CASEY'S DOOM
At the first break she goes out and looks for him. She finds him easily enough; he is being beaten up again. Apparently he had been sitting under a tree until Gabe and the jocks found him. When Desi gets outside, they're hitting him against the flagpole, and with one look at his face she sees they have done loads more then just that. She remembers the day they met. She remembers the kiss. She remembers the cuts on his belly. She runs to the flagpole and stands in front of it, as they want to hit Casey against it. Gabe laughs.
"Out of our way. He is no longer under your protection."
"He wasn't indeed, he wasn't with me any more. Now I am here again. I suggest you let him go."
"No way."
"Always. You let Casey go right now."
Gabe gives a few of the jocks that aren't really helping a signal. They take her with her upper arms and want to drag her away. She makes a fist and hits the guy on the right. With one arm free, she hits the other jock in the face.
"And now. Let Casey go."
The jocks look at her. They didn't think she'd fight back. They let Casey go and beat it as fast as they can. Gabe remains there for a little longer. Then he kicks Casey to the back of his head and leaves. Desi runs to Casey. He lost conscience by the last kick.
"Casey? Casey!"
He doesn't react at all. She tries to remain calm. She checks his pulse and breath. They're both fine. Then she takes his head and looks at it. He is bleeding badly from the back of his head. He's not going to last without medical attention. She lifts him, which is quite a bit more difficult then she thought, and takes him to the nurse's office. She lays him down there, and looks for the nurse.
"Nurse Harper? Somebody? Please, Casey needs help!"
Nurse Harper runs over to her.
"What happened?"
"Some guys just beat the shit out of him. Gabe kicked him to the back of his head. They hit him against the flagpole when I saw him. They have done more, I know, but I don't know what. He has lost conscience when Gabe kicked him."
Nurse Harper nods and starts to stitch his wounds. Desi is starting to help her. She finds a big bloody spot on his leg, and finds a cut which she cleans that with alcohol. The nurse finds the bondage around his belly.
"What's under this?"
"Some more cuts. This has been going on for longer, but he didn't want to come here. So I helped him by cleaning his wounds."
"Okay. Well, for as far as possible, we helped him. He should regain conscience within this hour."
"Thanks. Can I stay here?"
"Yes, off course. I'll inform your teacher. Who are your teachers for today?"
"Mr. Tate and Mr. Grossberg."
"Are you off then?"
"Yes, we only have two hours left."
"All right. You take him to his home as soon as he wakes up. You know where he lives?"
Desi shakes her head.
"He lives at 540 Vermont Street."
"All right. Thank you. May I call his parents?"
"Certainly. I'll bring you a phone. I presume you don't know the phone number either?"
She shakes her head again. Nurse Harper looks a little worried about Desi, but she doesn't say anything about it. She gets a phone and Casey's parent's number. She dials the number.
"Connor residence."
Desi hears a male voice.
"Mr. Connor?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"I am Desiree Mirkwood. Your son Casey stayed at my house last night."
"Hello Ms. Mirkwood."
"Desi please."
"All right Desi. Why are you calling?"
"It's Casey."
"What happened?"
"A couple of jocks at school beat him up. He has lost conscience."
"O my God! What exactly happened?"
"Well, I don't know exactly sir. When I found him, they were pounding him against the flagpole."
"With his head?"
"No, with. His legs spread."
"O my God. Did he loose conscience then?"
"No, I came up there to help him. In the end one of them kicked Casey against his head. That's when he lost conscience."
"Didn't he stand up for himself?"
"Mr. Connor, there were ten jocks. They play football. He couldn't possibly."
"That's no excuse! He should stand up for himself!"
"Sir, nobody in the school dares to stand up to them together."
"That is still no excuse."
"Then what is? With all due respect sir, I dare to lay a bet that not even you would dare to stand up to them."
"An excuse is going down fighting. Now he isn't setting one foot in my house as long as he doesn't stand up for himself."
"Mr. Connor, this is serious. Casey is hurt bad! You've got to let him in!"
"No."
She hears a female voice on the background.
"I want to speak to Mrs. Connor."
"All right."
There is a short silence. Then she hears Mr. Connor's voice.
"It's for you."
"Who?"
"The girl Casey had a sleepover with last night."
Then she hears the clear voice from Mrs. Connor.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Connor? This is Desiree Mirkwood. Casey had a sleepover at my house last night."
"Yes, I remember. What can I do for you?"
"Casey is hurt. He lost conscience. He has been beaten up by a bunch of jocks. And no offence, but your husband is terribly stubborn. He doesn't want Casey in his house until he learns to stand up for himself."
"O my God. I'll come right over."
She hears Mr. Connor on the background.
"That boy needs to learn how to defend himself. He isn't coming back into the house without my permission and he won't get it."
"Come on, he's hurt!"
"Well, he can spend another night at Desi's house. And he won't get in here before he stood up for himself."
"I'm sorry. I can't help you. Bye."
"But."
She hears a click. Mrs. Connor hung up. She hangs up two. She looks at Casey. He's still not conscience yet.
"Well Casey, seems like we're going to spend a lot of time together."
She looks at him. He seems asleep. But she knows he'll wake up sometime and then she's got to face him. She knows he feels bad about the kiss. She's worried. Two hours pass. Casey didn't move an inch. Everyone's heading off home. Nurse Harper comes in.
"If he doesn't wake up the next hour we'll take him to the hospital."
Desi nods. She is worried, Casey should be awake by now. She takes his hands. They are warm. She starts crying.
"Casey. Why did you run away? Why didn't you stay with me? You were safe with me you know that! Please wake up! Please Casey."
A warm tear runs down her face. It lands on Casey's hand. He opens his eyes.
"Fuck. My head. What happened? Where am I?"
"Casey, you're awake! God. Gabe kicked you against the back of your head and you lost conscience. You have been KO for about two hours, maybe two and a half. You're in Nurse Harper's office. I took you there because you didn't wake up."
"Aw shit. What time is it?"
"It's about 5.00PM. Nurse Harper almost wanted to take you to the hospital." Casey sighs.
"Did you call my parents?"
Desi silently nods.
"Then it's going to be a sleepover. Mum will call in a couple of days, dad just needs time to cool down."
Desi looks at him. This happened before? Poor Casey. Then she nods.
"Come on, let's take you to my place. You think you can stand?"
"I don't know."
With much trouble Desi helps Casey to sit up. The whole room starts spinning in front of his eyes.
"I don't think I can walk alone, even if I can stand. This room is like. Spinning!"
Desi nods. She gets Nurse Harper.
"You can take him home. Take good care of him and in a day or two he'll be up and running again."
Desi nods. She can't believe it. Then she helps Casey stand. He's very dizzy, so she's got to help him walk. They carefully walk down the stairs to her home. There they take the elevator up. Desi wants to go with the stairs, she's claustrophobic, but she knows Casey can't walk the stairs. So she takes a deep breath and steps into the elevator with Casey. In there she presses the button and closes her eyes. When they're up and Desi hears the doors open, she takes Casey out as fast as possible. She opens the door to her apartment and takes Casey in. She sits him down on the bed where she helps him take off his shoes, socks, jeans and shirt and changes him into one of her father's shirts. Then she lies him down. Then she sits down next to him.
"Why did you let them get you like that?"
He looks down. His eyes fill with tears.
"Because. I had the feeling I had nothing to live for then to be a toy to these guys."
She looks in his eyes, but he looks down. She thinks he knows that isn't true, but she's got a good guess. She doesn't say anything about the kiss though.
"Casey, listen to me. Look at me. You are way more then just a toy to these guys. You are my best friend. I don't want you to get hurt."
She looks him in his eyes, and he looks back. Then he looks down again.
"When I kissed you, you didn't respond at all."
"I was surprised. And besides, if I didn't want you to kiss me I would have pushed you away."
There is logic in that Casey can't fight. She would have pushed him away. But did that mean.
"Desi. I kissed you because, even though we haven't known each other for long, I think I love you."
"I have about the same feeling. It's still a little odd for me, I've never been in love before."
Casey looks down. That's good, right? She has never been in love before. Then she can't say he's a bad kisser, because her first kiss came from him and, or so he hopes silently, her last kiss will come from him. He bends forward and kisses her. This time, she reacts, though insecure. When they break the kiss he smiles. She tastes like strawberries. She smiles two, glad she could prove she loves him. Then she lies him down again.
"Casey you need some sleep."
He smiles and nods. He lies down.
"But where will you sleep?"
"On the couch. It's a big one, remember? And I'm quite small. So, good night Casey!"
"But."
"I've slept on the couch before. If you weren't badly injured I would have had this discussion with you. But you need a good night of sleep in a big comfy bed."
"All right. Good night!"
"Sweet dreams."
She bends over and kisses him before she leaves the room.
At the first break she goes out and looks for him. She finds him easily enough; he is being beaten up again. Apparently he had been sitting under a tree until Gabe and the jocks found him. When Desi gets outside, they're hitting him against the flagpole, and with one look at his face she sees they have done loads more then just that. She remembers the day they met. She remembers the kiss. She remembers the cuts on his belly. She runs to the flagpole and stands in front of it, as they want to hit Casey against it. Gabe laughs.
"Out of our way. He is no longer under your protection."
"He wasn't indeed, he wasn't with me any more. Now I am here again. I suggest you let him go."
"No way."
"Always. You let Casey go right now."
Gabe gives a few of the jocks that aren't really helping a signal. They take her with her upper arms and want to drag her away. She makes a fist and hits the guy on the right. With one arm free, she hits the other jock in the face.
"And now. Let Casey go."
The jocks look at her. They didn't think she'd fight back. They let Casey go and beat it as fast as they can. Gabe remains there for a little longer. Then he kicks Casey to the back of his head and leaves. Desi runs to Casey. He lost conscience by the last kick.
"Casey? Casey!"
He doesn't react at all. She tries to remain calm. She checks his pulse and breath. They're both fine. Then she takes his head and looks at it. He is bleeding badly from the back of his head. He's not going to last without medical attention. She lifts him, which is quite a bit more difficult then she thought, and takes him to the nurse's office. She lays him down there, and looks for the nurse.
"Nurse Harper? Somebody? Please, Casey needs help!"
Nurse Harper runs over to her.
"What happened?"
"Some guys just beat the shit out of him. Gabe kicked him to the back of his head. They hit him against the flagpole when I saw him. They have done more, I know, but I don't know what. He has lost conscience when Gabe kicked him."
Nurse Harper nods and starts to stitch his wounds. Desi is starting to help her. She finds a big bloody spot on his leg, and finds a cut which she cleans that with alcohol. The nurse finds the bondage around his belly.
"What's under this?"
"Some more cuts. This has been going on for longer, but he didn't want to come here. So I helped him by cleaning his wounds."
"Okay. Well, for as far as possible, we helped him. He should regain conscience within this hour."
"Thanks. Can I stay here?"
"Yes, off course. I'll inform your teacher. Who are your teachers for today?"
"Mr. Tate and Mr. Grossberg."
"Are you off then?"
"Yes, we only have two hours left."
"All right. You take him to his home as soon as he wakes up. You know where he lives?"
Desi shakes her head.
"He lives at 540 Vermont Street."
"All right. Thank you. May I call his parents?"
"Certainly. I'll bring you a phone. I presume you don't know the phone number either?"
She shakes her head again. Nurse Harper looks a little worried about Desi, but she doesn't say anything about it. She gets a phone and Casey's parent's number. She dials the number.
"Connor residence."
Desi hears a male voice.
"Mr. Connor?"
"Yes. Who is this?"
"I am Desiree Mirkwood. Your son Casey stayed at my house last night."
"Hello Ms. Mirkwood."
"Desi please."
"All right Desi. Why are you calling?"
"It's Casey."
"What happened?"
"A couple of jocks at school beat him up. He has lost conscience."
"O my God! What exactly happened?"
"Well, I don't know exactly sir. When I found him, they were pounding him against the flagpole."
"With his head?"
"No, with. His legs spread."
"O my God. Did he loose conscience then?"
"No, I came up there to help him. In the end one of them kicked Casey against his head. That's when he lost conscience."
"Didn't he stand up for himself?"
"Mr. Connor, there were ten jocks. They play football. He couldn't possibly."
"That's no excuse! He should stand up for himself!"
"Sir, nobody in the school dares to stand up to them together."
"That is still no excuse."
"Then what is? With all due respect sir, I dare to lay a bet that not even you would dare to stand up to them."
"An excuse is going down fighting. Now he isn't setting one foot in my house as long as he doesn't stand up for himself."
"Mr. Connor, this is serious. Casey is hurt bad! You've got to let him in!"
"No."
She hears a female voice on the background.
"I want to speak to Mrs. Connor."
"All right."
There is a short silence. Then she hears Mr. Connor's voice.
"It's for you."
"Who?"
"The girl Casey had a sleepover with last night."
Then she hears the clear voice from Mrs. Connor.
"Hello?"
"Mrs. Connor? This is Desiree Mirkwood. Casey had a sleepover at my house last night."
"Yes, I remember. What can I do for you?"
"Casey is hurt. He lost conscience. He has been beaten up by a bunch of jocks. And no offence, but your husband is terribly stubborn. He doesn't want Casey in his house until he learns to stand up for himself."
"O my God. I'll come right over."
She hears Mr. Connor on the background.
"That boy needs to learn how to defend himself. He isn't coming back into the house without my permission and he won't get it."
"Come on, he's hurt!"
"Well, he can spend another night at Desi's house. And he won't get in here before he stood up for himself."
"I'm sorry. I can't help you. Bye."
"But."
She hears a click. Mrs. Connor hung up. She hangs up two. She looks at Casey. He's still not conscience yet.
"Well Casey, seems like we're going to spend a lot of time together."
She looks at him. He seems asleep. But she knows he'll wake up sometime and then she's got to face him. She knows he feels bad about the kiss. She's worried. Two hours pass. Casey didn't move an inch. Everyone's heading off home. Nurse Harper comes in.
"If he doesn't wake up the next hour we'll take him to the hospital."
Desi nods. She is worried, Casey should be awake by now. She takes his hands. They are warm. She starts crying.
"Casey. Why did you run away? Why didn't you stay with me? You were safe with me you know that! Please wake up! Please Casey."
A warm tear runs down her face. It lands on Casey's hand. He opens his eyes.
"Fuck. My head. What happened? Where am I?"
"Casey, you're awake! God. Gabe kicked you against the back of your head and you lost conscience. You have been KO for about two hours, maybe two and a half. You're in Nurse Harper's office. I took you there because you didn't wake up."
"Aw shit. What time is it?"
"It's about 5.00PM. Nurse Harper almost wanted to take you to the hospital." Casey sighs.
"Did you call my parents?"
Desi silently nods.
"Then it's going to be a sleepover. Mum will call in a couple of days, dad just needs time to cool down."
Desi looks at him. This happened before? Poor Casey. Then she nods.
"Come on, let's take you to my place. You think you can stand?"
"I don't know."
With much trouble Desi helps Casey to sit up. The whole room starts spinning in front of his eyes.
"I don't think I can walk alone, even if I can stand. This room is like. Spinning!"
Desi nods. She gets Nurse Harper.
"You can take him home. Take good care of him and in a day or two he'll be up and running again."
Desi nods. She can't believe it. Then she helps Casey stand. He's very dizzy, so she's got to help him walk. They carefully walk down the stairs to her home. There they take the elevator up. Desi wants to go with the stairs, she's claustrophobic, but she knows Casey can't walk the stairs. So she takes a deep breath and steps into the elevator with Casey. In there she presses the button and closes her eyes. When they're up and Desi hears the doors open, she takes Casey out as fast as possible. She opens the door to her apartment and takes Casey in. She sits him down on the bed where she helps him take off his shoes, socks, jeans and shirt and changes him into one of her father's shirts. Then she lies him down. Then she sits down next to him.
"Why did you let them get you like that?"
He looks down. His eyes fill with tears.
"Because. I had the feeling I had nothing to live for then to be a toy to these guys."
She looks in his eyes, but he looks down. She thinks he knows that isn't true, but she's got a good guess. She doesn't say anything about the kiss though.
"Casey, listen to me. Look at me. You are way more then just a toy to these guys. You are my best friend. I don't want you to get hurt."
She looks him in his eyes, and he looks back. Then he looks down again.
"When I kissed you, you didn't respond at all."
"I was surprised. And besides, if I didn't want you to kiss me I would have pushed you away."
There is logic in that Casey can't fight. She would have pushed him away. But did that mean.
"Desi. I kissed you because, even though we haven't known each other for long, I think I love you."
"I have about the same feeling. It's still a little odd for me, I've never been in love before."
Casey looks down. That's good, right? She has never been in love before. Then she can't say he's a bad kisser, because her first kiss came from him and, or so he hopes silently, her last kiss will come from him. He bends forward and kisses her. This time, she reacts, though insecure. When they break the kiss he smiles. She tastes like strawberries. She smiles two, glad she could prove she loves him. Then she lies him down again.
"Casey you need some sleep."
He smiles and nods. He lies down.
"But where will you sleep?"
"On the couch. It's a big one, remember? And I'm quite small. So, good night Casey!"
"But."
"I've slept on the couch before. If you weren't badly injured I would have had this discussion with you. But you need a good night of sleep in a big comfy bed."
"All right. Good night!"
"Sweet dreams."
She bends over and kisses him before she leaves the room.
