LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 62

"What?" Ralph questioned the amused and attentive stare on Jack's face.

"Oh nothing" Jack said in a dramatized, awkward voice that solidified the fact that it definitely wasn't nothing. Jack turned his head the other way to prevent Ralph from seeing the difficulty he was having at suppressing the laughter in his chest.

"Seriously, what?" Ralph dropped the orange popsicle down into his lap, shooting Jack an evidently annoyed glare.

"Nothing, nothing" Jack turned back to him with a sheepish smile. "Just eat your popsicle."

Ralph was too hot and tired to fight him on it, so he simply settled for rolling his eyes at the blond boy before turning his attention to whatever was playing on the TV in front of them.

Jeffery got home before his wife that night, and after feeding the boys supper, he insisted they get started on their homework and reading assignments for the night. It was a dreadful hour of nothing but work, work, work until they were finally allowed to go out and get some fresh air as the sun stared to go down, relieving East Point from the freakish 93° heat.

Ralph and Jack walked down the sidewalk about a block and a half from the house. Ralph linked his arm through Jack's good one as they walked. Though this wasn't because Jack needed his physical support. Ralph was actually pleasantly surprised by how quickly Jack was adjusting to walking on the knee brace. If the brace itself wasn't so large and obvious, one would've had to pay a particular amount of attention to Jack to notice the ever-so-slight limp in his step. The sling, however, was harder to miss.

"Please don't tell me you're actually that stupid" Ralph declared once they arrived at the park, staring judgementally at Jack as the latter grabbed hold of the metal ladder in front of him with his good hand.

"Not stupid, just testing the waters" Jack dismissed his concern without turning around to see the judgemental look he could vividly picture on Ralph's face right now.

"Climbing playground equipment wasn't part of the doctors orders" Ralph flatly pointed out.

"Well doctor's got another thing comin' if he thinks I'm gonna spend the next six weeks sitting on my ass" Jack countered as he stepped his good leg up onto the ladder against Ralph's advisement. He pulled himself up on it, lifting his weight off the ground and onto the first rung of the ladder.

"You've got another thing coming if you get yourself hurt again, Jack. I'm talking permanent damage. If you aren't careful, you could risk your chances of ever walking properly again" Ralph warned him with a twinge of worry mixed in with the frustration.

"And it's my choice to decide whether to take that risk, not yours" Jack reminded him as he started to scramble his way up the ladder without using either of his injured limbs. Ralph watched as a wave of judgment and horror passed through him. Jack finally hoisted himself off the ladder and up onto the platform. "See?" he turned around to face Ralph, "no reason to get your panties in a bunch."

"I don't wear panties" Ralph irrelevantly countered.

"It's a figure of speech, dumbass" Jack scoffed as he ventured over to the wobbly wooden bridge at the end of the platform he stood on. "I know what kind of underwear you wear" he smugly reminded him.

Ralph folded his arms over his chest, annoyed and unamused by Jack and his sexual innuendo. "Fine, do whatever you want, get hurt for all I care. Just don't ask me to push your wheelchair for the rest of our lives when you paralyze yourself jumping off that bridge because why the hell not!"

"Jesus Christ" Jack sighed, throwing his head back with an exaggerated eye roll. He carefully found his footing on the wobbly bridge and made his way across. He plopped down at the top of the little slide and pushed himself down, landing on his good leg as he held the injured one up.