(15)-Cobey's Parents.

Megan quietly opened the door to her and Cobey's suite and exited the room, entering the hallway, followed by turning around and closing the door. After she and the boy had finished eating with Kyle in his suite, they returned to their's, which was next door, where Megan had put Cobey to bed for the night.

"Well?" Came the voice of Kyle, followed by Megan turning to face him standing behind her in the hallway. "How is he?" He asked, referring to Cobey.

"Cobey's fine, he's sound asleep." Megan answered.

"Wow, that was fast. Then again, i'd be tired too if i had as much food as he did. After eating fries, chicken-strips, a burger, a sundae and a piece of ice-cream cake, i think he has a right." Kyle said.

"Ain't that the truth." Megan said.

"So, uh...what's the verdict?" Kyle asked.

"Huh?" Megan asked, confused.

"Cobey's adoptive mother, Heather? What's gonna happen with her?" Kyle asked, concerned. This question had been on his mind since he, Cobey and Megan arrived here at the hotel and it was killing him not knowing what this woman's fate would be or if whether or not she would have any consequinces for her mistreatment towards the kid and get off scott-free and regain custody of him. He needed that confirmation, no matter what the answer would be.

"I'm afraid the jury is still out on that one. Maybe she'll go to prison...maybe she won't...but i know one thing is certain though: She's definitely not gonna be getting Cobey back, that's for sure." Megan said.

"(Sighs) Thank goodness." Kyle said, breathing a sigh of relief. Despite having witnessed Heather's arrest back at the DQ and knowing that she was spending the night in jail, he had to be sure this nightmare was over and that there was no chance of her ever regaining custody of Cobey. Now that he had the comforting knowledge that the boy would not be returned to her, he could relax and breathe easily. Still, there was one more thing he had to know. "Uh, Miss Megan...where are Cobey's parents?"

Megan paused. "They've been gone for two years now."

"They dumped him?" Kyle asked. Had Cobey's parents abandoned him the way Kyle's father had run out on him, his brother and their Mom? He hoped not.

"No. Nothing like that. You see...in 2022, when Cobey was just 6 years old...his parents--Andrew and Barbra Derek--went out on a date one night to the movies and to dinner while they had me watch Cobey. The Dereks were very good friends of mine, so naturally i said yes when they asked me to babysit for them. Later, on the way back home, however...a delivery truck swerved into their lane and cashed into them, killing them both instantly. The driver was high on heroin." Megan explained.

"I...i'm sorry to hear that." Kyle said. While it was good to know that Cobey's parents hadn't abandoned him, it was just as bad, if not worse, to know that they were dead. Not only that, but the fact of knowing that they had been killed by intoxicated person behind the wheel of a vehicle. "How did Cobey handle the news when you told him?" He asked.

"As anyone would expect, he took it really hard. The death of his parents, i mean. He doesn't know about the driver of the truck being high, he just knows that his parents were killed in a vehicle collision. That's all i told him...and that's all he needs to know." Megan said.

"That's understandable." Kyle said. Cobey was just a kid, he didn't need to be carrying around hate for someone inside.

"Anyway...at the funeral, the caskets had to remain closed due to the irreparable damage Andrew and Barbra had sustained from the crash. I could only imagine what they must've looked like inside those coffins. Long story short, Cobey ended up going into the foster-care system, he got adopted by Heather earlier this year at 8 years old, and...here we are now." Megan said.

"So what happened to the driver of the truck?" Kyle asked. Not that he was concerned about the guy who had killed Cobey's parents, but he wanted to know what kind of legal action had been taken against him.

"Last i heard, he was in a hospital for the disabled. The drugs had left him in a vegitative state. Apparently he had overdosed while behind the wheel of the truck. And that's what caused the collision. As far as i know, he's still like that." Megan answered and explained.

"Wow, that's rare. That the intoxicated driver gets physically impacted by their actions, i mean." Kyle said. He had never heard of a case like this where the high or drunk driver sustained permanent physical damage from the wreck too. Usually it was always only an innocent party that suffered.

"Well, at least Cobey won't have to live with the hateful knowledge of the person that killed his parents or re-live the loss by writing an impact statement for the court." Megan said.

"Thank goodness for that." Kyle said. Cobey had been through enough living the loss of his parents the first time and it was good to know he wouldn't have to re-live it.

"Yeah. Thank goodness." Megan said. "I'm, uh, gonna head back into our room and turn in for the night. See ya in the morning."

"Same here." Kyle said before Megan turned to open the door to her and Cobey's suite. "And Miss Megan?" He said as Megan opened the door.

"Yeah?" Megan asked as she turned to face Kyle.

"Sorry for your loss." Kyle said. He knew the Dereks had meant a lot to Cobey, being that they were his parents and all...but he also knew they were Megan's friends and that she missed them just as much as Cobey did.

"Thank you. And good night." Megan said before she went inside the room, closing the door afterwards.

"Good night." Kyle said before stuffing his hands in his pants pockets and heading back for his suite.

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