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- 10/21/2019
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
The Boot - Three Years On - 9. Chapter 9
Some say that Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day and at 4:30pm this Friday the thirteenth was no exception. Kate was in the kitchen preparing the evening meal when she heard a key in the front door, she knew it could only be either one of two people but she wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
Danny had run the length of the front path and quickly unlocked the door letting himself in, then with force pushed the door open knocking the hall table and caused a glass vase full of flowers to fall crashing to the floor. He didn’t hear it smash as he ran up the stairs to his room, slamming the door shut he threw himself on the bed crying, getting his blood on the quilt and pillow.
The commotion caused Kate to rush into the hall, seeing the front door swinging on its hinges she went to close it being careful not to step on any of the broken glass that was scattered on the floor. She looked up the stairs and heard Danny’s bedroom door bang as it slammed shut. Worried she returned to the kitchen to check on her food preparations before going to check on Danny.
As she was about to knock on Danny’s bedroom door she heard crying come from inside, stopping for a moment and to make sure that she was calm she listened. The next sounds worried her even more, the sound of a zip opening, drawers opening and closing, followed by the muffled sound of things being packed. This not only worried Kate, it upset her, she thought that Danny was happy and now realised that she was wrong. Kate had only been stood there for a couple of minutes when she heard another key in the front door followed by the scraping of glass as the door opened.
“What the hell.” Kate could hear Steve’s voice, “Kate where are you, what’s happened?”
Two steps and Kate was at the top of the stairs. “Steve I’m up here, it’s Danny, I don’t know what’s happened but he’s come home upset. He must have done that as he rushed in, now he’s in his room crying and by the sound of things he’s packing. I think he’s going to run away.” Kate was clearly upset, and it wasn’t about the vase.
Steve bound upstairs and was startled as Danny came running out of his room and tried to run past them. Steve wrapped his arms around Danny and turned him away from the stairs. Kate saw Danny’s face, then the blood on his bed and screamed.
“Let me go I’m not staying. I have to go. I can’t stay.” Danny was becoming hysterical and wriggling to get free, but the more he struggled the tighter Steve held him. “Let me go you’re hurting me, LET ME GO!” Steve noticed the blood on his jacket and let go as Danny tried to run but crumpled to the floor sobbing.
Kate knelt at Danny’s side and quietly spoke to the boy, “Danny, Danny, what happened?”
Danny didn’t answer he just lay there on the floor, clutching his chest sobbing.
Guiltily, as he thought he’d hurt Danny, Steve knelt next to Kate. “Danny, Danny, son I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you. Please tell us what happened, who did this to you?”
Slowly Danny looked up, somewhere in the back of his mind he knew they cared, but he was hurt and angry. Through his tears he spat out, “Don’t call me son, I’m not your son. You don’t care about me, I’m just some loser that you fostered and get paid for it. I bet they pay you loads to put up with me, don’t they, DON’T THEY?” Exhausted and in pain Danny leant against the wall and looked at them squarely in the eye. He expected to see anger and disgust at the way he had behaved. Instead what he saw surprised him and on some level made him feel good. Lowering his gaze he stifled his crying and quietly said, “I’m sorry, I hurt and I’m in agony here, I didn’t mean it. I’ll pay for whatever it was I’ve broken and for the bedding, I’ll clean it all up too.” As he tried to get up the pain was too much and he fell back to the floor.
Through her tears Kate told Danny, “No you don’t have to clean anything up I’ll do it, besides you’re in no fit state to do it let alone run away and leave us.” Getting up she went to the bathroom to get cleaned up before setting about the task of cleaning up their home.
Holding back his own tears Steve asked, “Do you really believe what you said, that we don’t care?”
“No, no I don’t, I know that both of you do care. You’re the first people who have ever cared for me.” Danny threw himself into Steve’s arms and cried some more.
“Okay now let’s get you cleaned up and have a closer look at your injuries. You can tell us what happened later, and I promise I won’t call you son again if it upsets you that much.”
Quietly and guiltily Danny answered, “It’s okay.”
******
After a few complications which caused him to stay in hospital for nearly four weeks The Major was eager to leave. Kevin and Ian were frustrated, they had prepared the spare room in their apartment for The Major to come and live with them, not that much preparation was needed, it had been ready for a long time now.
“Come on Pop you know we want you to so come and stay with us, the Doctor told you days ago you could be out of here if you do. Please, it would make us happy and you know it would.” Ian was almost pleading.
“You know I won’t be a burden on anyone, least of all you boys. I know that you’ve done a lot for me while I’ve been in here but I will not be a burden on you or anyone, you know I like my independence.”
Kevin Stood up, his chair clattering on the floor as it fell. There was a look of anger and desperation, as the tears streamed down his face he shocked Ian and The Major. “You stubborn old bastard that room has been ready for you and has been yours for nearly three years now, don’t you get it we’re not asking because we feel that we have any obligation to, it’s because we care, we more than care you old fool, you’re our Pop and we love you we don’t want you to go back on the streets. We don’t want you to die in the gutter somewhere on your own, we want you to come home with us and you will still have your independence.”
Followed by a diminutive Ward Sister Christian witnessed Kevin’s outburst as he walked down the medical ward. “Hey what’s going on here? Everyone is looking.”
“I don’t care if everyone is looking, it’s him he’s being a stubborn bastard as usual and won’t listen.” Kevin was getting really flustered and angry.
Christian was pushed aside and the small lady who had pushed him seemed to grow in stature as she boomed at The Major. “After all the time that I’ve spent coming to talk with you I thought that we had an understanding and now I find that it’s all been a waste of time, is nothing going to get through that thick skull of yours?”
As she stopped to draw breath The Major tried to speak. “But….”
“Major Alexander Byron Oxley don’t you dare try to interrupt me. It’s gone beyond time that you listened to us, now it’s about time that you started to take notice of what you say yourself. I know how much you care about these boys and how much they care about you, so do what you know you should do and go home with them, you know that you really want to so do it, because so help me if you don’t I’ll put you back in A&E with injuries that you have never even heard of!”
“Aunt Judy you can’t speak to a patient like that, you’ll get into trouble.” Christian was shocked at the outburst in an open ward.
“You can let me worry about that, after all I am a Ward Sister you know and I have reputation to live up to.”
“She’s your Aunt!” The Major appeared surprised, as did the lads.
Entering the fray before anyone could speak, “No she’s my mother actually.” It was Doctor Gary Evans. “John, sorry, Christian is my best friend and has called her Aunty since we were in school together.”
“I’ll bet he’s been too scared not to.” The Major was laughing, then looking into the eyes of the rather stern looking ward sister, “You know when you drop the stern attitude you’re quite an attractive lady, I think even I could go for you.”
Flushed and a little embarrassed Judy turned to leave saying, “You old charmer, now get dressed while I go and get the paperwork ready for the doctor to discharge you, you're going home with the boys like it or not.”
“I expect a medium rare rib eye steak, chips, peas and garlic mushrooms for tea you know and don’t forget the wine.” The major winked at Christian as he said it.
A relieved and smiling Kevin replied, “I’ll cook you all the steak you want.”
Then in unison with Ian, Christian and Gary, Kevin said, “But NO alcohol!”
“I know, I’m just teasing, juice will be just fine.”
Forty five minutes later Christian was driving Major Alexander Byron Oxley, Kevin and Ian home. Unknown to them as they pulled out of the exit, Kate drove up to A&E with Steve and Danny on the back seat.
******
Kate got on with cleaning up the house first she tackled Danny’s bedroom, she didn’t want him to have to face the mess that was in there. Next she cleaned up the broken vase in the hall. It was no big loss, it had been given to her by an elderly relative that she had no real connection with or feelings for. Just as she was finishing Steve called from upstairs.
“Kate can you get the car ready please, our boy needs to be checked out at the hospital.” Even though he tried to sound upbeat, the concern in his voice was evident. Danny’s right eye was swelling up and a bruise was forming, along with a bloodied and broken nose he had temporarily lost his youthful good looks. Even more concerning was the bruising that was forming on his arms, stomach and chest and he appeared to be struggling to breath.
Without question Kate brought the car as close to the front door as possible and soon found herself driving to A&E, Steve held on to Danny on the back seat while talking to Danny’s Social Worker on his mobile phone.
Ending the call Steve declared, “She’s going to meet us at the hospital.”
After arriving at A&E Steve booked Danny in and they were waiting for the triage nurse in a curtained cubicle when Kate came in, accompanied by the social worker who she had met in the carpark. Naturally the social worker needed to speak to Danny on his own to check how he was and to get reassurance that this was a school incident. Reassured she called Kate and Steve back in and let them take the lead with Danny and his treatment.
“Steve I don’t want to go back there, can I go to a different school or stay at home?” It was obvious to everyone that Danny was upset and not just because of the pain.
“We have to go to speak to The Headmaster first, once we’ve done that you don’t have to go back, I promise, nobody is going to hurt my boy.”
“Thanks Dad.” Danny clung onto Steve as though his life depended on it.
Kate and the social worker looked at them, then each other, none of the adults missed Danny’s slip and they all had moist eyes.
I hope you are all still with me and enjoying the story, if you are let me know I'd love to hear from you. All comments are read and appreciated.
I'm writing this without the aid of a beta reader or editor as that is how I've chosen to do it so any mistakes are all mine, if you spot any let me know and I'll try to put them right as soon as I can.
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
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