HOME | DD

Description
  Chapter 10: Travis
  Ava's mother seemed nice enough. When she entered into his room, carrying her medical bag, he tried to call her Dr. Wayside from the name on the bag, but she waved him off and tolf him to call her by her first name. The only problem was, she didn't tell Travis what her first name was.
  He stuck to Doctor Wayside. Wordlessly she pressed and pushed on tender places all over Travis' stomach--he bit his lip to avoid yelling. She took notice to when he winced and silently continued to dress his wounds and clean his cuts. A long wrap stretched around his midsection, making breathing tight and quick but the pain ebbed significantly. Dr. Wayside gave him painkillers and a glass of water, still not speaking.
  Finally, in a clipped but soft tone, she said, "You have one cracked rib in your upper ribcage--a small one, mind you--and many bruises, cuts, and scrapes. It's not so bad that you'll have to take Vikaden, but you should take Ibuprofen often and not exert yourself any more than you already have." Travis nodded, already feeling the Motrin she gave me work its way through my bloodstream. "Oh, and you're staying for dinner." it was a statement, not a question or even a suggestion.
  "W-what? I don't want to barge, you've done so much already--" he tried to protest, but she cut him off with a sharp motion only mothers can give and replied, "You will be staying for dinner. Mr. Wayside and I want to see if you are a nice, respectable young man. We were teens once, too you know," she said with a wry smile, "and we know what's going on, even if you don't." she smiled, her lips curling back and her cheeks pulling up, and she rose out of her seat. She leaned over and kissed his forehead: a motherly gesture his mom had never made an effort to do.
  "Oh, and Travis?" she was standing in the doorway, her hand on the knob and her body halfway through.
  "Yeah?"
  "Good luck with Adelaide."
                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Travis sort of hobbled down the hallway, following the smell of food until he reached the kitchen. Avalon was there, her back to him, ripping a brush through her red hair. another girl, smaller and she couldn't have been more than 7 or 8, was skipping around the room.
  "Ava and T--" she started to sing, but Avalon had spun at the sound of his uneven footsteps and clamped her hand firmly over the girl's mouth. She peeled Avalon's hand away and flitted up to him, offering her hand with a flourish.
  "Adelaide Wayside. I was at the diner, but you probably don't remember me, considering--"
  "ADE! Why don't you, um, shut up?" Adelaide crossed her skinny arms over her chest and let out a short puff of breath, her strawberry blonde hair blowing up and then settling itself back into her eyes. "No fair! We finally have company, and you want him ALLLLLL to yourself! Well, no." Adelaide slipped her hand into Travis' and pulled him over to a chair, practically forcing him into it before skipping away and calling over her shoulder, "BRB!" Travis chuckled to himself and Avalon rolled her eyes, burying her face in her hands and shaking her head.
  "Sorry about my sister." she said through her fingers. He laughed, then winced and layed his hand as subtly as he could over his stomach.
  "It's all good. She seems sweet." Avalon shrugged before getting up and practically pulling the handle off the refrigerator door as she tried to pull it open. "Piece of crap fridge." she muttered before producing a Dr. Pepper victoriously and popping it open with a hum of triumph. "Do you want anything?" she questioned, her lips pulling away from the Dr. Pepper melodramatically. Travis hesitated, not wanting to cause any trouble to this family.
  "Um..what do you have?" he asked her, still hesitant.
  "Well, my mom barely lets us have one type of soda in here, but in my mini fridge I have Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Coke, Diet Coke--"
  "Mountain Dew, please, Ava." she smiled and ran off to her bedroom. Adelaide appeared immediately from behind the couch, sitting beside him and smiling coyly. She seemed triumphant that she was able to spy, and Travis was exasperated. Were his weird, confused, half-feelings about Avalon known to everyone?
  He took this opportunity to check out his surroundings: the dining room table had one slightly crooked side, where one leg was shorter than the other three. The chairs were mismatched and misproportioned, posters up on the walls and pieces of artwork that looked abstract and random, that either said ADELAIDE or AVALON in the bottom right corner. Boxes were piled everywhere and things were hung crooked, but Travis found himself liking the house. It was homey, something Travis' home had never been.
  Soon enough, Avalon appeared with his Mountain Dew and dinner was served, potatoes and breaded chicken and asparagus. Travis couldn't remember the last time he'd had a home cooked meal, and he ate it with a hunger that could be close to glutiny. Mr. and Mrs. Wayside made small talk with him, Mr. Wayside asking his favorite football team, and Travis answered automatically and earnestly:
  "Dolphins." Mr. Wayside questioned him on his preference of Miami, and they talked about football stats for a while. Eventually Adelaide heaved a great big sigh of impatience and said, "Enough with football...what happened to you?"
  "Adelaide!" Ava burst out, scolding Ade for having the audacity of such a question.
  "Well, we're all wondering..." she defended, then turned bacl toward me expectantly.
  "You don't have to answer that, Travis." Avalon said hurriedly.
  "Yes, you do."
  "No, he doesn't!"
  "Hey!" Travis broke in, putting his hands up to calm them. "Look, I know you're wondering. A gang attacked me and I tried to defenf myself, but there was 5 of them..." he trailed off and Ava gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Everyone at the table was silent, then everyone started speaking at once.
  "Are they dangerous?" Mrs. Wayside asked.
  "Did you PUNCH THEM?" Adelaide said eagerly.
  "Son, do you need anything? Are you--"
  "Mom! Dad, Ade, shut up! Leave him alone! Jeezum, guys!" she burst up and grabbed his hand, then half-dragged him out the door. "I am so, so sorry about my family, Trav. Seriously, they're so stupid sometimes..." Travis shook his head. "No, you're family is great. They're just asking what any normal, concerned family would ask."
  "What, and yours isn't?"
  "...not exactly, Ava. Not exactly."

Description
  Chapter 10: Travis
  Ava's mother seemed nice enough. When she entered into his room, carrying her medical bag, he tried to call her Dr. Wayside from the name on the bag, but she waved him off and tolf him to call her by her first name. The only problem was, she didn't tell Travis what her first name was.
  He stuck to Doctor Wayside. Wordlessly she pressed and pushed on tender places all over Travis' stomach--he bit his lip to avoid yelling. She took notice to when he winced and silently continued to dress his wounds and clean his cuts. A long wrap stretched around his midsection, making breathing tight and quick but the pain ebbed significantly. Dr. Wayside gave him painkillers and a glass of water, still not speaking.
  Finally, in a clipped but soft tone, she said, "You have one cracked rib in your upper ribcage--a small one, mind you--and many bruises, cuts, and scrapes. It's not so bad that you'll have to take Vikaden, but you should take Ibuprofen often and not exert yourself any more than you already have." Travis nodded, already feeling the Motrin she gave me work its way through my bloodstream. "Oh, and you're staying for dinner." it was a statement, not a question or even a suggestion.
  "W-what? I don't want to barge, you've done so much already--" he tried to protest, but she cut him off with a sharp motion only mothers can give and replied, "You will be staying for dinner. Mr. Wayside and I want to see if you are a nice, respectable young man. We were teens once, too you know," she said with a wry smile, "and we know what's going on, even if you don't." she smiled, her lips curling back and her cheeks pulling up, and she rose out of her seat. She leaned over and kissed his forehead: a motherly gesture his mom had never made an effort to do.
  "Oh, and Travis?" she was standing in the doorway, her hand on the knob and her body halfway through.
  "Yeah?"
  "Good luck with Adelaide."
                                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Travis sort of hobbled down the hallway, following the smell of food until he reached the kitchen. Avalon was there, her back to him, ripping a brush through her red hair. another girl, smaller and she couldn't have been more than 7 or 8, was skipping around the room.
  "Ava and T--" she started to sing, but Avalon had spun at the sound of his uneven footsteps and clamped her hand firmly over the girl's mouth. She peeled Avalon's hand away and flitted up to him, offering her hand with a flourish.
  "Adelaide Wayside. I was at the diner, but you probably don't remember me, considering--"
  "ADE! Why don't you, um, shut up?" Adelaide crossed her skinny arms over her chest and let out a short puff of breath, her strawberry blonde hair blowing up and then settling itself back into her eyes. "No fair! We finally have company, and you want him ALLLLLL to yourself! Well, no." Adelaide slipped her hand into Travis' and pulled him over to a chair, practically forcing him into it before skipping away and calling over her shoulder, "BRB!" Travis chuckled to himself and Avalon rolled her eyes, burying her face in her hands and shaking her head.
  "Sorry about my sister." she said through her fingers. He laughed, then winced and layed his hand as subtly as he could over his stomach.
  "It's all good. She seems sweet." Avalon shrugged before getting up and practically pulling the handle off the refrigerator door as she tried to pull it open. "Piece of crap fridge." she muttered before producing a Dr. Pepper victoriously and popping it open with a hum of triumph. "Do you want anything?" she questioned, her lips pulling away from the Dr. Pepper melodramatically. Travis hesitated, not wanting to cause any trouble to this family.
  "Um..what do you have?" he asked her, still hesitant.
  "Well, my mom barely lets us have one type of soda in here, but in my mini fridge I have Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Coke, Diet Coke--"
  "Mountain Dew, please, Ava." she smiled and ran off to her bedroom. Adelaide appeared immediately from behind the couch, sitting beside him and smiling coyly. She seemed triumphant that she was able to spy, and Travis was exasperated. Were his weird, confused, half-feelings about Avalon known to everyone?
  He took this opportunity to check out his surroundings: the dining room table had one slightly crooked side, where one leg was shorter than the other three. The chairs were mismatched and misproportioned, posters up on the walls and pieces of artwork that looked abstract and random, that either said ADELAIDE or AVALON in the bottom right corner. Boxes were piled everywhere and things were hung crooked, but Travis found himself liking the house. It was homey, something Travis' home had never been.
  Soon enough, Avalon appeared with his Mountain Dew and dinner was served, potatoes and breaded chicken and asparagus. Travis couldn't remember the last time he'd had a home cooked meal, and he ate it with a hunger that could be close to glutiny. Mr. and Mrs. Wayside made small talk with him, Mr. Wayside asking his favorite football team, and Travis answered automatically and earnestly:
  "Dolphins." Mr. Wayside questioned him on his preference of Miami, and they talked about football stats for a while. Eventually Adelaide heaved a great big sigh of impatience and said, "Enough with football...what happened to you?"
  "Adelaide!" Ava burst out, scolding Ade for having the audacity of such a question.
  "Well, we're all wondering..." she defended, then turned bacl toward me expectantly.
  "You don't have to answer that, Travis." Avalon said hurriedly.
  "Yes, you do."
  "No, he doesn't!"
  "Hey!" Travis broke in, putting his hands up to calm them. "Look, I know you're wondering. A gang attacked me and I tried to defenf myself, but there was 5 of them..." he trailed off and Ava gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. Everyone at the table was silent, then everyone started speaking at once.
  "Are they dangerous?" Mrs. Wayside asked.
  "Did you PUNCH THEM?" Adelaide said eagerly.
  "Son, do you need anything? Are you--"
  "Mom! Dad, Ade, shut up! Leave him alone! Jeezum, guys!" she burst up and grabbed his hand, then half-dragged him out the door. "I am so, so sorry about my family, Trav. Seriously, they're so stupid sometimes..." Travis shook his head. "No, you're family is great. They're just asking what any normal, concerned family would ask."
  "What, and yours isn't?"
  "...not exactly, Ava. Not exactly."