he spoke.

“Honey,” Mom hissed, “what did I say in the car?”

“I’m calm,” Dad argued, not liking that he was scolded by Mom. He did uncross his arms and sit down beside Jenny in the last seat in the room. “Cj and Clinton are going to hear it though.”

“Dad don’t,” I said, but Mom squeezed my shoulder. I knew it wasn’t the time to push him and Dad probably wouldn’t do anything about it, if he was calm and not angry.

“They push your ass into a river, you didn’t do anything about it,” Dad said, “I guess they know they can pick on you now.”

“I’d rather he not fight,” Mom said, “we’ll talk about this later though.”

“I am calling those boys,” Dad said, leaning his head against the wall. “I guess your ass can go back to work now.”

“No,” Mom said, “he just has a broken arm, calm down.”

“Right Cora, a broken arm,” Dad said, “he won’t be able to play half the season now.”

“Oh football,” Mom sighed, shaking her head. “I should have known this was the real problem.”

“I’ll play when I can, Dad,” I said, looking down at my arm. It was starting to bruise where it was swollen. I wanted to smile, thinking this was my ticket out of football hell, at least for a little while.

“And don’t you even begin to think I’m taking it easy on you,” Dad said, “you’ll be my assistant through camp.”

“I know,” I said, the urge to smile leaving completely. The room fell silent after that, everyone looking tense. Jenny never saw Dad act like that and Greg seemed completely out of place in the room. I didn’t want him here anyway, but Dad didn’t seem to mind him being here or he didn’t pay any attention.

Then a quick knock echoed through the small room before a young doctor stepped through it. He glanced at the nurse report, then handed me a small plastic cup with two pills. Then a second one with some water.

“This will ease the pain,” he said, “follow me for the x-ray.”

“Ok,” I said, after taking the pills, I stood and left the room. No one followed me as I was led down the hall again. The doctor left me at the door and when I entered, an old man was already there waiting. He slid out a small stand with a small x.

“Place your arm in the circle right on the x,” he explained, “and keep it there until I say you can move it.”

“Ok,” I said and gently placed my arm where he wanted it. The old gray haired man then walked around a brick wall, turning off the lights. I heard a series of clicking, then he came back in. This time he carefully turned my arm over, told me to hold that position and left again.

“Ok that will do you Corey,” the old man said, “it will be a few minutes to get these developed, you can go back to your room.”

“Alright,” I offered and I walked back down the hallway to my room. The door was shut and when I entered I heard Greg telling Dad about the football program at the college he attended. Greg’s voice seemed strained though, like he was making an effort to actually talk to my Dad, but he didn’t really want to.

“Riley probably would be getting offers before long, or would have,” Dad said, turning to look at me.

“It will be a few minutes,” I said then I walked back to the bed and sat down beside Mom. The pills didn’t have time to start working, but my body had gotten used to the throbbing pain in my arm. I was still nauseated from the pain though.

“Your car is still at the school still?” Dad asked and I nodded.

“Won’t they tow it?” Mom asked, looking at Dad.

“Yeah,” Dad answered, “give me your keys and I’ll drive it home.”

“Ok,” I said, pulling my keys out of my pocket, it took some effort reaching across with my left hand to pull them out of my right front pocket. That didn’t make Dad any calmer, seeing me struggle. He yanked the keys from my grip and left the room, mumbling something as he went.

“I think I should get back too,” Greg said, “care to drive me Jenny?”

“I wanted to wait,” Jenny said, turning to look at Greg.

“There’s not really much going on,” Greg argued, “and it’s getting late.”

“Just stay until the X-rays,” Jenny said, “Amy will understand, won’t she?”

“Fine,” Greg said, sliding back into his chair. I glanced over to Mom and she offered me a smile. I still wanted to tell them to leave, but knew it would just cause trouble.

“Have you been in to see your grandmother Greg?” Mom asked, breaking the uneasy silence in the room.

“Yeah,” he answered smiling, “she’s still as hyper as I remember.”

“Oh yeah, she bakes pies and cakes to sell at the store,” Mom said, “she says it’s her bingo money.” I noticed that Greg smiled, the easy smile that I had come to like over the past few days after meeting him.

“That sounds like her,” Greg offered as the door opened. The doctor walked in with my film and he turned off the light and walked over to a small white board. He flipped on a small light that illuminated the board and placed my x-rays over it. It didn’t take long at all to see the break in my arm.

“As you can see it’s a pretty substantial break,” the doctor said, “but a clean one, no fragments or anything like that.”

“That’s good at least,” Mom said grimacing at the x-ray. My arm was broken a few inches above the wrist.

“The Radius is completely broken, but I can only make out a fracture of the Ulna, that’s the larger bone, so that’s good,” The doctor said, turning to look at me. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but the broken bone looked bad. I was glad Dad wasn’t here to see the damage for himself. I could easily imagine another fit of anger and threats on Cj and Clinton for what they did. “Now the only question is, what color cast do you want?”

“Oh pick Green,” Jenny said as she was standing beside me looking at the same x-rays that I was.

“Why?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Because I like that color on you,” Jenny answered and Mom laughed.

“Green it is then,” I said and the doctor left the room again. He wasn’t gone long, getting the casting material. First he measured my arm, then fit a soft padded loose fitting glove over my arm. Then he softened the cast.

“Now the cement mold is activated by water, so once this hardens you cannot get it wet again,” he said as he started placing the green strips around my arm.

After he finished a nurse entered carrying a small bottle of pills in a bag. He told me I should take one every twelve hours, that they would probably make me sleepy. I nodded every time he asked me if I understood. I wanted to get out of the room and back home.

“Do you have any questions?” The nurse asked as the room fell silent.

“No,” I said looking over at Mom to see if she had any.

“Ok then you’re free to leave,” the doctor said and he held the thick wooden door open for us to leave.

“I’ll come by tomorrow and see you Corey,” Jenny said as the automatic sliding doors opened and we were back outside. It had taken longer than I expected, the heat of the day was still in the air, but the sun had set. It was going to be a warm summer night.

“Ok,” I offered faking a smile as she waved and led Greg back to her car. He didn’t wave or say anything as he followed her. Mom put her hand on my back and I realized I had stopped walking and was watching them leave. I let her lead me to the car and she helped me fasten my seat belt. I didn’t like being looked after, but my arm was still hurting. It would take awhile for the cast to stabilize my arm to where it wouldn’t ache.

“Is something bothering you?” Mom asked as she looked around to make sure the road was clear before she eased out onto the road.

“No,” I answered, looking straight ahead at the headlights illuminating the road.

“Something happen between you and Greg?” Mom asked, ignoring my answer. She knew there was something wrong. I guess every Mother did.

“No, why?” I said, trying to throw her off with my own question. This tactic always worked on Mom or she dropped it and waited until I told her on my own. She was used to me doing that; but I would never confide in her over what happened. This was something that I planned to keep to myself forever and move on. It would be easier once Greg is gone, no matter how I felt about him.

“He just seemed strangely distant,” Mom said, “or is he usually shy?”

“I guess Dad freaked him out,” I said, “I think he freaked Jenny out a little too.”

“That Wells temper,” Mom sighed, smiling, “glad you took after me I don’t know if I could handle two hot-headed men.”

“Yeah,” I said, leaning my head back on the car seat. I wanted to forget the past two days, but knew I wouldn’t, made worse by a bulky reminder on my arm.