Wow, I haven't updated in a while! So sorry, but there's been I've been so busy it's not even funny. Coursework, D of E, exams, new animals. And a really, really sore hand. It's been hard to type! Anyway…
Chapter 11
RAY'S POV
"Please?"
"No,"
"Pretty
please?"
"No,"
"Why not?"
"Because
I say so,"
"That's not very reasonable,"
"I
don't have to be reasonable, I'm your mother. Now go and get
ready,"
"No,"
"Ray!"
God, she could have a song and dance about anything!
"Mum,
I really don't want to go tonight! I've pulled something in my leg
and I don't feel very well. I haven't had a night off in ages!"
Mum
eyed me, trying to see any visible signs of my sudden illness. She
rolled her eyes, "Fine then Ray, have tonight off,"
I
gave her a quick hug then ran up to my room.
I was sat
on my bed, wondering how much to flog my old guitar off to Max and
Kai's guitar teacher to, when Shing came to my door with the phone
in his hand.
"It's Lee," he said, sounding stunned. I
took the phone.
"Lee?"
"You
haven't gone tonight, have you?"
"No,"
"Good,"
And he hung up.
Typical Lee.
I gave Shing the phone back, who was still standing there.
"Have
you and Lee made up?"
"Could say that," I said,
scrawling a number out on a piece of paper. He obviously saw I was
more cheerful than I have been these past couple of weeks and sat
down to talk to me.
"What
are you doing?"
"Oh, I'm thinking of how much to sell my
guitar for,"
"Sell your guitar?"
"Yes, I'm
selling it,"
"Who to?"
"Two friends of mine
have a guitar teacher who they say will buy it from me,"
"These
two friends…are they those boys that looked after you when you hit
your head?"
I nodded.
"Who are they?"
"The
smaller one's Max, and the other one is Kai,"
"Are they
related?"
"Sort of. Max's mum adopted Kai two years
ago,"
"Oh. What happened to Kai's family?"
I
raised my head, "I…I've got no idea,"
"Well, I'm glad you're making friends Ray,"
I wasn't really listening, I was thinking about what he had just said. What had happened to Kai's family? Who were Kai's family? I had no idea.
I hadn't really thought to ask. Maybe I hadn't known Kai well enough to ask about it, and the past few weeks, when we have been getting closer, I've been too preoccupied.
Hmm.
Shing left, and I was left thinking about Kai.
I had been swallowed up in my own self pity that I hadn't really noticed Kai, apart from when he held me when I had broken down in front of him.
I wonder why he was adopted.
NORMAL POV
"Max!
Max!"
Max ran to the landing and leant over, looking down at
his mother with his blonde bangs framing his face, "Yes?"
"Would
you come downstairs a minute and watch your brother?"
"Why?"
"He's
not very well at all. I need to go and get the doctor, for some
reason the phone isn't working and my mobile's at the shop,"
Max
nodded, instantly worried about his brother. He ran downstairs.
"Now it's only down the road so I won't be a minute. Just watch over him, OK?"
Max nodded. He went into the lounge.
Kai was lying stretched out on the sofa. He had a blanket pulled over him, and he was panting heavily. He lay on his side, with his eyes closed.
"Kai, are you asleep?"
Kai shook his head, but didn't open his eyes.
"Are
you OK?"
Kai nodded.
"You don't look it," Max frowned. He put his hand on Kai's forehead. Said boy was too weak to protest.
"You're really, really cold Kai," Max said, worried. He got another blanket and put it over Kai. Kai flinched in pain, but Max didn't know what from.
Max could
see bruises forming on his neck and jaw, where he usually got them.
"Max?"
"Yes?"
"Can
I have a drink?"
"Oh yeah, sure,"
Max leapt up, running to get one. Whilst he was gone, Kai sat up groggily. His head felt like it was padded with cotton wool, and as if a power drill was digging into his skull. He shifted the blankets off to look at his arms. Bruises dotted his arms. He rubbed a few of them, as if hoping he could erase them.
He couldn't believe it. All he had been doing was walking back from his guitar lesson. He had felt fine. Max had been chatty, the walk had been good. It had cleared Kai's head. Even an twenty minutes after the walk when he went to talk to Judy he felt fine. But about twenty five minutes after the walk, he had felt dizzy and light headed. Judy had wanted him to sit down but he had said he was fine, and had promptly ran to the bathroom and was sick.
Then, things had taken the general pattern they usually did. He put a hand to his chest. God, he was having trouble breathing.
Max came back, and handed him the drink. Kai sipped it, but found it hard to drink as he felt so breathless. Eventually, he put it down on the floor and lay back down.
Max sat
there, watching him worriedly.
"Are you OK?"
"I
don't know Max," Kai said, wincing at the pain in his head. He
closed his eyes. Even with the lounge being darkened by the curtain
and no light on, he still had a killer headache.
"Is this from walking home?"
"I really don't know Max," Kai said, almost irritably.
Then the phone rang. Kai groaned and buried his head in the pillow.
Max reached the phone and picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hello,
is that Max?"
"Yes, it is,"
"Hello
Max, it's Sarah. Can I talk to Judy please?"
"She's not
here,"
"Where is she?"
"She's gone
out,"
"You know she's not supposed to leave you and Kai
alone Max,"
"I know, but Kai is ill and she's gone to
get the doctor. Our phone won't call out,"
"Ah. Is Kai
OK?"
"I don't know,"
"Well, could you tell
her I called? There's something important I'd like to discuss with
her and Kai,"
"OK. Bye,"
"Bye,"
Max
cut the connection.
"It was Sarah. She wanted to talk to Mum so she could discuss something with you and Mum. I can't believe you got her as a social worker when you came to his country. She's such a…Kai? Kai? Kai!"
RAY'S POV
Ugh, that is it, I am completely useless at math. I am trying to get my homework done and it isn't working. I don't feel at my best either anymore. Because for some reason whilst I was struggling with my history, I got up and walked into my brothers room.
"Len can you help-"
Then I remembered.
God, I felt so stupid. How could I forget!
I knelt down on the floor in his room and hugged himself. I really wish I hadn't gone and strolled in like that, thinking he was there. It wasn't a nice feeling remembering he wasn't there anymore.
But now, I have more pressing matters to deal with…like my math.
Shing and Mum are watching the TV. I could ask them to help me. But Shing is terrible at math and my Mum is tired from work.
Fine, it'll just have to go on my little pile of homeworks yet to be completed.
So…what to do now? I need something to take my mind off things, about all the things that have happened recently.
The phone rang. I glanced across at it, lying on my desk. I stretched over and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Ray!
Ray is that you!"
It was Max.
And he sounded hysterical.
"Yes
it's me Max, what's wrong?"
"It's Kai! Ray you need to
come round!"
"Why?"
"He's really ill, I
mean really ill! I don't know what to do,"
"Have you
called an ambulance?"
"I've done that! But there's been
a huge crash at the end of our street so they're going to have to get
around or through that and it's going to take ages and I don't know
what to do until then!"
"Is your Mum there?"
"No,
she went down to the doctors and hasn't come back yet! She said she'd
be quick but I just saw the accident just by the doctors, what if
she's hurt! I don't know what to do!"
"Alright, OK, OK,
calm down! I'm coming round,"
I grabbed my jacket and
streaked out of the front door.
I really should stop wishing for something to take my mind off things.
NORMAL POV
Ray sprinted flat out, skidded around the corner at the top of the street and ran down the sloped street to Max's house. At the bottom, smoke chugged up into the sky, and Ray paused momentarily outside the door to see the rain helping the douse a blazing fire, mottling the colour of the flashing lights that showed ambulances, fire engines, and police cars.
Ray pulled himself from his revere and opened the front door.
"Max!"
"Ray!"
Max
came out of the lounge. None of the lights were on, only the light
from the fading evening showed up Max's worry stricken face.
"Where's Kai?"
"In the lounge,"
Ray
nodded, and followed Max back into the lounge
---
"Morgan?
Morgan mate, we're going. Are you coming?"
"No,"
"Oh. Right, see you then,"
Morgan
didn't even bother saying goodbye. He lay on his back on his bed, the
rain outside thundering against the top of the warehouse. The sound
echoed in the vast, empty space.
"How did he know?" he
muttered to himself, "How did he know not to go to his lesson
tonight? Did he know? Or was it a coincidence? No, I'm sure someone
told him. He's never missed a martial arts lesson. But who told him?"
Some said talking to yourself was the first sign of madness. Morgan didn't care. Because talking to himself just then had given him an idea.
He glanced across at Mariah, who was trying to make a fire. Morgan smirked. He got up, and walked towards her.
Mariah glanced up to see Morgan walking towards her. She scowled and hunched closer to the spark she had going. He drew up beside her, but she ignored him. After a while, his quiet presence began to unnerve her.
"Morgan?"
Bit of a cliffy. I was going to continue but I have to go and revise for chemistry exam! I will update as soon as I've finished that though!
Review!
Byeeeeee!
Apple
