This story is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real life persons, places, or events is purely coincidence.
I welcome your comments and feedback. Please feel free to email me at ascouter4@gmail.com
The Academy in the Forest by Chuck S– Chapter 11
I woke suddenly with a sharp pain in my leg, and I could feel my eyes starting to water. I'm not sure what time it was, but it was still dark in the room. There weren't even any early morning rays of sunshine filtering through the blinds on the window. I sat up on the side of the bed for a moment, hoping that the pain would pass. After a few minutes, there was no change in the level of pain. I leaned over to turn on my bedside lamp, and in the process ended up putting some weight on my injured leg. Needless to say, that was a mistake, and I let out a loud yelp as the pain significantly increased.
"Hey, are you okay?" Scott asked, his voice full of concern. He quickly threw his covers off and crossed the room to sit down next to me on my bed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder to comfort me. "Is it your leg?"
"Yeah. I guess what ever they gave me yesterday wore off, and now my leg really hurts." I answered, trying my best to keep as much of the pain out of my voice as I could. I don't think Scott bought it however.
"Give me your phone." Scott said, holding his hand out. After a moment I handed it to him and he make a call.
"Hey Mr. Stevenson, or Dad now I guess. Sorry to bother you so early, but Tim woke up and is in a lot of pain." Scott told our dad. That was going to take some getting used to. Anyway, I couldn't hear what Dad was saying to Scott. "I don't know, he kind of yelped and that woke me up. It's bad enough that he is in tears." There was another short pause. "Okay, we'll see you when you get here." Scott finished and hung up the phone before handing it back to me.
"You didn't have to do that Scott." I said as the dam finally broke and tears began to flow down my cheeks. Scott just pulled me in tighter and held me close.
"Look Tim, I know that you are always trying to be strong, always trying to keep everything in. You don't want to be a bother to anyone. You were used to being alone, where everyone just picked on you and bullied you. You have been my rock these past few weeks, supporting me through everything, and now it's my turn. I get it. Up until a couple of weeks ago you were alone. Well, you aren't alone any more! You have me, you have friends, you have the team now. Tim, I love you, and I want to be here for you, but you have to let me." Scott said with a passion as tears appeared in his eyes, causing them to shine like opulent sapphires.
"You... you said..." I was taken aback by Scott's speech, but there was one line that caught me completely off guard. He said that he loved me. Never in my wildest dreams did I see a boy like Scott coming in to my life and falling in love with me. In that moment, I could see the rest of my life laid out in front of me. I could see my future with Scott, growing up together, spending our adult lives together, growing old together. The thought made me happy. Up until I met Scott, I was living day to day, just trying to survive. Fighting through depression, and coping with the bullying. For the first time since I can remember, there was a light at the end of the tunnel, and the light was bright!
"Yes. I know. I'll say it again." Scott looked directly into my eyes. The look in his eyes conveyed so many emotions, and such deep feelings. I felt like I was looking directly into his soul when he did say it again, "I love you Tim."
Scott slowly leaned in and gave me the most passionate kiss we had shared up to this point in our relationship. I felt like that at this moment, our relationship became cemented together. I knew that without a doubt, I loved Scott too.
"I love you too Scott." I said breaking our kiss for only a moment before placing my lips back against his. When we stopped for a breath, I added, "I love you so much Scott." As I leaned in to kiss him once again, my weight shifted, sending another sharp pain through my leg, causing me to yelp once again. Scott backed away, afraid to cause me any more pain.
"Dad is on the way. He will know what to do. For now, just try to sit there okay. I don't like seeing you in pain Tim. I'd do anything to take it away." Scott gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze as there was a knock on the door which he quickly went to answer.
Opening the door, standing outside our room was Dad, and Dr. Burt, the school's doctor. Scott quickly showed them in, and they walked over to take a look at me.
"What happened Tim?" Dad asked with concern in his eyes.
"I'm not sure. I woke up and my leg was hurting. I sat up, hoping the pain would get better, but it didn't. When I went to turn on the light and accidentally put some weight on my leg which hurt a lot. That's when Scott woke up and called you."
"Well, let's have a look at your leg Tim." Dr. Burt said, kneeling down in front of me. I was glad that I decided to sleep with my boxers on, because it would be mildly embarrassing to have both the doctor, and my dad checking out my leg if I was naked. The doctor took a look at my leg, and pushed on my shin gently, causing me to yelp softly in pain. "Well your leg is swollen, and you have quite a bruise starting to come in now. I don't think that your leg is any worse. Have you taken the pain medicine you were prescribed?"
"We weren't able to fill the prescription yesterday. By the time we got out of the emergency room, the local pharmacy was closed." My dad answered.
"I'm sorry. If I had known, I could have made a phone call. The pharmacist is a friend of mine. We could have gotten that all taken care of" Dr. Burt said. "Luckily, I do have some pain medicine in my office that the school keeps on hand just in case. I'll be back in a few minutes okay Tim? Hang in there bud, it will all be okay. I'll also get you excused from your classes for the day, some rest will do you good. Especially once you have some more pain medicine."
Dr. Burt left the room leaving Scott, Dad, and I behind. Dad let out a big sigh. "Tim, I'm sorry that you got hurt bud. I don't know what else I can do for you. It sounds like Dr. Burt will get you squared away, and it looks like Scott is looking after you quite well. I'm sorry this happened, and I hope you don't let this discourage you. You have been doing great son! I can't tell you how great it is to see you finally happy. You have friends, and someone special in your life now. This is just a bump in the road, and you will get over it okay?"
"Dad, I know things are better. When you first told me we were moving, I really didn't want to. Now, I'm glad we did. Earlier, I thought about my future, and how there is a light at the end of the tunnel now. Thank you Dad. I really like it here." I said, trying not to be emotional.
"If it's okay with you Tim, I'm going to head out. I'll arrange a sub for my first period or two today and pick up your medicine. I'll be back with it as soon as I can okay?" Dad said, ruffling my hair.
"Okay Dad. Thanks for coming." I said as he walked toward the door. He gave a quick wave before walking out the door.
"Want to watch some TV while we wait for the doctor to come back?" Scott asked, standing and moving toward the TV.
"Sure, that will work, and thanks Scott. For everything."
"The pleasure is all mine. I hope you don't mind, but I'll sit on my bed at least until your pain is a bit better. Don't want to jostle you around any more than needed." Scott said as he turned on the TV, and turned on Netflix.
About ten minutes later, Dr. Burt returned with some pain medicine for me to take. He did warn me that it would likely make me drowsy, but since he had excused me from classes for the day, that sleeping was the best thing for me. As expected, about twenty minutes after the doctor left, I started getting sleepy. Soon after, I had fallen asleep.
I sat on the side of my bed with the TV on, but all I was watching was Tim as he slept. Seeing him get hurt yesterday, and seeing him in pain this morning really put into perspective just what he meant to me. I knew that I really liked him, and I mean really liked him a lot, but seeing him get hurt? It made me realize that I never wanted to lose him. Admittedly, I knew I was in love with him before he got hurt, It's just that the roller coaster of emotions I've been on over the past couple of weeks more or less culminated when Tim's cry of pain woke me up this morning. I wanted to wait for the perfect moment to tell Tim that I loved him, but I was so worried about him, it just sort of came out. Seeing the look on his face when I said it though, and hearing him say it back was so worth it. Maybe there is no such thing as the perfect time. You can try to plan everything to the smallest detail, but almost always, something wont go to plan. Maybe telling him that I loved him at a time that he needed my support, and a time that I was concerned about him truly was perfect.
I turned the TV off, and double checked my alarm before turning off the light and going back to sleep for another couple hours before I had to get up for the last day of classes for this week. We would have one more week of classes before spring break, then it would be off to California for Disneyland with my new family. I still was a bit overwhelmed by everything. I had been at an all time low when I found out that my parents had given up custody. I was so worried that I'd be taken away and put in to some random foster home. I'd lose Tim, I'd lose my friends and team mates. I'd lose everything
Before Tim came in to my life, I was in a dark place. My parents had rejected me. Sure I talked to some of the other guys around school, but I didn't feel like any of them were really my friends, even if they thought they were mine. They were just faces that I passed by as I went through the motions. Soccer was an outlet for my frustrations, I'm not sure that it was fun. When Tim came in to my life everything changed. The blur that was the life I had suddenly became clear. It wasn't just going through the motions anymore. My life was finally real. It had meaning.
Then my parents threatened to take it all away, and the world I was starting to actually like came crashing down. I'm not going to lie, if I had to to leave everything behind to go to some foster home. I'd have killed myself. I don't know how, but I'd have done it. Done. The end. Good bye. That would have been it, but Tim saved me. Tim and his family saved me. Now they were my family. I don't think that things could have turned out any better. I am so thankful that Tim came into my life, and I'm so thankful that his family is taking me as one of their own. I couldn't wait to see where things went from here.
That concludes chapter 11.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, more than 42,000 Americans commit suicide every year, making suicide the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. Unfortunately, these numbers are only on the rise. If you are depressed or suicidal, please know that there is help out there for you. The biggest step is asking for help, and I know it is the hardest step. If you or someone you know are contemplating suicide, please, I implore you, call the suicide prevention hotline. If you live in the US, the number is 1-800-273-8255