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Chapter 23

Stan's POV

The last week has been stressful. Wendy and I have been going back and forth to take care of Little Dude to make sure he gets to school, food, etc. It's a lot of wear and tear on us plus class time missed. Anything to help Kenny out during this time, besides, I would hate to see Little Dude suffer because of it. Karen is around to help a bit, but she's getting ready to graduate so she's been busier than usual.

I just picked up Little Dude from school and I'm taking him back to my apartment. He fell asleep so I decide to give Kyle a call to check up on Kenny. "How's he doing?" I ask after greeting him.

"Not so good. He's going through withdrawal so he's in a lot of pain. That's in addition to the pain he's already in."

"Damn. I guess today wouldn't be the best day for him to talk to Little Dude."

"Probably not."

I look in the rearview mirror at Little Dude who's still sound asleep. "He probably won't talk to Kenny anyway."

"How's he doing anyway?" Kyle asks.

"For the most part he's okay, but he did have some trouble at school."

"He did? What happened?"

"He pushed another child on the playground. The kid wasn't hurt, well other than his feelings." I shrug.

"That doesn't sound like Drew. He's always been a sweet kid."

I nod. "I agree. He didn't tell us why, but he did admit to pushing the kid down."

"So what did you guys do about it?"

"We spoke to him about his behavior and Wendy is making him write the kid an apology note."

"Good. Hopefully it won't happen again."

"I hope not."

"I guess we shouldn't be that surprised."

I'm a little shocked by that. "Why do you say that?"

"Look at everything he's been through. It's normal for a child like that to act out. I'm sure Kenny's actions have affected him in a negative way."

"I guess I didn't think about that. Like you said, he's a sweet kid."

"He is. I don't think we should tell Kenny about this yet."

I nod in agreement. "I agree, who knows how he'll take it."

"Exactly! He needs to focus on his health."

"Is that girl still hanging around?" I ask referring to that skank Megan.

I hear Kyle groan. "Unfortunately! Sometimes Kenny wants her there."

"Sometimes?" I'm happy to hear he doesn't always want her around.

"Depends on his mood. If he's in a good mood, he wants her there, but when he's feeling frustrated or embarrassed he doesn't."

"I wish he would get over that girl. She's a bad influence! Plus she doesn't even like him!"

"I agree, she keeps rubbing it in that he said he loves her."

"He didn't know what he was saying."

"That's what I said, but she's holding on to it and it's fucked up because she doesn't feel the same way about him. She's using him to feed her own ego!"

"I don't know what he sees in that toothless wonder anyway!"

"It's the drugs! She's not even Kenny's type."

I laugh. "That's true. He's done much better I mean he was dating Bebe. Hell, even Little Dude's mom Jessica was a better catch!"

"Bebe turned him down again, so he latched onto the first person he could."

"Bebe..." I think for a minute.

"Forget it dude! We don't need to go down that road again. She's with Brad now, remember?"

"I guarantee you if Bebe gave him the time of day, he would forget about Megan."

"Yes, but Kenny is very vulnerable right now. We don't want him to relapse again. He was very lucky this time, he may not be so lucky if he overdosing again."

"I guess you're right. It was just a thought."

"Get that thought out of your head!"

"Okay, Okay!" Damn, he always ruins everything.

"I mean it Stan! Kenny doesn't need anything that will upset him!"

"He won't. When is he being transferred to rehab anyway?"

"Any day now. The doctors wants to make sure he's strong enough first."

"He's still not walking?"

"Nope, the doctor wants him on his feet."

"I see. So is he making any progress?"

"Somewhat. He'll take a few steps, but once the pain becomes too much, he stops."

"Damn. How's his speech?"

"He's still speaking very slowly. The doctor doesn't think that's going to change.

Damn, poor Kenny. "How long are you going to be there?"

"I'm leaving soon. I have to get back to Princeton."

"Don't tell me you're going to leave him alone with that bitch!"

"Unfortunately I have to."

"I hope Karen comes to keeps him company."

"That doesn't mean Megan is going to leave."

"It might."

"As long as Kenny wants her there, she's staying. Let me go check on him before I leave."

"Good luck dude!" We hang up. I think for a minute, but then I pick up my phone and decide to give a certain someone a call…

Kyle's POV

I head back to Kenny's room and I'm shocked to see Kenny alone. "Where's Megan?" I ask him.

"She went to get food."

I sit down next to him. "I see. Well I came to say goodbye."

"You're leaving?" I can see a look of sadness on his face.

I nod. "I have to get back to school."

"I see. I appreciate you being here."

"Sorry I can't stay longer."

"I understand, your school is far away."

"Yeah, but you'll have more visitors soon."

"I'll be okay. Megan is still here."

I frown. "Kenny, we need to chat about Megan."

"She's been great, hasn't she? I feel bad when I'm mean to her. I don't mean to. I love her so much."

"You really love her?" Could he have really meant it when he told Megan he loves her?

"I do." He smiles, that's the first time I've seen that since he's come out of his coma. "So why do you want to talk about Megan?"

"I don't think…" I look at how happy he is, and I realize I can't be the reason he's unhappy. "Never mind, it's not important."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." Just then, Megan comes back to the room. I stand up. "I better get going. I'll be checking up on you."

"Thanks dude…"

I walk towards the door and glare at Megan. "I meant what I said about you hurting him!" I whisper to her.

"I'm not going to hurt him, I swear."

"You better not!" I leave the room.

Kenny's POV

Megan is feeding me some yogurt. I hate that I need help with eating certain things. It makes me feel like a baby. "Are you sure you don't want to order something?" Megan asks.

I shake my head. "I'm not that hungry."

"Come on Kenny, you have to eat something."

"Yeah, you're nothing, but skin and bones." I look and see Karen at the door. "Don't you want to get out of here?"

"It doesn't matter, I have to go to rehab when I do."

"Which is exactly where you need to be! I can't believe you did this again! I'm so angry with you."

"Karen, he doesn't need this right now." Megan tells her.

"Nobody asked you!" Karen snaps at her.

"Be nice Karen." I give her a warning look.

"Fine! I'm glad you're okay." She hugs me.

"Thanks. Have you seen Drew?"

"Yes I have. He's fine and having a really good time with Stan and Wendy."

"Has he asked about me at all?" I smile.

"Not that I know of. That's something you would have to ask them since they're with him more."

My smile immediately fades. That really hurt. I know he's angry with me, but I would hope he would care enough to ask how I'm doing. "Oh…I wish he could come visit me."

"He will once you go to rehab. Build your strength up so you can see him sooner!"

"I'm doing my best."

"Not eating isn't helping."

"I'm not hungry and this food tastes like shit!"

"That might be true, but it's better for you than heroin is." I look down when she says that.

"That was a low blow." I hear Megan whisper.

"Again, nobody asked you! If you don't mind, I would like to spend some time alone with my brother!" Megan looks at me and I nod.

"It's okay Megan, I'll be fine."

"I'll be in the hallway if you need me."

Karen frowns. "Why don't you just leave? We don't need you standing outside eavesdropping on a private FAMILY conversation!"

Megan shakes her head and chuckles. "See you in a little bit Kenny!" She leaves the room.

"That girl really needs to learn how to respect boundaries."

"She was just trying to help."

"Did you ask for her help?"

"Stop it Karen. I wish you guys would stop being so mean to her." I regret telling them about Megan and Kevin. If I didn't, they wouldn't be treating her the way they are. I love her so they better get use to seeing her around.

"Maybe you should stop being so nice!"

"I love her."

Karen rolls her eyes. "I'm not even going there with you!"

"I do. You guys need to accept that Megan isn't going anywhere."

"I don't want to talk about her. I came here to check on you. How are you feeling?" She quickly changes the subject.

"I'm fine as long as I'm not using the left side of my body."

"You know that's going to take time to get better. Are you still having withdrawal symptoms?"

I nod. "Yes, but it's getting better. I'm not craving it as much as I was before." I'm downplaying how I really feel because I don't want her to worry. The truth is, my whole body aches and I really could use a small dose of heroin to ease the pain.

"Thank goodness! I want the old Kenny back!" She hugs me again.

"I do too, unfortunately I don't think I know who he is anymore…" I look down. I've been doing heroin since I was 15, I don't even remember what I was like before that. I was a kid then.

"That's okay. I just don't want you getting high or selling your body."

I smack my forehead. "Oh God, I didn't even think about Kevin!"

"Don't!"

I look at Karen. "He's going to kill me! I'm sure he's missing out on money because of me."

She shrugs. "So what? If he wants money that badly then he can do it!"

I nod in agreement. "That's true. I didn't want to be involved in that anymore anyway."

Karen pats my good arm and smiles. "Good for you! You don't need to do anything that will get you back on drugs. Another reason to get rid of Megan."

"You said you didn't want to talk about her." I remind her.

"You're right! I'm glad you're awake, I was really worried for awhile there!"

I lean my head back on my pillow and close my eyes. "I messed up big time, but I'm grateful that I have another chance to make things right."

"I hope you take advantage of that." She looks at the time. "I need to get going, but I'll come back tomorrow after school."

"Okay, thanks for visiting." She hugs me once again before leaving.