Chapter 33: Running, running, running.

I ran. I ran past the dinner table, ran past the stairs, and out the door. I hear Sara yelling my name behind me. I just . . . ran. Down the street, just running. I tried to wipe the tiers from my eyes, but I tripped and fell on my knees. I get back up and keep running, not knowing where I'm going. Running, running, running. Across lawns, over hills, under bridges. I don't stop until I get to the local park that I and William used to go to when I was younger. But, he's not here anymore. He left a few hours earlier. I collapse on a bench, trying to catch my breath. People are staring at me, with worried looks. I ignore them and look up at the sky. It's always that light blue. Don't you wonder why the sky is blue? Why can't it be purple or green? Why blue? I look back down at the ground. Hold crap. My dad is going to kill me, I think. Then, I hear police sirens and screeching tires. I shoot up and jump over the bench and into the grass area. I sprint across the grass, jump over people's picnic baskets, and snag a hotdog from a BBQ table. But, end up dropping it. I'm not even halfway across when I start to tire out. One police officer yells, "Be careful! It's a kid!" I trip and fall hard on my hands, getting some rocks up into my skin. Ouch. I roll over and see the officer's running toward me. I just sit there, waiting for them to handcuff me. But, one of them puts his fist up and yells, "Stop! Stay back, I'll deal with this!" He puts away his gun and walked up to me. I took a step back, scared. He stops and says, "We got a call of a kid running around like someone was chasing him. Is some chasing you? Are you hurt?" I hiccup and stutter, "N-no. No one chasing m-me. And, y-es, I am h-hurt, but I'll b-be fine." He looks back at his crew then back at me. "May I . . . see your injuries?", he says. I shrug and look down, scuffing my shoe in the grass. He walks closer and softly grabs my arm. He examines my hands and sighs. I look away, embarrassed. He looks down at my knees and says, "I'll have to get a closer look at your knees, there bleeding pretty bad. What'd you fell on?" I say nothing. He sighs again and pulls me to his crew. I stop and look at him. He looks back and says, "Look, if you don't get those cuts cleaned, they will get infected. Do you want that?" For some reason, I blush and look away. He chuckles and walks closer to me. At first, I think he's going to hug me or something but, he picks me up and puts me on his shoulder! "H-hey! Put m-me down!", yell, hitting his back. He laughs, grabs my thighs, and I squeal. He holds me down and walks to his car. I struggle to slide off his shoulder but, his grip is strong. He puts me on the trunk of this car and says, "Stay." He walks over to the side of the car and opens the door. I sit there and huff. I'm sure my face is so red. I've never been held like that before. It felt weird. And, it was a guy who did it! I cross my arms and slouch. The cop comes back and smiles. "Ah, look at that. You stayed. Good boy.", he says and pats my head. I swat him away and stick out my tongue. One of the other cops walk over and say, "Yo, Jakob. Everything good?" The cop now named Jakob turns and says, "Ya, everything's good. Y'all can go back to the station. I got this." The cop shrugs and walks back over to the other cops. They all do fist bumps and walk to their cars. A second later, they all drive away, down the street. I look up at Jakob and say, "Your name is Jakob?" He looks down at me and smiles. "What's yours?" I look away and say, "Aren't you going to patch up my knee or what?" He chuckles and bends down. He opens the First-Aid kit and takes out a cotton ball. I stare down at him as he pours some alcohol on it. He gently grabs my leg and shifts the fabric of my jeans. I bite my lip and say, "Ow." He looks up at me and says, "Well, your the one who can't run correctly." He softly dabs the cotton ball on my knee and I nearly kick him. He laughs and says, "If you kick me, I'll charge you with assault, kid." I look at him and snap, "Hey, stop callin me 'kid'! I have a name, you know." He smirks and says, "What is it then?" He puts the cotton ball in a little baggie and pulls out a big band-aid. "Michael Afton.", I blurt out. He applies the band-aid and pulls down the fabric of my jeans. "Cute name. Mine is Jakob Miller." He picks me up and sets me on the ground. "Well, you still need to tell me why you were running like that. Tell me over ice cream?", he says, raising his eyebrow. I jump up and down and say, "Yes! Ice cream!" Jakob laughs, shuts the First-Aid kit, and opens his passenger side door. "Well, get in."