Silas, North, Luke, and Nathan
This chapter is a little shorter than I would have liked, but I needed to get through it. Chapter 4 will take place at Mr. Blackbourne's home.
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I was a few blocks away from home when I realized that I was being followed by a brown sedan. So, I did the only thing I could think to do. I darted into the woods. I crossed my fingers that there wouldn't be any wolves. I didn't think I would live through another encounter.
The rest of the walk home was quiet. I was walking around to the front of the house to get mail when I noticed a familiar brown sedan pull into a driveway a few houses away. Irritation crawled across my skin pricking at my skin. I marched toward the vehicle. Two boys got out.
"Were you following me?" I demanded.
They both inhaled sharply. They stared at me a moment, before sharing a look. One was the redheaded boy that I had seen at the school. His blue eyes were focused on his friend. I hadn't missed the way that the muscles bunched in his arms and shoulders when I approached. Maybe I had caught them off guard.
The other boy wasn't as muscular as the redhead, but I could still see the definition in his arm thanks to the short-sleeved green polo he wore. His eyes were darker green than mine, more emerald. His short brown hair and black-rimmed glasses reminded me of a certain teacher.
"We weren't following you. I live here." His voice was gentle. "I apologize if we scared you. I'm Kota and this is Nathan."
Heat rushed to my cheeks. Not in embarrassment, but in indignation. If I had feared them following me, I never would have approached them. I had just wanted to know why I kept spotting their vehicle. I hadn't realized that boys around my age lived on this street.
"I'm Sang." My voice was quiet.
Nathan grumbled. "I'm going to head home. I'll see you later Kota. Sang, it was interesting."
My brow furrowed, I wasn't sure whether I should take that as an insult or not. My eyes followed his retreating form. My spine stiffened when he entered the house that I had woken up in the day before. Had he found me in the woods? He must have. Why else would I have been in his house?
"I'm sorry about Nathan. He's a tad grumpy today." Kota tried to carry a polite conversation, but my mind was too full. Words just started slipping out.
"Why were you talking about me at school? Is there something wrong with Dr. Green helping me with my schedule?" My eyes narrowed on him as his lips parted. Apparently, he hadn't expected me to hear their conversation.
He adjusted the collar of his polo and offered me a small smile. "No, of course not. We're all close with Dr. Green. We just hadn't been expecting you. He seemed familiar with you; it threw us off."
It did seem like Dr. Green had recognized me. Had the boys been paying that much attention? There was something different about these boys. Something that made them stand out. I couldn't put my finger on what it was though.
"Hm. Okay. Well, I better get home. It was nice meeting you Kota." I turned and walked back to my house.
I felt his eyes on me the whole way. I kept moving until I was safe in my bedroom. Dinner wouldn't be for a few more hours, so I laid in my bed. I was tired after walking for so long in the heat. I stayed in my bed, waiting for my mother to call for me.
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The darkness of my room took me by surprise. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I hadn't expected to fall asleep. My mother should have called for me by now. I jumped up from my bed and went to check on Marie only to find her room empty. It wasn't really like Marie to disappear. She wasn't particularly good at making friends.
I walked down the stairs making sure to avoid the boards that squeaked. My mother was on her bed, asleep. Her skin looked pale and her breaths were choppy and uneven. The unsteady rise and fall of her chest forced me deeper into the room.
I pressed a hand to her forehead; her face was hot. I shook her arm, noting the clamminess of skin. "Mom. Mom, wake up!"
She moved like she was a ragdoll when I shook her. My heart pounded in my chest. I knew that she was ill, but I didn't know exactly what she had. Dad never told me what to do in this kind of situation and I didn't have his number. I did have the number of a doctor though. My mother couldn't be mad at me for helping her, could she?
I ran to the house phone and dug out the card that Dr. Green had given me. I quickly dialed the number while bouncing on my toes. My heart was racing and my skin tingled. My head ached and I felt like I couldn't catch a proper breath.
"This is Dr. Green," a cheerful voice came over the line.
"Dr. Green. It's Sang." My voice trembled as I spoke. My lip wobbled and my stung with unshed tears. "I need your help."
"Sang," he breathed my name into the phone. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I-It's my mom. I can't wake her up."
He was quiet for a moment. "What's your address Sang? I'll be there as soon as I can."
I relayed my address and hung up the phone. I moved out onto the front porch to wait for him. My vision blurred and my ears started ringing. I don't know how long I sat there for, but I didn't realize that Dr. Green had arrived until his hands were holding my cheeks.
"You need to breathe, Sang. Take a deep breath." His voice was calm, helping me relax a bit.
"M-my mother..." I couldn't seem to get out the words that I wanted to say.
He nodded. "I'll go check on her. Owen is going to help you focus on breathing."
Owen? A warm body sat behind me; strong arms pulled me into a hard chest. Spring soap filled my senses. I tipped my head back to see a familiar pair of gray eyes staring down at me. Owen is Mr. Blackbourne. I started shaking. One of his hands moved from my waist to rest between my breasts.
"Take a deep breath when I do. Breath with me, Sang." His soft voice turned my muscles from stiff to pliant.
I focused on his slow, steady breaths allowing myself to relax into him. My head lolled onto his shoulder as exhaustion coursed through me. The sound of footsteps walking out of the house had my heart racing again.
"None of that, darling. Just breathe with me. Everything will be okay." There was a power behind his voice that forced me to listen.
Dr. Green squatted down next to us; his face was serious. "Sang, did you know that your mother has cancer?"
I shook my head, the stuttering of my heart quelled by Owen's hand pressing against my breastbone. "My dad told us that she was sick, but not what it was."
"Well, I believe that she may have overdosed on morphine. She had a lot of repeat prescriptions. I must have her taken to the hospital. Earlier you said you didn't know your father's number, right?" I nodded my head. "Well, I'll make a call to some of these hospitals and see if we can't reach him."
He stood up and eyed his companion. "Next time you get to check on the other patient while I get the cute one."
Owen's chest vibrated. I couldn't tell if he was laughing or not, but he did tighten his grip on me. He and I stayed like that until the ambulance showed up. Then I was whisked away to the gray BMW sitting in the driveway. I familiar figure came jogging over.
Kota narrowed his eyes at the sight of me in Owen's arms. "What's going on? Are you okay Sang?"
Owen stiffened, "do you two know each other?"
Clearing my throat, I found my voice. "We met earlier today. I may have accused Kota and Nathan of following me home from the school."
Owen locked eyes with Kota. They seemed to be having a silent conversation like I'd seen Kota and Nathan do earlier. I wiggled in his arms wanting to be put down while they had their awkward conversation, but he didn't release me. It felt odd to be in the arms of a teacher with a student right next to us. Surely it wasn't appropriate.
"I'm sure that was purely coincidental." Owen drawled. "Miss Sorenson's mother is going to the hospital. She's quite ill."
"Oh." Said, Kota. "So, why do you have her?"
"Her father is away on a business trip, so I'll be looking after her for the time being. Can you have Mr. Morgan and Mr. Coleman give me a call tomorrow?" Owen started walking to the car, setting me down and opening the passenger door for me. "I'll call you later, Mr. Lee. I must be getting her home."
Kota's eyes widened. I wasn't sure if it was the dismissal or Owen's use of the word home. I found it amusing either way. I slid into the seat and allowed Owen to close the door. Owen walked around the car and got it. Kota shook his head then walked back to his house. We stayed in the driveway until Dr. Green got into the backseat. I watched the ambulance pull away.
"I sent her medication off with the EMT. I'll go in tomorrow and check on her. She was starting to come-to in the ambulance. Your mother should be okay, Sang." Dr. Green patted me on my good shoulder.