It Is Just A Child's Game

The pounding of hearts echoed in their ears as they waited. They couldn’t do anything else but sit and worry. Possibilities ran through their minds. Every sense was wide awake. Goosebumps formed all over. Nothing was worse than the wait.

”Frankie!” Cahlen screamed as she ran to the little boy.

Her heart was racing and she felt like she couldn’t function properly. She tried to pick up his tiny body but when she arrived, he was already in somebody else’s arms.

John’s long strides caused him to arrive to Frankie before Cahlen. He heard her sharp yell but he couldn’t comprehend anything. He remained silent and just lifted the tiny boy. He immediately checked the boy’s pulse and he felt a tiny tug at his heart.

“He is still alive. We have to get him to the hospital.” John mumbled before making his way to his car.

Cahlen didn’t understand anything he said but followed him anyway. She hurried after John, trying to keep up with his pace. Out of all the mess, she was able to grab a towel before they reached John’s car.

Cahlen now had Frankie in her arms. She cradled his tiny body and held the towel against his gaping wound to absorb the blood that was flowing freely. John broke countless laws and knew he would have to pay for it later. However, he didn’t care.

John stopped right in front of the emergency room exit and shut off the engine. He took Frankie from Cahlen’s arms and made his way inside the hospital. He tried to make sure the little boy didn’t get bothered and bleed even more. Cahlen ran ahead and tried to talk to the nurse in charge.

All the nurse saw was a disheveled girl speaking gibberish. Her red hair was damp and all over the place. Goosebumps covered her skin and her gesticulations were incomprehensible. To top it all off, the girl was covered in only a black bikini. It was only when the tall figure dressed in swimming trunks entered the room with a bleeding boy in his arms that she began to understand.

“Roger!” the nurse called. “Take care of that kid.”

A man dressed in scrubs immediately responded and got Frankie carefully. John was a little hesitant to let go but he finally gave in. The nurse carried Frankie out of the waiting room. John and Cahlen tried to follow but found their way blocked by another nurse.

“I am sorry but you can’t go in there.” The nurse said.

“WHAT?!” Cahlen exclaimed. “I am his legal guardian! I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO HIM!”

“Please relax, miss.” The nurse said. “It isn’t allowed. Please come here. You need to fill in papers for him.”

“DO YOU REALLY EXPECT ME TO BE ABLE TO WRITE WHILE I DON’T KNOW WHERE HE IS OR WHAT IS BEING DONE TO HIM?!” Cahlen’s anger was uncontrollable. It was all around her and only an idiot would be able to miss the raw emotion flowing of her.

“Cahlen, relax.” John said, trying to convince her. His shaky voice didn’t do much though.

“REALLY JOHN?!”

John grasped her shaking body. He forced her to look at him. His green eyes bore into her baby blues that were laced with worry. He closed his eyes and regained his composure before speaking again.

“Annie, please relax. We won’t get anything done if we get mad.” John said softly, his voice soothing. “Please Annie.”

Cahlen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly and then repeated her actions until she was finally calm.

“Okay.” The nurse said when she noticed the change. “I just need you to answer a few questions.”

Cahlen nodded in response. She didn’t trust herself to speak yet.

“What is the boy’s name?” the nurse asked.

“Franklin Eric Stiles” Cahlen answered.

“How old is he?”

“He’ll be four years old in Feb.”

“What is his blood type?”

“AB positive”

“And lastly, what is your name and how are you related to the boy?”

“I am Anabelle Cahlen Anderson. I am his legal guardian.”

“Thank you, miss.” The nurse said. “The doctors are with him now. We will update you as often as possible. Please wait.”

The two of them sat quietly. Their bodies were numb as the events of the day ran in their head over and over again. They could feel the stares and hear the whispers.

’That poor little boy.’

‘Reckless parents’

‘Imagine that. Who knows what they were doing when he got injured?’

‘Look at them. They aren’t even fully clothed. No wonder the boy is hurt.’

Cahlen unwillingly let out a soft sob. Everything was getting to her. Frankie is hurt and she can’t do anything about it. The only thing she can do is listen to the people around her talking about things they knew nothing about. Another sob escaped her lips and soon enough it had escalated.

John put an arm around Cahlen in an attempt to comfort her. Even though John was hurting too, he knew it would be nothing compared to what Cahlen must be feeling.

Instead of accepting his efforts, Cahlen shrugged his arm off. She ran her hands over her face and through her knotted hair.

“Thanks for everything, John.” Cahlen mumbled. “You can go now.”

“What?” John asked, completely flabbergasted.

“You’ve done enough, John!” Cahlen said, unable to control her emotions again. “You can leave!”

“What do you mean I’ve done enough?” John ask, scorn in his voice.

“I don’t know, John!” She replied, frustration evident in her voice.

“Yes, you do!” John said as he stood up, his emotions getting the best of him too. “Tell me what you mean, Cahlen!”

“Maybe if you didn’t teach him the game he wouldn’t have cared so fucking much about the stupid coin!” Cahlen yelled, looking up at him.

“Oh, so you’re implying that this happened because of me.” John stated, irritation apparent in his voice.

“No!” Cahlen said forcefully before changing her tone. “I don’t know.”

“Apparently, you do know.” John said. “The same know-it-all Cahlen from high school.”

“What the fuck, John?” Cahlen exclaimed, standing up.

“You haven’t changed have you?!” John stated, his arms crossed against his chest. “You think you are Miss Fucking Perfect and you can’t do any wrong.”

“You know that isn’t true, John.” Cahlen said, pointing her finger at him. “You among all people should know.”

“I used to think it wasn’t true.” John said, his tone thoughtful. “You let me believe it wasn’t but then I realized it was just an act. You really should win an Oscar, Cahlen.”

“Whatever, John” Cahlen replied, rolling her eyes. “It isn’t like you are perfect.”

“I never claimed I was.” John replied.

“But you sure as hell act like it!” Cahlen exclaimed.

“Please take your argument outside.” A new voice entered their conversation. “If you don’t want to, you can either calm down or our guards can escort you outside.”

The intruder was met with icy glares from a pair of sea green eyes and baby blues. However, she wasn’t fazed. She was most probably in her fifties and was a nurse. Her expression didn’t show any hate or judgment but it wasn’t welcoming either.

Cahlen and John grudgingly took their seats. They stared down at the floor and couldn’t help feeling like two children who just got scolded. Cahlen crossed her legs and wrapped her arms around her body. She was trying to cover as much skin as possible for two reasons. One, everyone was staring at her. There was this man at the very corner of the room who licked his lips when they made eye contact briefly. Two, she was cold. Goosebumps covered her skin and she wasn’t sure if it was because she was scared, cold, or both.

Cahlen closed her eyes and tried to block everything out. She made her mind blank and began to stare at a tiny crack in the ceiling. She knew a lot of things were happening around her but she felt as if time has stopped and everyone was frozen.

She isn’t sure how long she stayed like that but a movement at the corner of her eye brought her out of her trance. John had stood up and was walking towards the door. Cahlen didn’t know what to think of his actions and decided to just not think.

She let her baby blues scan the room. There were a lot of people but it wasn’t full. There were a handful of empty chairs. The people in the room ranged from those who didn’t seem to need any medical attention at all to those that seemed like should have been attended to right away.

Cahlen noticed something at the corner of her vision move. She turned her attention that way and was met with the face of the man she noticed earlier. The man seemed to be middle-aged. His fair skin was covered in dark spots, there was barely any hair left on his head, and his teeth were a dark yellow. His blue eyes were bloodshot and his lips were curled in a way that caused shivers down Cahlen’s spine. His face was so close that Cahlen covered her mouth to stop a scream from escaping her mouth.

“Hello there, sweet pea.” The man’s hoarse voice caused Cahlen to cringe.

Cahlen wrapped her arms around her even tighter and tried to ignore his presence. She moved to the edge of her chair, trying to get as far from him as possible.

“Aw, don’t be like that, babe.” The man said, stretching his arm to rest his hand on her arm.

She was about to stand up and change seats but she felt the hand being roughly pushed of her.

“Get your hand off her and get out of my seat!” John said sternly as he stared the man down.

The man raised both his hands and scurried out of the seat and out of the emergency room. John sat down and ignored all the stares he was receiving. Cahlen opened her mouth to thank John; however, something in John’s expression stopped her. She readjusted her seating and continued to look over the people in the room.

Cahlen felt something fall on her lamp and looked to see a black leather jacket. She looked up at John with questioning eyes.

“You seemed cold. I had a jacket in my car.” John said without looking at her.

“But—“ Cahlen started before John cut her off.

“It’s okay. You need it more.” He replied.

Cahlen nodded and dropped her argument, knowing there wasn’t anything she could do to change his mind. She also really loved how the jacket fit her and made her feel warmer.

The two of them sat in silence and it seemed like the whole room remained quiet as well. An hour passed but it seemed like eternity to John & Cahlen. Eventually, John & Cahlen got called. They followed a nurse into a room where Frankie sat with a lollipop in his mouth and a bandage on his head.

“Oh, Frankie baby, are you okay?” Cahlen asked running to the little boy and wrapping him in her arms.

“I’m okay, Kaykay.” Frankie replied, happily licking his lollipop.

“You’re a strong boy aren’t ya, Frankie?” John asked as he walked up to the little boy and held up his fist.

“Yeah, I am!” He exclaimed, bumping John’s fist.

“He is a very strong boy with a thick skull.” A man said as he entered the room. “This time it is a good thing to have a thick skull.”

John and Cahlen let out half-hearted laughs as Frankie just stared blankly at the man.

“I am Dr. Dwayne.” The man introduced himself. “You must be Frankie’s parents.”

John couldn’t help feel his heart skip a beat at that sentence. He looked over at Cahlen who made no move to correct the doctor.

“Frankie will be better soon. Just make sure not to get his bandage wet and to change it regularly.” Dr. Dwayne continued. “I am also prescribing some medicines for him to keep the pain away. That should be all.”

The doctor gave Cahlen a piece of paper and then left the room without another word and the three followed soon with Frankie in John’s arm.. No words were exchanged between them as they walked to John’s car. Frankie was contentedly licking his lollipop. Cahlen was reading through the instructions of the doctor that he wrote down, trying to memorize it by heart. John’s mind was racing. He was still stuck on the doctor’s sentence. You must be Frankie’s parents. He couldn’t understand his feelings. He couldn’t understand why he wished that sentenced was true.