ELEVEN

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             "Don't wanna live as an untold story. "

M I L E S

When I walked through the front door, my sister had the house phone to her ear as tears streamed down her cheeks. Her face went pale as soon as she saw me. I stumbled over the mat and limped my way to the couch, not offering a word of explanation to her.

Maddie screamed. It made my head pound more violently.

"Where's mom?," I grunted.

My sister took a seat next to me, her mouth slightly agape. "Where the hell were you, Miles? What happened to you?," she sobbed.

I shook my head, coughing. "I'm fine. Where's mom, Maddie?"

Her hands were shaking as she shrugged. "In her room," she said quietly.

I nodded, ignoring the flare of hurt. "Good, you can't tell her. She'll worry."

"I'm worried!," Maddie screamed. "Did Liam do this to you?"

"Would you keep your voice down?," I asked, eyeing the staircase.

Maddie's eyes softened, then she said, much more quietly, "Was it him?"

I coughed again, feeling my left ribs burn. "No," my voice was hoarse. "It-it wasn't him. Go get me some ice."

Maddie leaped from the couch, and when she returned with a pack of frozen peas, I placed it to my jaw, savoring the coolness.

"Grace has been calling non-stop," she said. "She was hysterical, she told me there were guys with guns at the party."

I eyed her warily. "Is she okay?"

"That's not my main concern right now! Your face is bloody and you look like you've been through hell, Miles. Tell me what the—"

"I got caught up with some guys at the wrong bus stop," I said, wincing as I adjusted my position. "Pretty sure my ribs are broken."

Maddie's expression became calculated. "We're going to the hospital. Get up."

"No, no. We can't."

"Shut up, Miles. I'm not a doctor, but I know that you look terrible," she said sternly as she helped me up from the couch.

There was no arguing with her. So, I sighed in defeat, earning a whine from my ribs.

                             ••••••••••••••••••••••

Apparently, there was no remedy for fractured ribs. No surgery. Fractured ribs healed on their own with
proper treatment. The emergency room doctor gave me a bottle of pain relief medication and applied three stitches to my face. What came as a shock to me was that my right hand wasn't broken, or fractured, just severely bruised from where I had punched the gang member in the face.

Punched a gang member in the face. Punched a gang member in the face. Punched a gang member-

"You're not going to school tomorrow," Maddie said, stirring her coffee.

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