FicWad

(Still in Spencers POV)



Silence fell over our table for a few minutes before I decided it was safe to speak again. I was hoping something intelligent would come out so that I wouldn't feel like an idiot. "Kade is pretty." I said. Wow okay. Failed with the intelligent thing. "I mean Kade is a pretty name." I rephrased my statement.

"I got what you meant." Kade said, smiling kindly. "And thank you. Spencer is a pretty name too." She said.

I blushed nervously, "Thank you. So why the hospital?" I asked. At least it didn't come out sounding ridiculous. It was just a simple question, couldn't mess up with that.

She looked down at her food though and bit her lip again. "Ow." She muttered, regretting it again. "My father is here." She said softly. "Why are you here?"

"My best friends father is an alcoholic. He drank too much and fell down some stairs. I'm here to support my friend, Ryan." I explained. Ryan's father kept getting admitted to the hospital because of his drinking and the injuries it caused.

"I hope he's okay." Kady whispered.

I nodded, "He will be fine. He just needs to stop drinking. It really hurts Ryan though. He has trouble coping with his fathers disease. He loves him but ... sometimes its hard." I didn't know how to explain it.

Kade seemed to understand though because she nodded and responded, "Love hurts. Whether it's right or wrong." She said, again so softly. I could barely hear her over the other conversations going on in the cafeteria.

"It doesn't always have to hurt." I said. What did I know though? I didn't have much good love in my life currently.

She just nodded, not saying anything to my statement as she ate a little more of her pomegranate seeds.

"You look tired. Are you heading home soon?" I asked. Maybe she needed a ride. I would like to give her a ride. I would like to know her number. How do you tactfully ask for someones number while at a hospital? It's not pick up central. Plus I have a girlfriend. Damn.

Kade shrugged, "I don't know. Probably not."

"Are you tired?" She looked exhausted.

"Yeah." She admitted, yawning. "Very. I just really don't want to go home right now. I live with my dad and so him being gone and me being there alone... It will just be weird. Really weird. I don't really want weird right now." She explained, seeming nervous about something.

"You can come over to my place if you want." Well that might have come out a little creepy.

"Are you going home right now?" Kade asked me. Her eyes felt as if they were piercing my soul. I felt like she was trying to say something without using words.

"We can go now if you want." I said, watching her.

"I-." She paused, "Well I really don't want to impose. You seem nice but we don't really know each other and if you have other plans I'd rather not interfere." She said but she looked too exhausted to fight the idea of coming to my place for a bit. I could tell she just wanted to relax somewhere that wasn't a hospital. Evidently home wasn't a good option.

"You wouldn't be imposing. I really didn't have any plans other than going home." I replied. "I have to go tell Ryan that I'm leaving but that's about it."

"Um." she bit her lip and I could see her thinking it over.

"It's a quiet place to relax." I said softly, wanting to save her from her pain. What had happened to her father that was so bad?

"That sounds nice." She said, looking in to my eyes as if trying to assess whether or not I was trustworthy. I wouldn't hurt her but I understood. Going home with a stranger was always advertised as a bad idea. It was a bad idea. I didn't mean her any harm though.

"Want to come with me to talk to Ryan?" I asked, smiling kindly at her.

She nodded, "Sure."

**

The hallway felt a little longer than it had earlier as I walked beside Kade to find Ryan. She was holding on to her cell phone desperately as if it was her life line.

Finally I spotted Ryan. He was pacing back and forth, still looking like a broken child. I knew that this was hard for him but he had asked me to leave earlier. I knew he just wanted me to take off because he felt guilty about keeping me here with him. He hated dragging his friends to the hospital but we all usually came anyway because we knew he needed the support. Jon was supposed to be showing up in about ten minutes to take over the support position.

"Hey man." I said, putting my hand on his shoulder to stop his pacing.

Ryan blinked a few times as he looked at me and then at Kade in confusion. Once he looked back at me he spoke, "Hey. I thought I told you to go home." He said.

I nodded, "You did. I'm about to leave. I just wanted to let you know that Jon will be here soon and call me if you need me to come back."

Ryan smiled weakly. "You're a great friend Spence." He said, hugging me. The move was so sudden but I quickly hugged back. Ryan needed every ounce of support that I could muster.

"I try." I said, hugging him tightly before he let go and backed away. "Phone is on. Call whenever. See you later."

Ryan nodded and started pacing again. He didn't comment on Kade at all. He was too wrapped up in grief. It was as if he had lost his father. He was so far gone but still around to rub in the pain.

**

We pulled up to my apartment and Kade was messing around with the window button absentmindedly when she asked, "Are your parents going to be okay with me coming over for a bit?"

Well this might sound weird to her. "I don't live with my parents." I didn't want her to get nervous because it would just be me and her inside.

"How old are you?" Kade asked.

"20." I stated, suddenly wondering about her age as well. "What about you?"

"18." Kade said softly. She was out of high school but still lived with her father while working at Taco bell. She lived with her father so that she could help him out. When he got drunk he could get hurt and he had problems with bills. Most of her money actually paid the house bills so she had trouble saving up money for her own place.

That wasn't too bad. Two years difference. "Getting out?" I asked, not wanting to rush her but we had been sitting in my car for a few minutes now and she looked more interested in playing with the window button than getting out.

"Oh, yeah." She said, opening the door and getting out quickly. She waited as I got out as well and we walked towards my apartment.

I hoped it wasn't too messy. I hadn't expected to bring a girl home. Hopefully my girlfriend didn't drop by. She wouldn't understand. She was one of those people that strongly believed girls and boys couldn't just be friends.

I opened my door and pushed it open further so that Kade could see inside. "Welcome to my home." I said. And of course it was a mess. Wow. It made me feel like a slob. There was clothing thrown on the floor and dirty dishes all over the counter space.

"It's nice." Kade said, stepping inside.

"You don't have to lie." I said, smiling as I closed the door behind us.

"I'm not. It is nice." Kade said, looking around a little. "It seems comfy." She said as I sat on the couch in the living room.

"Comfy it is. Want to watch something?" I asked, turning the television on.

"Sure." she said, sitting next to me as I searched for something interesting.

Kade watched as she pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She had placed her shoes in front of the door but I still had my sneakers on.

"How long will your dad be in the hospital?" I asked, trying to start conversation.

"Another night. I'm hoping after that he can come home." She said softly.

"Cool deal. Do you live near here?" I asked.

"I live near Safeway." She commented. Safeway was probably about a ten minute drive from my place. That wasn't too far.

"Do you have a place to sleep tonight?" I asked, concerned.

"Home." She said.

"Will you be okay there alone?" I asked.

She bit her lip again. She had a habit of doing that. Her swollen lip must really be bugging her. I wanted to know what had happened but figured it would be rude to ask. "I'm sure I'll be fine. Thanks though Spencer. It's nice to have a little company." She said, looking over at me.

I smiled and lifted my arm to scratch the back of my head. She flinched. I looked at her in surprise and lowered my arm. "Are you okay?" I asked, even more concerned now. Did she think I would hit her?

She looked back at the television and softly whispered, "I'm fine." I didn't want to push her any further. She seemed to have gotten upset but I wasn't sure about what. I was confused.

"Do you like this show?" I asked, stopping at spongebob squarepants. It made me feel a little lame to put on a cartoon but she seemed okay with it so far. She hadn't objected.

"It's ... funny." She said after a few moments. "So yeah, I guess I do like it."

"Good." I said smiling. "But the remotes yours. I'm going to hit the shower." I said, standing and stretching. It was pretty late and I was pretty tired. I was hoping the shower would wake me up a little. I felt like I needed to spend as much time as possible with this girl. I needed to find out what was wrong. I was a sucker for a girl in need.

She looked up at me in confusion, "I can leave." She said, standing as well.

I shook my head. "No. It's fine. Stay. Enjoy yourself. I won't be long. You can shower too if you want. I'll save you warm water."

She looked at me and nodded, "Showering is nice. Can I see?" She asked.

I nodded and gestured towards my room. I had an adjoining bathroom. "There is one in there and then another in the hallway." I pointed to the door closest to us. "That's a full bathroom. Mine's a half. No tub."

She looked like she didn't want to ask me something so I tried to offer instead, "Would you like to shower right now?"

"Can I take a bath?" She asked.

I nodded, "Of course. Come here. I'll show you where my stuff is." I told her, walking in to my bathroom. She followed me in to my closet and I showed her where I kept my towels and bath supplies. I grabbed soap and a towel as well as some conditioner for her, leaving the closet and setting it on my bed. "Anything else you need?" At least my shower stuff was organized. That was a ltitle less embarrassing.

She shook her head and looked really nervous. I smiled reassuringly to try and make her feel a little better. "I'll go start your bath." I said, taking the items with me to the hallway bathroom.

She followed, not knowing what else to do. "I can do it." She said quietly as I started running the warm water. "Uh Spencer?"

"Yeah?" I asked, turning to face her as I put a little bubble bath in it that I had under the sink in this bathroom.

"Thank you Spencer." Kade said, staring at me. "You're really nice. Thank you for ... being so nice to a stranger." she said, sounding surprised.

I shrugged, "I'll be in my room when you're finished." I said, leaving the room. I didn't know what to say to her. I kind of got the urge to hug her. She looked so beaten up. I wanted to be her friend. My parents had always taught me to be kind to everyone. I guess that stuck after moving out. I didn't like to see people sad and Kade was definitely sad.



**