Page 4 of Hate On
“Is that why your mom and dad aren’t here? They’re back in America?” he asked as he moved to the foot of the bed to sit down. He’d already talked to his mom and dad. They’d said they’d try to be on the first flight out to check up on him, but he’d told them he was fine.
Whether or not they’d listen, he had no idea. But hewasn’ta little kid like they seemed to think.
And he definitely wasn’t like this girl. She was really young. Probably too young for any boarding school he was aware of. She should have her mom and dad with her.
She nodded at him, looking kind of pitiful.
“Are they going to come see you?” he asked.
“Mama said they would,” she whispered. “Daddy was saying they didn’t have enough time, but if Mama says so…”
Her heart was in her eyes so he hoped she was right about her mother.
“It’s getting kind of late,” he told her. “Are you having trouble sleeping?”
“It’s too quiet.” Julianna watched him with big eyes. “I can’t sleep when it’s this quiet.”
He nodded, understanding. Even though there was noise out in the hallway, the hospital they were in was in a quiet part of the countryside. He was used to New York, where it wasneverquiet. It had taken him forever to learn how to sleep at the boarding school. The silence of the mountains around him had been weird.
“Maybe I can tell you a story?”
Her eyes widened and for the first time, a hint of a smile curled her mouth. “I’d like that.”
* * *
He’d always liked tellingtall tales, and Julianna turned out to be a great audience.
She listened far better than his friends, his parents, or anybody else ever had. Well, his teachers might count. He wrote some of his stories down and the teachers liked those, but nobody had everlistened.
And she liked it best when hetoldthe stories, not just when he was reading her books to her.
He had a deck of cards a friend had given him the day he’d smacked his head a little too hard. One afternoon, he spent a few hours teaching Julianna how to playWar. He tried to teach her poker, but that was a little too involved. So instead, he showed her how to play solitaire, and let her keep the cards so if she got bored she’d have something to do.
He was positive he’d be out of there any day—any minute, really.
But one day turned into two and then three, and he was still there. It didn’t help that the headaches weren’t getting any better. A couple of times he had a hard time telling if the nurse was holding up two fingers or four.
One afternoon, the only halfway nice nurse, a pretty blonde who said he could call her Miss Léonie, told him that his parents were on their way.
He rolled his eyes and said, “Fine, whatever.” But he was a little excited to see them. It had only been a month since spring break and he knew he’d see them before too long with summer getting close, but he missed his parents. Well, he missed his mom. Sometimes, not that he’d ever tell them, he kind of wished he didn’t have to go to boarding school. He knew his father had attended this same school and he had fun here, but it wasn’t the same as living at home.
Now, a couple of hours after Miss Léonie had told him about his parents’ impending arrival, he sat with Julianna as she carefully drew another card, studying it before looking at the spread in front of her before choosing where to lay it down.
He grinned at her. “You got the hang of it.”
“It should be Ihavethe hang of it.” She wrinkled her nose as she grinned at him.
He did something he hadn’t done in years—he stuck his tongue out at her.
Julianna laughed.
The sound was cut short by the door opening and they both turned their heads to watch, expecting one of the nurses with another breathing treatment for Julianna.
But it was a tall man with nearly black hair, edged silver near his ears. With him was a slim woman with brown hair, her eyes looking out behind a neat pair of gold-rimmed glasses.
“Mama! Daddy!” Julianna’s face lit up with a bright grin and she held out her arms.
The woman came rushing over and bent over to hug Julianna.