Leaving Through The Window: Chapter 7-One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
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"Hallie...Hallie, c'mon. We gotta get goin' ta school. We already missed the bus."
Breaking from her current dream, Hallie's eyes opened slowly to the soothing, gruff voice calling to her, and she realized that she was still clinging to Logan's arm and he couldn't get up.
"Can I have my arm back now?" he asked with a smirk.
Hallie laughed quietly, then tugged harder on his arm, holding it possesively. "No, mine!" she teased, sticking out her tongue.
Logan shook his head with a short chuckle, then flexed his stiff arm as she let go.
Rolling off the futon and landing with a crouch before she fell flat on the floor, Hallie stretched and stood slowly, straightening out her pajama top. "I don't wanna go ta school!!" she complained through a long yawn.
Smiling a bit and lumbering slowly into the bathroom, Logan gathered up his still-damp clothes from the tub. He grabbed the pill bottle from the sink, then dumped a pill into his hand and tossed it into his mouth.
Hallie stood, leaning on the doorframe to the bathroom with her hands stuffed in the pockets of her shorts. "So, big game day today, it's Friday." she said with a partial smile. "Ya figure the coach'll kick ya off the team after missin' those practices?"
"Hmph." Logan grunted, half smiling as he pulled on his boots. "I sure as hell hope so." glancing toward the window, he said, "I better get goin' 'fore Maurine or my Pop find out I been here all night."
Hallie just nodded as she watched him toss his clothes outside, then climb out the window onto the porch roof. "Meet'cha outside in a little while so we can walk ta school!!" she called after him, getting a wave as he hopped down to the ground after sliding down the drain pipe.
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After quickly throwing on a pair of desert camo shorts that passed her knees, and a grey t-shirt with 'I'm not weird, I'm gifted' across the front in black letters, Hallie slipped her feet into her sneakers, hastily brushed her teeth, then grabbed her backpack off the floor and ran downstairs.
Maurine was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee before work when Hallie rushed by her. "Hey, eat some breakfast before you go Hallie!" she called after her, causing the teenager to stop with her hand on the door handle.
Glaring back at Maurine, Hallie argued, "I ain't hungry!", then without giving her stepmother a chance to say anything, she ran out the door.
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During English class, Hallie was staring longingly out the window from her desk in the far right corner of the room. She turned her attention to Logan, who sat beside her and was staring unfocused at the front of the room where the teacher was writing notes on the board about Shakespeare. She knew something was up with him, ever since the third class of the day he'd been kind of off.
"Hey, psst...Logan!" Hallie whispered, swatting a hand at his leg.
"Hm?" Logan arched an eyebrow, shaking his head and turning to her. "What?" he whispered back, leaning to the side and making sure the teacher wasn't looking.
"Is somethin' wrong? You been out of it since around lunch time." Hallie asked, leaning towards him.
Logan waved a hand below his desk, then mumbled, "I'll tell ya after class."
Furrowing her brows, she sighed loudly, and was about to say something else when she was interrupted by the teacher.
"Hallie, stop talking. Unless you'd like another detention." Ms. Tullen, the gangly red-faced, blonde haired woman scolded, pointing towards her.
Sinking back in her chair and slouching, Hallie made a face before shutting her mouth.
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Once class was finally over, Hallie met with Logan outside the school. Since it was now last period, and the two had a study, they were allowed to leave. Only Seniors were allowed to do that, so in a way they were lucky and didn't have to waste another boring hour in school on such a nice day.
"Hallie," Logan started as he walked up beside her, an unsettling frown on his face.
"What is it?" she pressed urgently, wondering what could make him so mad all of a sudden. "Did you talk to the coach? Did he kick ya off the team?" she asked hopefully.
Grunting, Logan shook his head. "I talked ta the coach...but he didn't kick me off." he told her with a disappointed sigh. "He talked ta my Pop, Hal, about me missin' practices." noticing the grimace on his friend's face, he continued, "My Pop talked him inta lettin' me stay on the team. He wants me in the game t'night."
Hallie's hazel eyes turned to wide, watery saucers and she frowned, biting her lip out of frustration. "They can't do this to you! This is nuts!" she cried loudly.
Logan laid a hand on her shoulder, his eyes regretful. "There's nothin' we can do 'bout this Hallie. I gotta play. Maybe...if I play in the game, my Pop will ferget that I been skippin' practices and go easy on me." he looked down and started walking.
Hallie just stood there, glaring angrily down at the street as if it were Mr. Howlett. "Logan, wait," she called after him, jogging a little to catch up.
He turned his head a little to the side, watching Hallie with a half smile as if to say that everything was going to work out fine.
She took his hand in hers and began swinging it playfully. Hallie began jogging a little, pulling Logan reluctantly into step with her. "C'mon, if you hafta go, atleast come ta my house an' get ready so yer dad can't get to you."
"Alright." he answered roughly, smiling partly in return as Hallie dragged him along.
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Game time was getting close, the sun was slowly turning a fiery orange, signalling a few more hours before it went down completely.
Hallie sat down on her bed, watching as Logan gathered his football stuff in a big duffle bag. She began chewing nervously on the collar of her shirt. She was actually, truly nervous.
Lately she'd been feeling a closer connection with Logan than they'd ever had, but it was more than friendship, and that scared her. Hallie didn't know whether to confront these feelings, to talk about it, or...No, she never really talked about things, not really. She never even told Logan how her mother died, only because she never talked about it, and he didn't feel right bringing it up.
Shaking her head, Hallie looked to Logan who had apparently been talking to her. "Huh?" she asked dumbly.
Logan sighed with a partial smile, rolling his eyes. "I said; we better get goin', I gotta meet with the damn team in the locker room by 5:30."
"Oh..riiiight." Hallie nodded and stood up as Logan grabbed his stuff.
They were just about on their way when Maurine pulled into the driveway. She got out of her little blue Toyota and glared at Hallie. "Where do you think you're going?"
"I'm running away." she replied sarcastically, getting a quiet laugh from Logan as they walked down the driveway, not even stopping.
"Don't get smart with me Hallie." Maurine snapped angrily. Obviously she hadn't had a good day at work.
"Me, smart? Wouldn't dream of it." she quipped with a smirk, then as she and Logan began their walk back towards the school, she called back, "I'm goin' to the game!"
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Crowds cheered from the outdoor bleachers, everyone excited for the Trent Timberwolves to win the first game for the summer league.
Hallie sat behind Trent's team bench, offering moral support for her best friend who was forced into playing. She knew Logan's dad would be at the game, only because his wished for his son to be the football champ he was and nothing more, and that disgusted her. Hallie hated Thomas Howlett, and couldn't understand how he could put his own kid through something like this. He'd beat the crap out of Logan if he didn't play, and he's going to hit him for skipping practices even if he does play. It was a no-win situation of the worst kind.
Wincing as Logan was tackled to the ground, Hallie stood up and cheered for him, not knowing what else to do.
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The end of the game was drawing near, and all Logan could think about was how he just wanted to get the hell off the damn field. He may be built to play football, but with the damage to his heart, it didn't make for the perfect player.
Speaking of his heart, Logan had been gradually feeling a bit worse as the physical demands of the game plagued on. His heart was beating so fast he felt it could burst, and as the quarterback yelled, 'Hike!', he felt a growing tightness in his chest. Glancing to the sidelines he saw a worried Hallie, and further back in the crowd was his glowering father, a stern look on his face as if just telling him to play through the pain.
Hallie watched the game with hot tears glazing her eyes, her fingers twisting around the hem of her shirt. She watched Logan struggle a bit as he ran, and knew something was wrong. It was his heart, she knew it. She knew he shouldn't be out there, why wouldn't his father understand that?! Making Logan play football was killing him! It was literally killing him, and Mr. Howlett was just going to let that happen.
Deciding to go up to the coach and tell him to take Logan out of the game, Hallie got up from her seat and climbed over the player's bench. She stopped short when she watched Logan catch a pass, then get tackled hard by the other team...and not get up. Gasping and feeling a wrenching in her gut, Hallie stared worriedly, then rushed out onto the field after another moment went by without Logan moving. She could hear muffled shouts telling her to stay back, but like hell she was going to listen.
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Speakers buzzed with voices over the intercom as doctors were being called to different floors. The hospital was fairly quiet, and the sterile smell was almost overpowering.
Hallie paced back and forth in the waiting room, right in front of the desk where a few nurses talked quietly about patients. She had left the football field in the ambulance with Logan, after insisting they allow her to ride along or she was going to kill herself. Luckily it worked, and the paramedics knew she was just a concerned friend so they hadn't called the Psyche Ward on her upon arriving at the hospital.
It was killing her to wait so long before receiving a straight answer on Logan's condition, but Hallie stood her ground anyway, even if she did ask the nurse if there was any news about every minute or so. She was surprised as hell that Logan's father had even shown up at the hospital, and even more shocked that he was sitting in the waiting room, looking remorseful. It was a rare thing, since Hallie had never once even seen Mr. Howlett's harsh expression go soft, and especially to see him show sympathy towards his own son. She found it almost ironic that he'd look somewhat sad about putting his son in the hospital, but not even flinch while beating him with his own hands.
Hallie's head shot up when a doctor came in, walking towards them and saying, "You can see him now."
She glared back at the chairs where Mr. Howlett was sitting, frowning with disgust at him as he made to get up. Hallie raised a hand to stop him. "No, you're not going in there. He's not gonna want ta see you." she spat at him angrily. She couldn't even feel bad about being so mean, he really deserved it, and that was the sad truth.
Thomas Howlett surprised Hallie again when he'd actually nodded sorrowfully and sat back down. Maybe he actually blamed himself for this one.
Scratching the back of her head absently, Hallie rushed after where the doctor had gone and began following him.
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