"Good grief, Cole! What happened to you, this time?" Kaylee asked, worriedly. She had always seen Cole come back from tussles as regular as clockwork. But twelve year old Kaylee never really got used to seeing Cole like this.
"It's nothing. Bobby Evans was talking a lot of trash and I just had to put him in his place." Cole said gruffly.
"Talking trash? About what? You and the other boys are always getting into some kind of fight."
Kaylee just couldn't understand what was wrong with Cole, or all the young boys for that matter. It seemed like they were always fighting or arguing about something. And this, or something like it, was always the end result. Boys were really just some kind of strange species to a young girl like Kaylee.
"You don't understand, Kaylee. I couldn't just take trash talk like that. I had to put Evans in his place." Cole said.
"It sure looks like he put you in your place." Kaylee said curtly.
Her remark elicited a sneer from Cole. He wiped his mouth. Kaylee saw his hand motioning and wiping. It was trickling with little red drops that she hadn't noticed before.
"Cole, you're bleeding!" She said anxiously.
"It's nothing! You think I'm in bad shape? You should take a look at Evans!"
"I don't care about who's in worse shape!" Kaylee shot back. She had become clearly agitated by Cole's nonchalant attitude towards what had happened. How could he just joke around when he looked so beaten up?
"We've got to get you home. You need to get yourself checked out. You might even have a concussion!"
Kaylee's tone was full of concern, surprising and amusing Cole at the same time.
"Concussion? Where did you learn such a big word? You're only twelve."
Kaylee folded her arms angrily and let the breeze blow past them before she answered. Growing up as childhood neighbors, they always met and played together in the rolling hills around their houses despite the age difference. It was a quiet spot in their suburban town. Kaylee always liked to consider it as their secret play place. But she always suspected that Cole just considered her as a little sister, and nothing more. Cole's remark just reinforced her thinking. This annoyed Kaylee, who couldn't even place where her feelings for her older friend were coming from.
If only she could control her feelings for him as easily as she could read and process information. Everyone knew Kaylee was a brainy girl and that she would make something of herself. It was an accepted notion that Kaylee would someday work in the medical field. She definitely had the brains and the aptitude for it.
"Maybe if you read a little more instead of getting trouble, you'd understand."
Cole laughed off Kaylee's little outburst. She couldn't understand why he had to act so tough. How could she? She was the product of a great family and great parents. Cole had the great fortune to have an alcoholic father and a mother with more than a shady past.
Sometimes Cole couldn't understand why his dysfunctional family was living in such a quiet neighborhood at all. They just seemed to stick out like rotten apples in a basket in the neighborhood. This made him even doubly grateful for having a friend like Kaylee to grow up with. She was always there for him and provided a sweet camaraderie in his tumultuous life. This made what he had to do even harder.
"Whatever. Well, it's getting late. We better start heading home." Cole said. There was no happiness in his voice. He dreaded going home and would not mind staying out all night. But Kaylee had to go home, and Cole knew it.
"Okay. But you really should stop getting into so many fights." Kaylee scolded.
"Kaylee, I promise I'll never get into another fight in this neighborhood again. Just won't happen."
There was a tone of finality in Cole's voice which made Kaylee pause and turn as they started to walk down the street.
"Really? Why do you say that?" she asked.
Kaylee turned to Cole as they walked, she didn't see the car barreling toward her. But Cole did.
At that instant, everything seemed to suddenly go into slow motion. Cole saw the oncoming car swerving wildly, veering toward Kay Kay, his nickname for her.
‘The guy must be drunk,' he thought, as the car quickly approached.
Cole leaped into action and shoved Kaylee away, just as the car slammed into him. Before Kaylee could do anything, she hit the ground hard, rolling to a safe stop a few feet from the car. She would have some bruises but at least she would live. She was not so sure about Cole, who was now down on the road.
"Oh my God! Is he all right? I'm so sorry!" the distracted driver stumbled over his own words as he leaped out of the car.
But Kaylee ignored him and ran to Cole. She had to see if he was all right.
"Cole? Cole! Are you okay?
"Call for help!" Kaylee screamed at the stranger, hysterically.
A long minute later Cole stirred and opened his eyes. He saw Kaylee looking down at him. His whole body ached, but he smiled.
"Kaylee. You're okay?" Cole asked.
Kaylee just nodded and hugged Cole, practically landing right on top of him, in a full embrace. The driver was calling 911 for an ambulance, also shaken but now relieved he was alive. Kaylee squeezed Cole's hand tightly and waited for the paramedics to arrive. It would be the last time they would be together for the next twelve years. It had been arranged that Cole would live with his aunt out west, finishing high school, and then go on to join the Navy, leaving Kaylee crushed. He left the next day, as arranged, with non-life-threatening injuries included.
***
"Don't you ever stop staring at that cellphone, Watts?"
Dr. O'Bannon's voice startled Kaylee. It took a lot to startle Kaylee, usually. It was common knowledge in the sports clinic where Kaylee worked that she was a cell-phone addict. With every free moment in the clinic that she had (and they were not a lot), Kaylee was buried in the world of social media, shopping sites, and medical forums. She was always online, and she was proud of it. Even Kaylee often joked that the day the internet was discovered was the day she was truly born.
"Dr. O'Bannon! Sorry, I didn't notice the time pass."
O'Bannon frowned at Kaylee. The son of Irish immigrants Dr. James O' Bannon was a very tough boss who demanded the most from his employees. Medicine was in his blood. His father had been one of the earliest medical practitioners in the country and had made a name for himself in the medical community while raising his family. O'Bannon longed to grow out of the shadow of his father and in all respects he did. He had put up the sports clinic with his own money, blood, sweat, and tears.
He was a very stern and demanding superior at the sports clinic. But even he had to admit that Kaylee Watts was a very reliable intern, despite always being on the phone. She was very bright, and he knew she would make a name for herself in Sports Med Rehab, treating the elite athletes who went a great distance to their small town for the best rehab care in the country.
The internship at the clinic was a step to a bigger goal. She knew her graduation hinged on this and she was certain to be a future Physiotherapist. But recently she had been slipping at her duties. The workload that was once effortlessly balanced was now hopelessly in disarray. More often than not, Kaylee was staring at her cellphone and today was no exception.
He crossed his arms sternly. It made the Irishman look even larger than usual. Kaylee glanced at Dr. O'Bannon's face. His expression looked like he could eat a lion alive. Kaylee couldn't look him in the eye and just looked away.
"You know Kaylee, I'll just say this once." he said. Kaylee was caught off guard with the way O'Bannon addressed her. He never called anyone by their first names. This was a first. She pulled back at her long, wavy black hair, a nervous habit she had only acquired since her childhood.
"I know what they say about me in the clinic. I know I'm a demanding boss and an overall SOB. I know it takes a lot to make me like someone. Hell, I probably wouldn't like me, if I met me."
Kaylee was confused by what Dr. O'Bannon was saying.
"Sir?"
"Look. I know your graduation's coming up and this internship's soon coming to an end. You're my best intern and you're looking to graduate right at the top. But it's no reason to slack off towards the end of the term."
Kaylee shook her head.
"No, sir. I'm not slacking. I mean I'm not,"
Kaylee caught herself. She was beginning to stutter and didn't really know what she was going to say next so she just stopped talking mid-sentence. It was an awkward moment, as she was always so professional.
O'Bannon sighed and looked up at the ceiling. He knew Kaylee was a great worker and had a bright future. He didn't want to give her too much of a hard time.
"If you want to get on my good side, you've got to do your job when you're supposed to, and do it right. And by golly, you actually did do your job right."
Kaylee controlled the urge to laugh. O'Bannon must have really been a dinosaur to use expressions like ‘By golly.'