WPFAAT Chapter 19
So, apparently my muse feels guilty for being so absent on the last chapter, because this one flowed easy as pie. Sorry about the semi-abrupt ending...it was going to end before the place it ends but I didn't want to leave a cliff-hanger. Aren't I so nice? :P
The next day at lunch, Bobby scanned the cafeteria for Samantha. He led Kurt and Junior over to her.
“Hey, you mind if we sit?” Bobby asked with a big grin. She smiled back but looked warily at Kurt and Junior. Junior smiled shyly at her.
“Hi.” She said. “I’m Junior.”
“Hey, Samantha.” Kurt grinned at her. They were in all the advanced classes together.
They talked the whole lunch period this time. Bobby had plopped himself down right next to Samantha. Junior and Kurt thought they were being subtle, holding hands under the table, but Samantha burst their bubble by asking,
“Are you guys together?”
They looked at each other; neither wanted to freak the other one out by being too enthusiastic. “Yep.” Kurt finally said firmly, giving Junior’s hand a little squeeze. “We are.” Junior’s answering smile was so big Bobby worried her lips might rip.
“So, Samantha,” Junior finally pulled her gaze away from Kurt to look across the table. “Are you filling out college applications?”
“Yeah, I applied to University of Wyoming and…” She hesitated.
“And?” Bobby prompted.
“Um…I applied to Harvard and some other Ivy Leagues. I mean, I won’t get in,” she added quickly. “I just wanted to see. I didn’t even tell my parents.”
Bobby’s mouth was hanging open. “Wow.” He said quietly. “I knew you were smart, but I didn’t know you were that smart.”
“Oh, I’m not.” Samantha murmured.
“Yeah, she is.” Kurt broke in. “Yeah, you are. She’s got, like, a hundred and twelve percent in calculus.”
Samantha was blushing and muttered something under her breath indistinctly. Bobby caught the words “lucky” and “only a hundred and eight.” He laughed right out loud.
“Sheesh!” He exclaimed. “Harvard’ll snap you up for sure.”
Junior changed the subject, seeing how uncomfortable all the attention was making Samantha. She could definitely sympathize with that emotion. “Hey, Bobby, you should probably pay attention in math today. She said there’s going to be a quiz tomorrow and it’ll be different for each class.”
“Damn!” Bobby griped. “I hate when teachers do that.”
The bell rang and he groaned. He had to go to math now and pay attention. He hated paying attention. Samantha laughed at him and didn’t rush to class the way she had yesterday. She fell into step with him and they were awkwardly quiet. They got the hallway and turned opposite ways.
“Well, see ya.” Samantha said with a shrug.
“Bye, Sam.” Bobby called. She gave him a funny look as she walked off and he wondered if she didn’t want to be called by a boy’s name or something. Maybe girls didn’t appreciate that? But wasn’t “Junior” technically a boy’s name? Junior didn’t care. Bobby shook his head. Girls were just plain confusing.
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Ennis stayed outside doing chores much longer than he would’ve usually, finding menial little tasks that didn’t necessarily need to be done but it wouldn’t hurt to do. Last time Jack was gone, at least Junior’d been home for Christmas break. Now the kids were in school all day and he couldn’t help it-he was lonely. The house had never seemed so big until he was the only one in it. He kept looking at the clock, counting down until he could go pick Bobby and Junior up.
Just when he was going to leave early, figuring sitting in the parking lot in his truck was better than sitting around doing nothing, the phone rang. Please be Jack. He willed. It wasn’t Jack. It was Julie Ann.
“I wanted to know if today was a good day to get my beef.”
“Oh, yeah.” Ennis had sort of forgotten about it. He had her order ready, honest, but he’d forgotten to call her and tell her. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was falling to pieces.
“I can come pick it up between my shifts.” She went on. “But it’ll be like eight and-”
“That’s okay,” Ennis cut her off. “I can bring it over. I’ll bring it over ‘round four. Some of the kids’ll be home, won’t they?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s okay, I can come get it.”
“Julie Ann, you’re busy working and you’ll be tired between shifts. I got nothing to do, okay? It’s fine.”
She sighed. “Thanks, Ennis. Really, a lot. I’ll tell the boys you’re coming so they don’t shoot you with their new squirt guns.”
“Well, I ‘preciate that.” He chuckled, remembering all too well the last time he’d taken something to Julie Ann’s while she wasn’t there-the kids had set the dog on him and were getting the hose ready before they finally realized who it was.
He only had to wait a few minutes at the school for the kids. Kurt kissed Junior again, but this time on the mouth. It wasn’t long or indecent, but Ennis still felt himself bristling. Did he have to do that where tons of people could see? Kurt walked over to the truck with Bobby and Junior, his arm around her waist.
“Hi, Ennis,” he said nervously. He gave Junior a last squeeze but didn’t kiss her again. Even Ennis couldn’t ignore the look that passed between them. It made him look away in embarrassment because he didn’t feel like he should’ve seen it. He didn’t say anything about the kiss or the hug or the look on the way home. He didn’t talk at all, really. He kept thinking of the way Kurt had walked over to the truck-it was ballsy, and Ennis felt begrudging respect. He always had liked Kurt.
“I’m gonna take Julie Ann’s beef over to her house, alright? You guys get going on homework.” It was a responsible parent thing to say, Ennis thought proudly.
Not twenty minutes after he was gone, both had abandoned their homework and were parked in front of the TV.
“This is boring.” Bobby complained.
“Well, what else can we do?”
“Let’s go into town.” Bobby flipped the TV off and stood up. “Come on.”
“How’re we going to get there?” Junior didn’t get up.
“I can drive! Seriously.”
“Um, Bobby? Notice that green thing on your arm? That’s not skin.”
“Ha. And ha. Just because I broke my arm doesn’t make me an invalid. Come on, I can’t stand being stuck in this house for another second.” Bobby was hunting around for his keys.
“How’re you going to shift? You broke your right arm.” Junior got up but had her hands on her hips.
“I’ll just reach my left arm over.”
“Bobby.” Junior somehow sounded warning and incredulous and amused all in one word. “I’ll drive.”
Bobby snorted. “Junior, I’d like to get to town sometime in this century.”
Junior wasn’t offended. She did not drive stick. “Bobby, you can’t drive stick with a broken right arm. Let’s just wait for Ennis to get home.”
“I’m going.” Bobby was being obnoxious and Junior wanted to punch him. She felt edgy for some reason. “You can either come or you can stay here and be bored.”
Junior hesitated. Bobby didn’t. He walked to the door. Buddy was jumping all over him, barking like crazy. Bobby stooped to scratch his ears.
“Sorry, bud, you can’t come.” He looked pointedly at Junior. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah.” Junior resigned. “Guess I’d rather be out of the house when Ennis realizes you drove.”
They were on the endless stretch of road that ran between the house and town. It was a thirty-six mile road. They were about fifteen miles down the road when they saw the stopped car.
“What’s going on here?” Bobby murmured. He was doing a pretty good job of stretching his left arm over and shifting. It helped that that he didn’t need to shift much on this road-not many cars drove here, so he could keep his speed pretty constant.
He pulled over to the side of the road.
“Oh, Bobby, no.” Junior pled. “It’s Jimmy Kent and his dad.”
“Junior, it could be hours before another car comes by, and with our luck it’ll be us, on our way home. We can just stop and see if they need help.” Jack had always taught Bobby to stop for people on this road in particular. And plus, it was cold out here and it’d only be getting colder. He got out of the car and frowned at Junior.
“Stay here, will ya? At least for a second.”
“Alright, whatever.” Junior suddenly wished they’d brought Buddy, although she hated riding in the car with him. He got really excited and he’d jump all over you and climb around. But now her stomach was giving a really weird lurch and she wished other cars would drive by. She rubbed her arms to warm them up.
“Hey there.” Bobby called. Jimmy was bent over, looking at the back left right tire. His dad was still in the car.
“Oh.” Was all Jimmy said when he turned and saw Bobby.
“Having troubles?” Bobby was being downright polite to Jimmy Kent, arguably his worst enemy. His daddy’d be proud for sure.
“Well-”
“Boy!” Jimmy’s dad called out the window. “Hurry the fuck up out there. Gotta get to Lane’s before it closes.”
Lane’s was the only liquor store in town and it closed at five thirty. Bobby got the feeling maybe James Kent didn’t need another trip to Lane’s. Jimmy bit his lip.
“Yes, sir.” He called back. He didn’t meet Bobby’s eyes. “We got a flat. I don’t know how…”
“My damn son’s like a damn girl. Can’t even change a tire.” James Kent gave a great big guffaw. Bobby was really uncomfortable. He was used to hating Jimmy, but it was hard when his daddy was cutting him down so much. He shrugged.
“’S alright. I know how. You’ll have to help me, though, ‘cause I can’t do it one handed.”
“How’d you break your arm, anyway? Fell outta bed?” Jimmy sneered. Bobby glowered.
“I don’t have to help you.” Bobby pointed out. “I could just leave you here on the side of the road with your drunk-ass daddy.”
“You fairies kissing out there?” James Kent chortled.
Jimmy looked away again and muttered something that might’ve been an apology. They got the spare tire from the trunk.
James focused a bleary eye on Bobby. “Hey.” He said stupidly. “You’re that pansy-ass Twist, ain’tcha?”
“Daddy, we’re gonna fix the tire.” Jimmy covered quickly, embarrassed.
“That faggot ain’t helping us. We don’t take help from faggots like Jack Twist.”
“Well, I ain’t Jack Twist.” Bobby said angrily. “I’m Bobby, so you want my help or not?”
“No, you’s Jack Twist. I know it.” He wrenched the door open and almost fell out of the car.
“You can ignore him.” Jimmy muttered, ears red.
“You shut up, boy!” James roared. “I got some words to say to this pissant here.”
“Look, daddy, if we don’t hurry and change the tire you won’t make it to Lane’s in time.”
That gave James pause. He didn’t like the prospect of getting to Lane’s after five thirty. He hadn’t faced many nights in the last eight years sober, and he certainly didn’t plan on starting now. But he was still stinking drunk from earlier that day, so he wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.
“You got a tire iron or something?” Bobby asked Jimmy. Jimmy went over to the passenger side of the car to look. James got out of the car.
“Bobby!” Junior yelled from the car, just as James Kent said,
“Yeah, we got a tire iron for you.”
He’d pulled it from the car and before anyone could do anything, he swung it and hit Bobby somewhere right around his rib cage. Bobby hit the ground immediately, and Kent got several more hits in before Jimmy finally ran back over to them. One of the hits included Bobby’s head.
“Dad, stop!” He bellowed. Junior scrambled to get out of the car, her shaking fingers unable to work the door handle for several seconds. She kept screaming Bobby’s name. Jimmy pulled the tire iron from his father’s hands. James kicked at Bobby’s limp body several times and punched his own son when he tried to intervene. Junior finally got the door open and scooped up a handful of snowy gravel, hurling it as hard as she could. Rocks hit James Kent in the face and showered over his car.
“Get away!” She screamed. “Get away, you bastard!” She didn’t have the best aim, even under normal circumstances, so she wasn’t doing much damage, but she pulled James Kent to his senses. He looked at Bobby, bleeding at his feet.
“Shit.” He muttered, backing up. “Oh, shit. Get in the car, boy.”
“Daddy-”
“Get in the fucking car!” James Kent dragged Jimmy to the car and got in. They sped off, spinning gravel over Bobby, the tire rim poking through the rubbed making an awful sound against the asphalt.
Junior dropped to her knees at Bobby’s side. “Oh God,” she moaned. His face was all bloody and already starting to purple. His mouth was open and some blood was dribbling out. She prayed that he’d just bitten his tongue or something. She didn’t know what to do. Her brain took over. Get him to the car. It commanded. Problem: he was a hundred and sixty-odd pounds of dead weight. The terminology almost made her lose it. She shut that part of her brain off. Couldn’t think of that now. Just get him to the car. She slipped an arm under his armpit and heaved, hoping those stories of mothers pulling cars off their children were true and that she could tap into some of that strength.
His head lolled onto her shoulder, getting blood on her shirt. She weaved a little-she wasn’t great with blood-and forced herself to look away. Somehow, she pulled him to the car. His legs were dangling, dragging in the gravel, and it left scratches all over his legs. He kept moaning. “Sorry, I’m sorry, sorry,” she kept murmuring. She was dangerously near tears but couldn’t stop to let them fall. She heaved him up to the passenger side and ran around to the driver’s door.
Her whole body was trembling. It was a good thing Bobby’d left the keys in the ignition, because she knew she never would’ve been able to steady herself enough to get the key in there. The truck rumbled to life. He cried out as the vibration jarred his broken bones. Junior pressed down on the gas.
And the truck died.
“Fuck!” She screamed. “No!” She got it started it again, only to have it die before she’d even gotten off the shoulder. Bobby coughed and more blood came up.
“God, help me!” Junior didn’t know if she was praying or if she was using His name as a profanity-something her mother severely frowned upon. You break a commandment every time you do that, she used to say with a glare. “I don’t know what to do!”
Junior banged her fist against the steering wheel, starting the car again. Just as she glanced up, she saw another car coming around the bend. She opened the door and threw herself out, screaming herself hoarse and waving her arms. The car slowed.
“Junior?” It was Troy.
“Help me!” She bellowed in his face.
“Wha-what’s wrong?” He asked, eyes widening at the blood on her shirt and the wild look in her eyes.
“Bobby! James Kent-and a tire iron-help me! We have to get him to the hospital!”
Troy got out of the car, just then spotting, through the open driver’s side door, Bobby lying across the seat, bruised and bloody. “Oh, shit.” He raised a hand to his mouth.
“Help me!” It seemed to be the only thing Junior could say. Troy helped her get Bobby into his truck, his hands shaking almost as badly as hers. But he had the presence of mind to turn off Bobby’s truck and bring the keys with them. Junior sat with Bobby’s head cradled in her lap. His breaths sounded watery-bloody, she realized, horrified.
Please don’t let him die, she chanted over and over in her head. She didn’t realize she was saying it out loud until Troy said,
“He won’t die.” But his voice was shaking and his breath was coming in quick spasms. He pressed the gas pedal down harder. They were breaking a hundred now. They made it to the hospital in ten minutes when it should’ve taken almost twenty.
When they brought Bobby in, several nurses rushed to help them. A gurney magically appeared, and the professionals took over. Junior was shaking so hard she was afraid her body was going to break into a million pieces.
“Honey, look at me.” A nurse grabbed her shoulder. “Who is this? Is this your boyfriend?”
“No.” Junior answered, dazed. “He’s my brother.” And then she burst into tears.
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Ennis had hung around with Julie Ann’s boys for a little while, tossing a football around with one of them and just horsing around. They were good boys. The oldest one home was fifteen-his older brothers all had jobs to help support the family. Ennis hated to think of them home alone, though he knew they looked out for each other. When he pulled into the driveway at home, he noticed Bobby’s truck was gone. He shook his head, severely pissed off. That boy. The phone was ringing when he got in the house. Some days were like that-the phone never stopped. Maybe it’d be Jack.
“H’lo?”
“Uh, Mr. del Mar?” It was a semi-familiar teenage boy’s voice.
“Yes, who is this?”
“It’s Troy. You’ve got to come to the hospital, quick.” His voice was shaking.
Ennis’s brain stopped working. “H-hospital?” He choked out.
“Yeah, but not the regular one. The Ten Mile Creek one.”
“Um…” Ennis struggled to breathe. Just then, he heard the rustling of a phone changing hands. Before he heard a voice, he heard body-wracking sobs.
“Are you coming?” Junior asked. “Please, please hurry.” Her voice scared the shit out of Ennis.
“I’m on my way.” He said immediately.
Ennis rushed into the hospital, expecting a bustle of commotion around him, doctors in white coats running around, something. Instead, there was one bored nurse behind the admittance desk and a bunch of uncomfortable plastic chairs. He paused, panic making bile rise in his throat. Suddenly, Junior was hustling over to him, and before he could even ask what had happened, his arms were full of her. She was flat out bawling.
“Junior?” Ennis couldn’t keep the wobble out of his voice.
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.” She sobbed.
“Hey.” Ennis pushed her back, shaking her a little. “You gotta tell me what’s going on, right now.” He sounded harsher than he meant to, because he was looking around and didn’t see Bobby anywhere and Junior was sobbing and his brain was putting two and two together.
“We were driving into town and Bobby stopped to help because they were on the side of the road and they had a flat and then-” She gulped. “It was James Kent. With a tire iron.”
All the blood drained from Ennis’s face. Tire iron. The worst words that could be strung together. He should’ve comforted her some more, or maybe told her it wasn’t her fault, but he kept hearing those words over and over and blood was pounding in his ears. He gave her a last squeeze and then stepped around her, pouncing on the half-asleep admittance nurse.
“Where’s Bobby Twist?” He demanded. She didn’t even look up.
“I’m sorry, that’s confidential information at this time.”
“Hey!” Ennis bellowed from between clenched teeth. “If you don’t tell me where he is I’ll check every goddamn room in this fucking hospital and I won’t be quiet about it.”
“Look, sir, that patient is on immediately family status only, so if you’ll just-”
“I’m his goddamn fucking father!” Ennis growled at her, banging a fist on her counter for emphasis and scattering some fliers about a birthing class. “Tell me what room he’s in!”
“One seventeen.” She said meekly, eyes wide and scared. He didn’t even thank her.
He barged through the door. “Bobby!” His legs went weak. There was his boy, hooked up to a bunch of beeping machines, his face swollen and bruised, his nose unmistakably broken. His eyes were closed and Ennis could hear his breath from clear over in the doorway. He was clearly agitated-his face was screwed up and he kept shifting. Ennis crossed over to the bed, feeling tears rising in his eyes.
“Bobby,” he repeated, softer now, barely more than a whisper. Bobby’s eyelids fluttered open. His eyes were glassy.
“Hurts.” Bobby moaned.
“Oh, Bobby. I’m so sorry, bud, I’m sorry.” He gently took Bobby’s limp hand and kissed it. Bobby stopped rustling around in the bed and for one heart stopping moment Ennis thought he’d up and died. But no, the machine was still beeping steadily and he could still hear Bobby’s wet-sounding breaths.
“Will you…” Bobby had to pause to breathe. “Stay?”
“Of course I will. I’ll stay right here. Okay? I won’t leave. I promise.” Ennis could feel himself babbling and crying. Bobby smiled.
“Thanks.” He murmured. “…Dad.”
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Junior didn’t think she’d ever stop crying. Troy was great-he stayed right there and put his arm around her and everything. He wasn’t doing so great, himself. He wasn’t outright crying, but he definitely had tears in his eyes.
“I’m so glad you were driving past.” Junior said, taking great heaving breaths and trying to staunch her tears.
“Me too.”
“Where were you going?”
“I had a date.” Troy laughed shakily. “I guess I should call her or something…” He twisted in his seat to look at Junior. “So, um, you and the tall kid are, like, together, right? Do you want me to call him?”
Junior couldn’t help herself. She threw her arms around Troy.
“Um…” He said awkwardly. “So is that a yes or a no?”
Kurt was completely white when he got to the hospital. He hated hospitals. Hated them, and he felt like it was for a pretty good reason, too. Junior was mostly under control by now, but she had mascara all over her face. When Kurt walked up, Troy hastily pulled his arm away from Junior. Neither Kurt nor Junior said anything-she just stood up and walked into his arms. He held her tight, burying his face in her hair. They stood like that for several minutes, leaving Troy feeling very awkward. They finally pulled apart and sat down.
“Um, Junior?” Troy ventured, startling the young couple. They’d sort of forgotten him, which Junior felt guilty about. Where would Bobby be if Troy hadn’t come along?
“Sorry.” She said quickly.
“It’s just-I should get going. My mom’s probably going to be freaking out. I left home like four hours ago.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks so much, Troy, seriously.” Junior stood up again and hugged him tightly.
“Could you call me and tell me how Bobby’s doing?” Troy asked.
“Of course.”
She hugged him again and he nodded at Kurt before leaving. Junior sank back into her seat, rubbing at her eyes. They were gritty from crying and she could feel the mascara tracks on her cheeks. Kurt pulled her face close and wiped at them, but it wasn’t working.
“Junior. What happened?”
She told him the whole story, managing not to cry. Kurt was struggling with it, himself. “We need to call the police.” He said firmly. He pulled Junior to the pay phones on the wall. After hanging up, he just kind of looked at her.
“Is it real bad?” He whispered. Junior leaned against him, shutting her eyes for a second. She opened them and nodded slowly.
“I was so scared, Kurt.” Her eyes filled up again and she wanted to scream. She hated crying. “I thought-I thought he was…dead.”
“He’s not.” Kurt said, sounding strangled. “He’s alive and he’s going to be fine.” He said it again, his bottom lip shaking a little.
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Junior ignored the admittance nurse when she tried to tell her not to go into Bobby’s room. She went in anyway, looking back at Kurt once. He shooed her in with his hand. She felt awful leaving him, knowing his problem with hospitals because of Roger.
She couldn’t hold back her gasp when she Bobby. He looked a little better, since they’d cleaned the blood off his face, but something about seeing him lying in the hospital bed, oxygen tube in his nose and IVs in his arm, made him look worse.
Ennis turned when he heard her. He’d been crying and he didn’t try to hide it. He looked better than she did, seeing as how he didn’t have mascara to run when he cried. She stood in the doorway, scared and shaking again. He got up from his chair and wrapped her in his long arms, kissing the top of her head.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” He whispered. “I don’t know what I’d do if you both…” He broke off.
“It’s all my fault.” She whispered back. Neither could raise their voices above a whisper-they didn’t want to disturb Bobby, and it took too much energy.
“It’s not.” He told her, still holding her tight. “It’s not your fault at all.”
“I should’ve made him wait for you to get home.”
Ennis sort of chuckled-it didn’t come out right, sounded all strangled, but it was a chuckle nonetheless. “Good luck ever making him do anything.”
“But I should’ve stalled some more or-”
“He woulda just gone without you. And then what? He’d be on the side of the road, just…” Ennis couldn’t finish the sentence. He’d seen it so many times in his head, with Jack, and he couldn’t bear to voice it.
“I should’ve gotten out of the car sooner.”
“Hey.” Ennis finally pushed away from her, holding her at arm’s length so he could look her in the eye. “You think James Kent woulda left you alone ‘cause you’re a girl? He wouldn’t. And you’d be in the bed next to him.”
Junior hung her head. “I’m so scared.” She hadn’t meant to say it, but she couldn’t stop it from slipping out. He pulled her back in.
“Me too.” He kissed her hair again. “Junior, I…” He paused, hesitated, licked his lips. Glancing at Bobby in that bed made the words easier. “I know I done wrong by you, all them years I didn’t fight harder to see you. And I know it ain’t been easy to live with me, these past few months. But I’m happy you’re here and I’m-I love you, darlin.”
She started crying again, holding onto him almost painfully tight. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a horrible person and I’m sorry I’m getting snot on your shirt.” They both laughed for just a second. “But I, um, I love you too.” She made herself say the last word, the word that was on the tip of her tongue. “Daddy.”
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Jack whistled as he dialed home. He’d signed a pretty big contract and couldn’t wait to tell Ennis. But it rang about a million times. Jack frowned. Where were they? Finally, someone picked up. But it wasn’t Ennis or Junior or Bobby.
“Jack?!”
“Hello?”
“It’s Kurt.”
“Uh, hi, Kurt.” Jack didn’t hide his confusion. Why exactly was Kurt answering the phone at their house?
“Look, I don’t want to freak you out, but you’ve got to come home. Now.”
He wasn’t doing a very good job of not freaking Jack out, truth be told. His voice was scared and higher than usual.
“Kurt, what’s going on?” Jack asked, forcibly calm.
“It’s Bobby.”
Jack’s forced calm flew out the window. “What’s Bobby?” He heard his own voice raise about three octaves and he’d already jumped off the bed and started putting his boots back on.
“There-there was an accident. He’s in the hospital.”
Next thing Kurt knew, he was talking to a dial tone.
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Ennis didn’t want to leave Bobby. He’d promised he’d stay. But he had something important to do. Junior stayed at Bobby’s side, urging Ennis to make the phone call.
“Hello?”
“Uh…”
“Hello?” She sounded annoyed now.
“This is Ennis del Mar.” He choked out.
“Who? Who is this?” Ennis didn’t know if Lureen was playing dumb or if she was genuinely confused. “Oh. Ennis…del Mar. Oh.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Something I can help you with?” She wasn’t impolite, but there was about a thirty foot wall present in her voice.
“I think you-you need to get down here.” Well, that wasn’t what he’d rehearsed in his head.
“Excuse me?”
“Bobby’s real hurt.”
There was a pause.
“What happened?” That was better. She sounded like a human now-ice melting, slightly panicked. “Is it his arm?”
“No…” Ennis forced out a weary chuckle. “Well, I’m sure that don’t feel great. It’s-well, I guess it’s his whole body, really.” When had he become a babbler? “He’s real hurt-he’s in the hospital-right now he’s not even conscious.”
“Oh my God.” She gulped. “Okay. Alright, yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Yes, okay. I’m coming.” She hung up on him.
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After talking to Jack on the phone, Kurt went back to the hospital. It was almost ten. Junior was back out in the waiting room, waiting for him. She was sagging, half dead in her chair.
“Junior, maybe I should get you home.” Kurt suggested as he pulled her against his chest. She shook her head.
“Can’t leave.” She murmured.
“Junior, you’re dead on your feet.”
“I’m fine.” She argued. Kurt sighed. He stood up, pulling her with him. She was so exhausted she could hardly stand without his help. At some point she’d gone to the bathroom and washed the make up off her face. The combination of no make up, fear, and fatigue made her look like a little girl.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m getting Ennis to back me up on this.”
As they reached the doorway of Bobby’s room, a doctor brushed past them into the room, muttering an “Excuse me” as he did so.
“You’re Bobby’s father?” The doctor asked.
“Um…” Ennis hesitated for half a second. “Yes.”
“He’s certainly been through the mill today.” The doctor shook his head. “Did you talk to the sheriff? He was here earlier.”
“Yeah.” Ennis said. “Kent’s gone. Him and the kid lit outta town, cleared out the bank account, everything.”
“That’s unfortunate.” The doctor said, pursing his lips. “Well. Bobby has several broken ribs, one of which punctured his lung. We operated and got that taken care of. We had to re-set his arm, and his collarbone is broken now, too. He has a fracture in his hip, and it goes almost without saying that he has a concussion. Luckily we didn’t find any cranial bleeding.”
“Okay?” Ennis didn’t really know what the doctor was telling him. Listing the damage wasn't calming Ennis down any, if that was what the doc was shooting for.
“He’ll have to stay for a few days, so we can watch over him. I’m worried about that lung, and it’s possible he’ll limp for the rest of his life. We’ll medicate him for the pain. But…he’s going to be okay.”
“He’s going to be okay?” Ennis echoed dumbly.
“It won’t be right away.” The doctor warned, then smiled. “But yes.”
“But…” Ennis wanted to jump up and down and scream, but he was still worried. “Why isn’t he awake then?”
“He’s, well, heavily drugged right now. If he weren’t he’d be screaming in pain.”
“But he’s going to be okay.” Ennis couldn’t stop saying that. Junior put a hand over her heart, laughing right out loud as Kurt whooped. And he did jump up and down.
“You said you didn’t find any cranial bleeding, but does that mean there might still be some?” Ennis, a natural born mood-killer, had to ask.
“Yes, it’s possible. It’s not very probable, mind you, but I’m not going to rule it out.”
“So…?”
“Well, he’s definitely not out of the woods yet, but let’s just say…he can see a gap in the trees.”
The next day at lunch, Bobby scanned the cafeteria for Samantha. He led Kurt and Junior over to her.
“Hey, you mind if we sit?” Bobby asked with a big grin. She smiled back but looked warily at Kurt and Junior. Junior smiled shyly at her.
“Hi.” She said. “I’m Junior.”
“Hey, Samantha.” Kurt grinned at her. They were in all the advanced classes together.
They talked the whole lunch period this time. Bobby had plopped himself down right next to Samantha. Junior and Kurt thought they were being subtle, holding hands under the table, but Samantha burst their bubble by asking,
“Are you guys together?”
They looked at each other; neither wanted to freak the other one out by being too enthusiastic. “Yep.” Kurt finally said firmly, giving Junior’s hand a little squeeze. “We are.” Junior’s answering smile was so big Bobby worried her lips might rip.
“So, Samantha,” Junior finally pulled her gaze away from Kurt to look across the table. “Are you filling out college applications?”
“Yeah, I applied to University of Wyoming and…” She hesitated.
“And?” Bobby prompted.
“Um…I applied to Harvard and some other Ivy Leagues. I mean, I won’t get in,” she added quickly. “I just wanted to see. I didn’t even tell my parents.”
Bobby’s mouth was hanging open. “Wow.” He said quietly. “I knew you were smart, but I didn’t know you were that smart.”
“Oh, I’m not.” Samantha murmured.
“Yeah, she is.” Kurt broke in. “Yeah, you are. She’s got, like, a hundred and twelve percent in calculus.”
Samantha was blushing and muttered something under her breath indistinctly. Bobby caught the words “lucky” and “only a hundred and eight.” He laughed right out loud.
“Sheesh!” He exclaimed. “Harvard’ll snap you up for sure.”
Junior changed the subject, seeing how uncomfortable all the attention was making Samantha. She could definitely sympathize with that emotion. “Hey, Bobby, you should probably pay attention in math today. She said there’s going to be a quiz tomorrow and it’ll be different for each class.”
“Damn!” Bobby griped. “I hate when teachers do that.”
The bell rang and he groaned. He had to go to math now and pay attention. He hated paying attention. Samantha laughed at him and didn’t rush to class the way she had yesterday. She fell into step with him and they were awkwardly quiet. They got the hallway and turned opposite ways.
“Well, see ya.” Samantha said with a shrug.
“Bye, Sam.” Bobby called. She gave him a funny look as she walked off and he wondered if she didn’t want to be called by a boy’s name or something. Maybe girls didn’t appreciate that? But wasn’t “Junior” technically a boy’s name? Junior didn’t care. Bobby shook his head. Girls were just plain confusing.
--------------------
Ennis stayed outside doing chores much longer than he would’ve usually, finding menial little tasks that didn’t necessarily need to be done but it wouldn’t hurt to do. Last time Jack was gone, at least Junior’d been home for Christmas break. Now the kids were in school all day and he couldn’t help it-he was lonely. The house had never seemed so big until he was the only one in it. He kept looking at the clock, counting down until he could go pick Bobby and Junior up.
Just when he was going to leave early, figuring sitting in the parking lot in his truck was better than sitting around doing nothing, the phone rang. Please be Jack. He willed. It wasn’t Jack. It was Julie Ann.
“I wanted to know if today was a good day to get my beef.”
“Oh, yeah.” Ennis had sort of forgotten about it. He had her order ready, honest, but he’d forgotten to call her and tell her. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was falling to pieces.
“I can come pick it up between my shifts.” She went on. “But it’ll be like eight and-”
“That’s okay,” Ennis cut her off. “I can bring it over. I’ll bring it over ‘round four. Some of the kids’ll be home, won’t they?”
“Well, yeah, but that’s okay, I can come get it.”
“Julie Ann, you’re busy working and you’ll be tired between shifts. I got nothing to do, okay? It’s fine.”
She sighed. “Thanks, Ennis. Really, a lot. I’ll tell the boys you’re coming so they don’t shoot you with their new squirt guns.”
“Well, I ‘preciate that.” He chuckled, remembering all too well the last time he’d taken something to Julie Ann’s while she wasn’t there-the kids had set the dog on him and were getting the hose ready before they finally realized who it was.
He only had to wait a few minutes at the school for the kids. Kurt kissed Junior again, but this time on the mouth. It wasn’t long or indecent, but Ennis still felt himself bristling. Did he have to do that where tons of people could see? Kurt walked over to the truck with Bobby and Junior, his arm around her waist.
“Hi, Ennis,” he said nervously. He gave Junior a last squeeze but didn’t kiss her again. Even Ennis couldn’t ignore the look that passed between them. It made him look away in embarrassment because he didn’t feel like he should’ve seen it. He didn’t say anything about the kiss or the hug or the look on the way home. He didn’t talk at all, really. He kept thinking of the way Kurt had walked over to the truck-it was ballsy, and Ennis felt begrudging respect. He always had liked Kurt.
“I’m gonna take Julie Ann’s beef over to her house, alright? You guys get going on homework.” It was a responsible parent thing to say, Ennis thought proudly.
Not twenty minutes after he was gone, both had abandoned their homework and were parked in front of the TV.
“This is boring.” Bobby complained.
“Well, what else can we do?”
“Let’s go into town.” Bobby flipped the TV off and stood up. “Come on.”
“How’re we going to get there?” Junior didn’t get up.
“I can drive! Seriously.”
“Um, Bobby? Notice that green thing on your arm? That’s not skin.”
“Ha. And ha. Just because I broke my arm doesn’t make me an invalid. Come on, I can’t stand being stuck in this house for another second.” Bobby was hunting around for his keys.
“How’re you going to shift? You broke your right arm.” Junior got up but had her hands on her hips.
“I’ll just reach my left arm over.”
“Bobby.” Junior somehow sounded warning and incredulous and amused all in one word. “I’ll drive.”
Bobby snorted. “Junior, I’d like to get to town sometime in this century.”
Junior wasn’t offended. She did not drive stick. “Bobby, you can’t drive stick with a broken right arm. Let’s just wait for Ennis to get home.”
“I’m going.” Bobby was being obnoxious and Junior wanted to punch him. She felt edgy for some reason. “You can either come or you can stay here and be bored.”
Junior hesitated. Bobby didn’t. He walked to the door. Buddy was jumping all over him, barking like crazy. Bobby stooped to scratch his ears.
“Sorry, bud, you can’t come.” He looked pointedly at Junior. “Are you coming?”
“Yeah.” Junior resigned. “Guess I’d rather be out of the house when Ennis realizes you drove.”
They were on the endless stretch of road that ran between the house and town. It was a thirty-six mile road. They were about fifteen miles down the road when they saw the stopped car.
“What’s going on here?” Bobby murmured. He was doing a pretty good job of stretching his left arm over and shifting. It helped that that he didn’t need to shift much on this road-not many cars drove here, so he could keep his speed pretty constant.
He pulled over to the side of the road.
“Oh, Bobby, no.” Junior pled. “It’s Jimmy Kent and his dad.”
“Junior, it could be hours before another car comes by, and with our luck it’ll be us, on our way home. We can just stop and see if they need help.” Jack had always taught Bobby to stop for people on this road in particular. And plus, it was cold out here and it’d only be getting colder. He got out of the car and frowned at Junior.
“Stay here, will ya? At least for a second.”
“Alright, whatever.” Junior suddenly wished they’d brought Buddy, although she hated riding in the car with him. He got really excited and he’d jump all over you and climb around. But now her stomach was giving a really weird lurch and she wished other cars would drive by. She rubbed her arms to warm them up.
“Hey there.” Bobby called. Jimmy was bent over, looking at the back left right tire. His dad was still in the car.
“Oh.” Was all Jimmy said when he turned and saw Bobby.
“Having troubles?” Bobby was being downright polite to Jimmy Kent, arguably his worst enemy. His daddy’d be proud for sure.
“Well-”
“Boy!” Jimmy’s dad called out the window. “Hurry the fuck up out there. Gotta get to Lane’s before it closes.”
Lane’s was the only liquor store in town and it closed at five thirty. Bobby got the feeling maybe James Kent didn’t need another trip to Lane’s. Jimmy bit his lip.
“Yes, sir.” He called back. He didn’t meet Bobby’s eyes. “We got a flat. I don’t know how…”
“My damn son’s like a damn girl. Can’t even change a tire.” James Kent gave a great big guffaw. Bobby was really uncomfortable. He was used to hating Jimmy, but it was hard when his daddy was cutting him down so much. He shrugged.
“’S alright. I know how. You’ll have to help me, though, ‘cause I can’t do it one handed.”
“How’d you break your arm, anyway? Fell outta bed?” Jimmy sneered. Bobby glowered.
“I don’t have to help you.” Bobby pointed out. “I could just leave you here on the side of the road with your drunk-ass daddy.”
“You fairies kissing out there?” James Kent chortled.
Jimmy looked away again and muttered something that might’ve been an apology. They got the spare tire from the trunk.
James focused a bleary eye on Bobby. “Hey.” He said stupidly. “You’re that pansy-ass Twist, ain’tcha?”
“Daddy, we’re gonna fix the tire.” Jimmy covered quickly, embarrassed.
“That faggot ain’t helping us. We don’t take help from faggots like Jack Twist.”
“Well, I ain’t Jack Twist.” Bobby said angrily. “I’m Bobby, so you want my help or not?”
“No, you’s Jack Twist. I know it.” He wrenched the door open and almost fell out of the car.
“You can ignore him.” Jimmy muttered, ears red.
“You shut up, boy!” James roared. “I got some words to say to this pissant here.”
“Look, daddy, if we don’t hurry and change the tire you won’t make it to Lane’s in time.”
That gave James pause. He didn’t like the prospect of getting to Lane’s after five thirty. He hadn’t faced many nights in the last eight years sober, and he certainly didn’t plan on starting now. But he was still stinking drunk from earlier that day, so he wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.
“You got a tire iron or something?” Bobby asked Jimmy. Jimmy went over to the passenger side of the car to look. James got out of the car.
“Bobby!” Junior yelled from the car, just as James Kent said,
“Yeah, we got a tire iron for you.”
He’d pulled it from the car and before anyone could do anything, he swung it and hit Bobby somewhere right around his rib cage. Bobby hit the ground immediately, and Kent got several more hits in before Jimmy finally ran back over to them. One of the hits included Bobby’s head.
“Dad, stop!” He bellowed. Junior scrambled to get out of the car, her shaking fingers unable to work the door handle for several seconds. She kept screaming Bobby’s name. Jimmy pulled the tire iron from his father’s hands. James kicked at Bobby’s limp body several times and punched his own son when he tried to intervene. Junior finally got the door open and scooped up a handful of snowy gravel, hurling it as hard as she could. Rocks hit James Kent in the face and showered over his car.
“Get away!” She screamed. “Get away, you bastard!” She didn’t have the best aim, even under normal circumstances, so she wasn’t doing much damage, but she pulled James Kent to his senses. He looked at Bobby, bleeding at his feet.
“Shit.” He muttered, backing up. “Oh, shit. Get in the car, boy.”
“Daddy-”
“Get in the fucking car!” James Kent dragged Jimmy to the car and got in. They sped off, spinning gravel over Bobby, the tire rim poking through the rubbed making an awful sound against the asphalt.
Junior dropped to her knees at Bobby’s side. “Oh God,” she moaned. His face was all bloody and already starting to purple. His mouth was open and some blood was dribbling out. She prayed that he’d just bitten his tongue or something. She didn’t know what to do. Her brain took over. Get him to the car. It commanded. Problem: he was a hundred and sixty-odd pounds of dead weight. The terminology almost made her lose it. She shut that part of her brain off. Couldn’t think of that now. Just get him to the car. She slipped an arm under his armpit and heaved, hoping those stories of mothers pulling cars off their children were true and that she could tap into some of that strength.
His head lolled onto her shoulder, getting blood on her shirt. She weaved a little-she wasn’t great with blood-and forced herself to look away. Somehow, she pulled him to the car. His legs were dangling, dragging in the gravel, and it left scratches all over his legs. He kept moaning. “Sorry, I’m sorry, sorry,” she kept murmuring. She was dangerously near tears but couldn’t stop to let them fall. She heaved him up to the passenger side and ran around to the driver’s door.
Her whole body was trembling. It was a good thing Bobby’d left the keys in the ignition, because she knew she never would’ve been able to steady herself enough to get the key in there. The truck rumbled to life. He cried out as the vibration jarred his broken bones. Junior pressed down on the gas.
And the truck died.
“Fuck!” She screamed. “No!” She got it started it again, only to have it die before she’d even gotten off the shoulder. Bobby coughed and more blood came up.
“God, help me!” Junior didn’t know if she was praying or if she was using His name as a profanity-something her mother severely frowned upon. You break a commandment every time you do that, she used to say with a glare. “I don’t know what to do!”
Junior banged her fist against the steering wheel, starting the car again. Just as she glanced up, she saw another car coming around the bend. She opened the door and threw herself out, screaming herself hoarse and waving her arms. The car slowed.
“Junior?” It was Troy.
“Help me!” She bellowed in his face.
“Wha-what’s wrong?” He asked, eyes widening at the blood on her shirt and the wild look in her eyes.
“Bobby! James Kent-and a tire iron-help me! We have to get him to the hospital!”
Troy got out of the car, just then spotting, through the open driver’s side door, Bobby lying across the seat, bruised and bloody. “Oh, shit.” He raised a hand to his mouth.
“Help me!” It seemed to be the only thing Junior could say. Troy helped her get Bobby into his truck, his hands shaking almost as badly as hers. But he had the presence of mind to turn off Bobby’s truck and bring the keys with them. Junior sat with Bobby’s head cradled in her lap. His breaths sounded watery-bloody, she realized, horrified.
Please don’t let him die, she chanted over and over in her head. She didn’t realize she was saying it out loud until Troy said,
“He won’t die.” But his voice was shaking and his breath was coming in quick spasms. He pressed the gas pedal down harder. They were breaking a hundred now. They made it to the hospital in ten minutes when it should’ve taken almost twenty.
When they brought Bobby in, several nurses rushed to help them. A gurney magically appeared, and the professionals took over. Junior was shaking so hard she was afraid her body was going to break into a million pieces.
“Honey, look at me.” A nurse grabbed her shoulder. “Who is this? Is this your boyfriend?”
“No.” Junior answered, dazed. “He’s my brother.” And then she burst into tears.
---------------------
Ennis had hung around with Julie Ann’s boys for a little while, tossing a football around with one of them and just horsing around. They were good boys. The oldest one home was fifteen-his older brothers all had jobs to help support the family. Ennis hated to think of them home alone, though he knew they looked out for each other. When he pulled into the driveway at home, he noticed Bobby’s truck was gone. He shook his head, severely pissed off. That boy. The phone was ringing when he got in the house. Some days were like that-the phone never stopped. Maybe it’d be Jack.
“H’lo?”
“Uh, Mr. del Mar?” It was a semi-familiar teenage boy’s voice.
“Yes, who is this?”
“It’s Troy. You’ve got to come to the hospital, quick.” His voice was shaking.
Ennis’s brain stopped working. “H-hospital?” He choked out.
“Yeah, but not the regular one. The Ten Mile Creek one.”
“Um…” Ennis struggled to breathe. Just then, he heard the rustling of a phone changing hands. Before he heard a voice, he heard body-wracking sobs.
“Are you coming?” Junior asked. “Please, please hurry.” Her voice scared the shit out of Ennis.
“I’m on my way.” He said immediately.
Ennis rushed into the hospital, expecting a bustle of commotion around him, doctors in white coats running around, something. Instead, there was one bored nurse behind the admittance desk and a bunch of uncomfortable plastic chairs. He paused, panic making bile rise in his throat. Suddenly, Junior was hustling over to him, and before he could even ask what had happened, his arms were full of her. She was flat out bawling.
“Junior?” Ennis couldn’t keep the wobble out of his voice.
“I’m sorry, it’s all my fault.” She sobbed.
“Hey.” Ennis pushed her back, shaking her a little. “You gotta tell me what’s going on, right now.” He sounded harsher than he meant to, because he was looking around and didn’t see Bobby anywhere and Junior was sobbing and his brain was putting two and two together.
“We were driving into town and Bobby stopped to help because they were on the side of the road and they had a flat and then-” She gulped. “It was James Kent. With a tire iron.”
All the blood drained from Ennis’s face. Tire iron. The worst words that could be strung together. He should’ve comforted her some more, or maybe told her it wasn’t her fault, but he kept hearing those words over and over and blood was pounding in his ears. He gave her a last squeeze and then stepped around her, pouncing on the half-asleep admittance nurse.
“Where’s Bobby Twist?” He demanded. She didn’t even look up.
“I’m sorry, that’s confidential information at this time.”
“Hey!” Ennis bellowed from between clenched teeth. “If you don’t tell me where he is I’ll check every goddamn room in this fucking hospital and I won’t be quiet about it.”
“Look, sir, that patient is on immediately family status only, so if you’ll just-”
“I’m his goddamn fucking father!” Ennis growled at her, banging a fist on her counter for emphasis and scattering some fliers about a birthing class. “Tell me what room he’s in!”
“One seventeen.” She said meekly, eyes wide and scared. He didn’t even thank her.
He barged through the door. “Bobby!” His legs went weak. There was his boy, hooked up to a bunch of beeping machines, his face swollen and bruised, his nose unmistakably broken. His eyes were closed and Ennis could hear his breath from clear over in the doorway. He was clearly agitated-his face was screwed up and he kept shifting. Ennis crossed over to the bed, feeling tears rising in his eyes.
“Bobby,” he repeated, softer now, barely more than a whisper. Bobby’s eyelids fluttered open. His eyes were glassy.
“Hurts.” Bobby moaned.
“Oh, Bobby. I’m so sorry, bud, I’m sorry.” He gently took Bobby’s limp hand and kissed it. Bobby stopped rustling around in the bed and for one heart stopping moment Ennis thought he’d up and died. But no, the machine was still beeping steadily and he could still hear Bobby’s wet-sounding breaths.
“Will you…” Bobby had to pause to breathe. “Stay?”
“Of course I will. I’ll stay right here. Okay? I won’t leave. I promise.” Ennis could feel himself babbling and crying. Bobby smiled.
“Thanks.” He murmured. “…Dad.”
-------------------------
Junior didn’t think she’d ever stop crying. Troy was great-he stayed right there and put his arm around her and everything. He wasn’t doing so great, himself. He wasn’t outright crying, but he definitely had tears in his eyes.
“I’m so glad you were driving past.” Junior said, taking great heaving breaths and trying to staunch her tears.
“Me too.”
“Where were you going?”
“I had a date.” Troy laughed shakily. “I guess I should call her or something…” He twisted in his seat to look at Junior. “So, um, you and the tall kid are, like, together, right? Do you want me to call him?”
Junior couldn’t help herself. She threw her arms around Troy.
“Um…” He said awkwardly. “So is that a yes or a no?”
Kurt was completely white when he got to the hospital. He hated hospitals. Hated them, and he felt like it was for a pretty good reason, too. Junior was mostly under control by now, but she had mascara all over her face. When Kurt walked up, Troy hastily pulled his arm away from Junior. Neither Kurt nor Junior said anything-she just stood up and walked into his arms. He held her tight, burying his face in her hair. They stood like that for several minutes, leaving Troy feeling very awkward. They finally pulled apart and sat down.
“Um, Junior?” Troy ventured, startling the young couple. They’d sort of forgotten him, which Junior felt guilty about. Where would Bobby be if Troy hadn’t come along?
“Sorry.” She said quickly.
“It’s just-I should get going. My mom’s probably going to be freaking out. I left home like four hours ago.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks so much, Troy, seriously.” Junior stood up again and hugged him tightly.
“Could you call me and tell me how Bobby’s doing?” Troy asked.
“Of course.”
She hugged him again and he nodded at Kurt before leaving. Junior sank back into her seat, rubbing at her eyes. They were gritty from crying and she could feel the mascara tracks on her cheeks. Kurt pulled her face close and wiped at them, but it wasn’t working.
“Junior. What happened?”
She told him the whole story, managing not to cry. Kurt was struggling with it, himself. “We need to call the police.” He said firmly. He pulled Junior to the pay phones on the wall. After hanging up, he just kind of looked at her.
“Is it real bad?” He whispered. Junior leaned against him, shutting her eyes for a second. She opened them and nodded slowly.
“I was so scared, Kurt.” Her eyes filled up again and she wanted to scream. She hated crying. “I thought-I thought he was…dead.”
“He’s not.” Kurt said, sounding strangled. “He’s alive and he’s going to be fine.” He said it again, his bottom lip shaking a little.
-------------------
Junior ignored the admittance nurse when she tried to tell her not to go into Bobby’s room. She went in anyway, looking back at Kurt once. He shooed her in with his hand. She felt awful leaving him, knowing his problem with hospitals because of Roger.
She couldn’t hold back her gasp when she Bobby. He looked a little better, since they’d cleaned the blood off his face, but something about seeing him lying in the hospital bed, oxygen tube in his nose and IVs in his arm, made him look worse.
Ennis turned when he heard her. He’d been crying and he didn’t try to hide it. He looked better than she did, seeing as how he didn’t have mascara to run when he cried. She stood in the doorway, scared and shaking again. He got up from his chair and wrapped her in his long arms, kissing the top of her head.
“I’m so glad you’re okay.” He whispered. “I don’t know what I’d do if you both…” He broke off.
“It’s all my fault.” She whispered back. Neither could raise their voices above a whisper-they didn’t want to disturb Bobby, and it took too much energy.
“It’s not.” He told her, still holding her tight. “It’s not your fault at all.”
“I should’ve made him wait for you to get home.”
Ennis sort of chuckled-it didn’t come out right, sounded all strangled, but it was a chuckle nonetheless. “Good luck ever making him do anything.”
“But I should’ve stalled some more or-”
“He woulda just gone without you. And then what? He’d be on the side of the road, just…” Ennis couldn’t finish the sentence. He’d seen it so many times in his head, with Jack, and he couldn’t bear to voice it.
“I should’ve gotten out of the car sooner.”
“Hey.” Ennis finally pushed away from her, holding her at arm’s length so he could look her in the eye. “You think James Kent woulda left you alone ‘cause you’re a girl? He wouldn’t. And you’d be in the bed next to him.”
Junior hung her head. “I’m so scared.” She hadn’t meant to say it, but she couldn’t stop it from slipping out. He pulled her back in.
“Me too.” He kissed her hair again. “Junior, I…” He paused, hesitated, licked his lips. Glancing at Bobby in that bed made the words easier. “I know I done wrong by you, all them years I didn’t fight harder to see you. And I know it ain’t been easy to live with me, these past few months. But I’m happy you’re here and I’m-I love you, darlin.”
She started crying again, holding onto him almost painfully tight. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a horrible person and I’m sorry I’m getting snot on your shirt.” They both laughed for just a second. “But I, um, I love you too.” She made herself say the last word, the word that was on the tip of her tongue. “Daddy.”
--------------------------
Jack whistled as he dialed home. He’d signed a pretty big contract and couldn’t wait to tell Ennis. But it rang about a million times. Jack frowned. Where were they? Finally, someone picked up. But it wasn’t Ennis or Junior or Bobby.
“Jack?!”
“Hello?”
“It’s Kurt.”
“Uh, hi, Kurt.” Jack didn’t hide his confusion. Why exactly was Kurt answering the phone at their house?
“Look, I don’t want to freak you out, but you’ve got to come home. Now.”
He wasn’t doing a very good job of not freaking Jack out, truth be told. His voice was scared and higher than usual.
“Kurt, what’s going on?” Jack asked, forcibly calm.
“It’s Bobby.”
Jack’s forced calm flew out the window. “What’s Bobby?” He heard his own voice raise about three octaves and he’d already jumped off the bed and started putting his boots back on.
“There-there was an accident. He’s in the hospital.”
Next thing Kurt knew, he was talking to a dial tone.
------------------------
Ennis didn’t want to leave Bobby. He’d promised he’d stay. But he had something important to do. Junior stayed at Bobby’s side, urging Ennis to make the phone call.
“Hello?”
“Uh…”
“Hello?” She sounded annoyed now.
“This is Ennis del Mar.” He choked out.
“Who? Who is this?” Ennis didn’t know if Lureen was playing dumb or if she was genuinely confused. “Oh. Ennis…del Mar. Oh.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Something I can help you with?” She wasn’t impolite, but there was about a thirty foot wall present in her voice.
“I think you-you need to get down here.” Well, that wasn’t what he’d rehearsed in his head.
“Excuse me?”
“Bobby’s real hurt.”
There was a pause.
“What happened?” That was better. She sounded like a human now-ice melting, slightly panicked. “Is it his arm?”
“No…” Ennis forced out a weary chuckle. “Well, I’m sure that don’t feel great. It’s-well, I guess it’s his whole body, really.” When had he become a babbler? “He’s real hurt-he’s in the hospital-right now he’s not even conscious.”
“Oh my God.” She gulped. “Okay. Alright, yes, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Yes, okay. I’m coming.” She hung up on him.
-------------------
After talking to Jack on the phone, Kurt went back to the hospital. It was almost ten. Junior was back out in the waiting room, waiting for him. She was sagging, half dead in her chair.
“Junior, maybe I should get you home.” Kurt suggested as he pulled her against his chest. She shook her head.
“Can’t leave.” She murmured.
“Junior, you’re dead on your feet.”
“I’m fine.” She argued. Kurt sighed. He stood up, pulling her with him. She was so exhausted she could hardly stand without his help. At some point she’d gone to the bathroom and washed the make up off her face. The combination of no make up, fear, and fatigue made her look like a little girl.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m getting Ennis to back me up on this.”
As they reached the doorway of Bobby’s room, a doctor brushed past them into the room, muttering an “Excuse me” as he did so.
“You’re Bobby’s father?” The doctor asked.
“Um…” Ennis hesitated for half a second. “Yes.”
“He’s certainly been through the mill today.” The doctor shook his head. “Did you talk to the sheriff? He was here earlier.”
“Yeah.” Ennis said. “Kent’s gone. Him and the kid lit outta town, cleared out the bank account, everything.”
“That’s unfortunate.” The doctor said, pursing his lips. “Well. Bobby has several broken ribs, one of which punctured his lung. We operated and got that taken care of. We had to re-set his arm, and his collarbone is broken now, too. He has a fracture in his hip, and it goes almost without saying that he has a concussion. Luckily we didn’t find any cranial bleeding.”
“Okay?” Ennis didn’t really know what the doctor was telling him. Listing the damage wasn't calming Ennis down any, if that was what the doc was shooting for.
“He’ll have to stay for a few days, so we can watch over him. I’m worried about that lung, and it’s possible he’ll limp for the rest of his life. We’ll medicate him for the pain. But…he’s going to be okay.”
“He’s going to be okay?” Ennis echoed dumbly.
“It won’t be right away.” The doctor warned, then smiled. “But yes.”
“But…” Ennis wanted to jump up and down and scream, but he was still worried. “Why isn’t he awake then?”
“He’s, well, heavily drugged right now. If he weren’t he’d be screaming in pain.”
“But he’s going to be okay.” Ennis couldn’t stop saying that. Junior put a hand over her heart, laughing right out loud as Kurt whooped. And he did jump up and down.
“You said you didn’t find any cranial bleeding, but does that mean there might still be some?” Ennis, a natural born mood-killer, had to ask.
“Yes, it’s possible. It’s not very probable, mind you, but I’m not going to rule it out.”
“So…?”
“Well, he’s definitely not out of the woods yet, but let’s just say…he can see a gap in the trees.”