A FEW WEEKS LATER
"You ready, Gregory?" Sean asked as he, Grace and Michael stood a few feet in front of him. Gregory took a deep breath, nodding.
"Just stand up when you feel ready" Michael told him.
"Ok" Gregory said. He took another deep breath and then, slowly pushed himself up from the wheelchair. He took a few moments to properly steady himself and then he began walking towards Michael, Sean and Grace. Smiles appeared on their faces watching as Gregory's walking improved as he made his way towards them. And what was especially surprising was that he didn't seem to be in that much pain. At least not as much as he was in a few weeks ago.
As soon as he reached them, Michael gave him a hug, telling him how proud he was. Sean and Grace also hugged him, happy for him that he was getting better. Gregory then did a few more short laps of walking. Each time, getting better at it.
After his therapy session, he replaced his wheelchair for a walking stick and began using that to help him get around.
As they left the rehab centre, they were suddenly approached by Sean's father. Sean's heart sank.
"What the hell are you doing here, boy?! You're supposed to come straight home after school. Not mess about with these people!" Mr Davies told Sean, glaring at Gregory, Michael and Grace.
"Hey! Don't talk to your son like that!" Michael said angrily, standing in front of Sean to protect him.
"You mind your own business, freak!" Mr Davies demanded. That instantly pissed Michael off. So much that he took a swing at Mr Davies's face. Hitting him square in the jaw. Sean, Grace and Gregory all gasped in shock from this. Mr Davies grabbed his jaw, rubbing it slightly. He then swung his fist at Michael. Michael dodged it with ease and hit Mr Davies again. This shocked Mr Davies a little.
"The next time you raise you hand to your son, I'll make sure you know how it feels!" Michael spat with a furious look on his face. He then turned to Grace, Sean and Gregory.
"Go and get in the van, kids. I'll deal with him" He told them. They immediately nodded and headed for the van. Mr Davies looked at his son in shock. His own son choosing not to step up for his own father.
"You should be utterly ashamed of what you've done to your son. He's your own son and you are hurting him. All because he reminds you of your wife" Michael said, sighing a little.
"You are absolutely pathetic!" Michael added. As he glared at Mr Davies, his eyes glowed purple for a few seconds, shocking Mr Davies a little. He then walked off, leaving Mr Davies standing there, still shocked.
Once Michael had gotten back to the van, he climbed into the drivers seat and closed the door.
"Everything ok, Mike?" Gregory asked. Michael turned around in his seat with a smile on his face.
"I'm fine" Michael said. He then looked at Sean.
"Sean, if you really want to, do you want to come and stay with us for a few nights?" Michael asked him.
"You can bunk with me" Gregory smiled. Sean looked at him and then at Grace, who smiled at him and told him to do it. That it would be better for him than staying with his father. He then looked back at Michael and nodded, thanking him for the offer.
Michael then drove the van out of the parking lot and headed towards Grace's house to drop her off. While that happened, Mr Davies looked on with anger now clear on his face. He clenched his hands into fists. He was going to get revenge on Michael. No matter what it took.
After dropping Grace home, Michael drove the van back to the house. Once they had arrived, Sean and Gregory both got out of the vehicle and headed inside. Once inside, they both went straight to Gregory's room and Gregory began setting up a space where Sean could sleep.
Once Michael had locked the van, he walked into the house, closed the door and headed for the kitchen to get started on making dinner.
"Hi Michael! How was Gregory's therapy session?" Freddy suddenly asked, entering the kitchen.
"Well, he's finally out of the wheelchair" Michael answered with a smile.
"That's wonderful, Michael! I'm really glad!" Freddy said in a happy tone.
"Me too Freddy" Michael said, continuing to smile.
"Crap!" Michael suddenly said a few minutes later after looking in the pantry.
"What's wrong Michael?" Freddy asked, tilting his head slightly curiously.
"I didn't realise we had run out of onions. I'm gonna have to either go down to the store myself or ask Sean and Gregory to do it" Michael said before leaving the kitchen and heading down to Gregory's room, where the boys were busy laughing and talking about things.
"Hey kiddos. I've just checked the pantry for some ingredients I need in order to make dinner and I've found that we've run out of onions" Michael said, sighing a little.
"We can go and get them from the store for you" Gregory smiled, standing up. Sean stood up as well, also smiling.
"You sure?" Michael asked.
"Yeah. We're sure" Gregory smiled as he walked over to his shoes to put them back on his feet. Sean did the same thing. Once they had done that, Gregory grabbed his phone and wallet and left his room with Sean following behind him. Michael also followed them.
"Just be careful ok. I don't want you two getting hurt. Especially by whoever hurt you, Gregory" Michael said to them.
"Don't worry, we'll be careful" Gregory said as he and Sean approached the door and opened it.
"Don't take too long" Michael told them both, standing at the open front door as Gregory and Sean walked down the steps of the front porch.
"We won't" Gregory smiled, looking back at him before walking off with Sean and heading in the direction of the grocery store.
LATER, AT THE GROCERY STORE
"Was onions the only thing Michael needed to make the dinner?" Sean asked.
"I think so but I'll call him and ask" Gregory answered, grabbing out his phone and calling Michael.
"Hey Mike, is there anything else besides the onions that you needed for dinner?" Gregory asked a few minutes later following putting the phone to his ear. There was a bit of a pause before Gregory spoke.
"Ok. I'll get those things as well" Gregory said. Another pause occurred.
"We'll see you soon, bye" Gregory smiled as he then took the phone away from his ear and hung it up.
"What else does he need us to grab?" Sean asked.
"A kilo of mince and some pasta" Gregory answered as he walked off to find the isle. Sean followed after him.
After grabbing those things, the boys took the items to the counter to pay for them. As they did, the cashier, a middle-aged looking woman, looked at Gregory and saw the walking stick, feeling bad for him.
"You doing ok there, sweetheart?" She asked, gesturing to the walking stick a little. Gregory looked at the stick and then back at her.
"I've been better. Thanks for asking" Gregory smiled.
"It's ok. I've got a kid as well. Who I constantly worry about" The cashier said.
"It's a parents job to worry about their kids?" Sean asked. The cashier nodded.
"As much as kids worry about their parents, its the parents jobs to worry about their kids. It's pretty much wired in our brains when we become parents" The cashier answered.
After the groceries had been paid for, Sean and Gregory thanked the cashier and then left the store.
It was now dark outside, which prompted them to hurry up and get back to the house.
As they neared the corner to the neighbourhood where the house was twenty minutes later, they both heard a strange noise. Which spooked them a little and urged them to pick up the pace. But just as they did, a gunshot went off and Gregory yelped, falling to the ground. Sean flinched at the noise and turned around to see what had happened. He saw a masked figure standing over Gregory with a gun. And Gregory with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. With pain in his eyes, he looked at Sean.
"Run!" Gregory demanded. Sean didn't move. He stood almost still in place. Whoever this person was, looked at Sean with menacing eyes.
"SEAN! GET OUT OF HERE! RUN!" Gregory yelled. Sean immediately took off running. Gregory watched Sean running away for a few seconds before being knocked unconscious by a blunt object.