Colliding with Fate

~Nineteen~

Fate wasn't at his locker the next morning. I tried to push down the feeling of disappointment that settled in the pit of my stomach. As the day went on, there was still no sign of Fate.

I found myself walking to the principal's office. Mr Weaver seemed to have some sort of soft spot for Fate, so I was hoping he'd let me go and see if he was home.

I knocked on his door quietly. "Come in," He welcomed. I opened the door. Mr Weaver looked up at me in surprise.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lewis. What can I do for you?" He asked.

I slowly walked into the room more and shut the door. "Umm... You remember Fate?"

well, that grabbed his attention.

He looked up at me with alert eyes. "Yes. Is there another problem?"

"Well, he's not here today and last night he and his mother came over for dinner, where he told me he would be here today. I was just worried. I was also kind of hoping that maybe you would kind of let me get out of school for a bit and go check on him...?" I trailed off nervously. My hands were knotted in front of me.

"Come sit." Mr Weaver ordered, motioning to a chair. I sat down hard and winced. He cleared his throat uncomfortably before continuing. "Tell me everything you know about him."

My breath caught in my throat. I didn't want to tell him anything that would jeopardize Fate's family. I didn't want Fate to get caught in the middle of it. But I also wanted him to get help, despite him asking me not to tell anyone. I closed my eyes in an attempt to shut my brain up for a few moments.

"Evanine, please."

"Okay," I whispered, opening my eyes. My heart thrummed in my chest. "Fate is living in an old abandoned factory with his mom and her dad, Hank, came back recently."

Mr Weaver's eyes widened in shock. He cleared his throat before motioning for me to stand up. I obeyed, watching him write something down on a piece of paper. He ripped it off and handed it to me. "You are dismissed with my permission. Give this to the secretary outside, and you may go."

I turned to leave, slinging my bag over my shoulder when Mr Weaver called my name. I turned to him and saw he looked worried. "Please inform me of his whereabouts." He said quietly. I nodded and left quietly. The secretary took my note without question. I ran out to the parking lot and shot a text to Claire, apologizing for my absence at lunch that was about to occur. I got in my car and drove to his house.

I was nervous. I had a feeling something was off. When I pulled up to the little factory they called home, a car wasn't parked in the driveway, which was odd. Destiny's little car was always parked there when I was here. Something moved in the front window. The curtains flew a bit in the direction of the figure. I got out of my car and shut the door quietly. I didn't want to go through Hank, but if that's what it took to check on Fate, then it was worth it.

I approached the door and found it cracked open. I could hear someone weeping inside. I knocked twice, then slowly crept in. Beer bottles were scattered everywhere. Beside me on a table was an odd-looking pipe I was certain that was used with illegal substances. The old chair that was out in the front yard when Hank was here was now placed off to the side. The weeping continued and grew louder as I walked deeper into their home. It stunk of beer and body odor.

"Hello? Destiny?" I called out. The crying ceased, then out of a squeaky door came Fate's mother. When she saw me, she ran up to me and burst into tears again. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?" I questioned, pulling her back at arm's length.

She shook her head vigorously. "N-No. Hank came home drunk a bit ago and... He tried to hit me, but Fate stepped in." My stomach dropped, automatically thinking the worst. "Hank left after beating Fate unconscious. I-I don't know what to do. Please help me." She sobbed.

A hand flew to my mouth, trying to hold me back my tears. It was not time to cry. "Where is he?" I asked. Destiny led me into a room that contained a small, thin mattress on the floor and a plastic drawer set. This must have been Fate's room. On the mattress laid Fate, bloodied and beaten.

"Destiny, call 9-1-1." I ordered quietly. I gave her my phone and watched her rush out the door. I fell to the floor, pulling Fate's head into my lap. He looked so small. You couldn't even see Fate's face because there was so much blood. His chest barely rose and fell. Tears sprang to my eyes. I tried to push them back again like before, but I couldn't. My tears silently fell on Fate's cheek, wetting the dried blood on his face. His hair was soft as ever as I ran my hand through it gently. He must have been in so much pain that his body temporarily shut down.

Destiny came back in with the 9-1-1 operator still on the phone. Paramedics arrived quickly. They checked his vitals, then strapped him onto a board and put him on a stretcher. Destiny got caught up talking to a police officer, while I stood off to the side and watched the scene in front of me. It seemed to happen in slow motion - Fate getting put in the ambulance, Destiny being checked for injuries. A paramedic came to ask if I was okay.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Fate is my friend from school. When he wasn't at school today, I got worried so I came to check on him. He was unconscious when I got here. I just hope he's okay." I was shaking. She rested her hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner.

"If you want follow us you can." She offered. I nodded. I needed to call Mom and tell her everything that happened. On my way to the hospital, I called her. I told her how Mr Weaver gave me permission to leave, how I found Fate unconscious due to Hank's drunk beating. We were both crying at the end of it. Mom promised that her, Dad, and Ethan were on their way to the hospital as well.

When I arrived, I waited in my car until I saw Mom's car pull up a few rows behind me. Ethan was the first to jump out of the car. I got out of my car and took a deep, shaky breath before I walked towards them. Ethan made eye contact with me before he jogged over to me. Instead of speaking, he wrapped his arms around me and let me cry into his chest. I didn't know how many tears I was holding until then. I didn't think my body could contain so many emotions and feelings.

Mom and Dad huddled around Ethan and I while we made our way into the hospital. I ran into the nice paramedic in the hallway. She recognized me immediately. "He's still unconscious." She informed me. I sighed. The receptionist led us to a waiting room, where Destiny was already seated. Mom immediately approached her slumped, small figure. I sat in the middle of Dad and Ethan and held their hands. I couldn't believe something like this happened.

At this point, I felt drained and empty. Hours passed and we still had no update. Destiny insisted that we leave and get rest, but all of us knew that she was the one that needed rest. A couple of policemen came in and asked to talk to her privately. It was about Hank. I just knew it. It had to be. Dad squeezed my hand. I looked up at him and saw he was smiling sadly. "You are so brave, honey. I'm proud of you." He whispered. I smiled lightly and leaned on his shoulder.

When I checked the time, it was midnight. No one else sat among us in the waiting room. I dozed off for a bit before I was awakened by a small nurse in purple scrubs. Her black hair was pulled back into a low ponytail.

"Mr Westbrook is awake if you all would like to see him."

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He is ALIVE:)
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