A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,9

a reply – "No problems." He plugged his phone into the speaker dock next to his bed. He took off his clothes, went to the laundry room and tossed them in the washer, then headed to the shower.

He kept the shower cold as it seemed to help with the pain in his ribs. He carefully rinsed the blood off of his face, trying to avoid getting his lip bleeding again. He could tell that his left eye was swelling. He got out and gingerly dried off, wrapping the towel around his waist. He went to the mirror and stared at his reflection, seeing that he was a mess. His cheek and the skin around his left eye were swollen and starting to change color, his lip split in an angry looking cut, blood trickling out. He grabbed some tissue and put pressure on his lip. After a minute or two, he gently removed the tissue and threw the bloody remnants into the toilet and flushed them down.

Wrapped in a towel, he went to the kitchen and grabbed some ice and aspirin. He popped the aspirin, then wrapped the ice in a dishcloth and returned to his room. He closed the door and pulled up his music on his phone, selecting the soft mix he liked when he wanted to relax. He slowly laid down on his bed, shifting to get comfortable. He rested the icepack on his face, trying to cover his cheek and lip. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the cold on his face and the pain in his ribs, and drifted off into a fitful rest.

CHAPTER THREE

Jake jolted awake up at the sound of the knock on his door. He winced as the sudden movement reignited the pain in his side. His face felt painful, tight and swollen, but also very wet. The ice in his icepack had melted, soaking the towel and draining onto his pillow. He sat up as the knock came again, grasping his side.

"Jake, are you alright?" His mother's voice came through the door. "Dinner is almost ready." He heard the doorknob start to turn.

"I'm fine, Mom." Jake said quickly. "Stay out. I'm not dressed. I'll be out in a couple of minutes."

"Ok. Food will on the table in five minutes." He heard his mother move away.

Jake stood up slowly and glanced down at his ribs. He could see the purple and yellow bruising where he had been hit. He brought up his hand and tentatively felt along his ribcage. His ribs were tender, but he did not think any were broken.

He walked over to his dresser, dropping his towel and grabbed his clothes. He felt like an old man as he struggled to dress without generating more pain. He dressed in his sweatpants, a t-shirt and his hooded sweatshirt. He grabbed some socks and went back to sit on the bed to put them on, along with his tennis shoes that were on the floor next to the bed. Bending over to get his socks and shoes on caused his head to throb. Finally finished, he straightened slowly and paused for a moment, trying to think of what he should say.

He debated creating a false story; maybe he could try and pass it off as if he fell off his bike or had some clumsy accident while messing around. His mind raced with the idea, thinking he could avoid the sure-to-be high drama with his folks. Unfortunately, the fact that Mr. Madison knew what had happened foreclosed that possibility. As much as he expected the next hour or so to be uncomfortable, he knew that telling the truth now would be better than his parents catching him in a lie later. Through the pain in his head, he tried to anticipate what his parents would say and figure out what he should say to minimize dragging this out.

While his parents were generally understanding about things, he knew that his mother Cheryl's reaction would be the one that would determine what came next. She was definitely the more protective and emotional of the two. She had stayed home when he and his siblings were young and now only worked part-time so she could be available for the after-school activities. She was very demonstrative in showing affection; she was always hugging, touching or kissing her children. She tended to make a big deal over minor injuries, so Jake knew she would probably lose her mind over this. Realizing that this was probably going