The Subway Part 4 | Teen Ink

The Subway Part 4

August 25, 2010
By OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch


He did. He tried. Every day I was incapacitated in that rank hospital bad, he sat by my bedside. The first few days I tried to ignore him, regarding him with a dour attitude while inwardly admiring his persistence. But after a while, I warmed to him. He read to me. I’d tell him a book I loved and the next day there he’d be, book in hand. We’d talk. Sometimes I would scoot over on my hospital bed and he would perch on the side while we both watched a corny film on the poor-quality TV.

When I was finally allowed to get up and do some physical therapy, Luke somehow convinced them to let him take it with me. He’d do all the exercises with me, encourage me, and help me when the trainers weren’t around.
The time I managed to trip over my own two feet while running through the floor ladder, he picked me back up and insisted on carrying me back to the medicine table. But when he reached for the bandages I snapped. I leapt off, ignoring the painful twinge in my ankles and knees, and ran straight back to the ladder. After a second Luke followed, shaking his head and smiling.
Eventually, after two and a half months, the doctors finally released me, on the condition that I take daily walks to strengthen my ankles and knees. Guess who decided to accompany me? You got it.
On one of the walks through the city, I ended up in a slightly different place than I’d planned. I’d taken a wrong turn, ignoring Luke’s directions. Now we were in downtown New York City. I didn’t really mind, though. It was a new glimpse at life. Luke, however, didn’t seem to share my philosophical view. His eyes kept darting around nervously, and he’d inched closer to me. I could see his arms were tense and ready. The way he hovered around me was embarrassingly protective. When he started to get in the way of my walking, I elbowed him in the ribs. Hard.
“What are you doing that for? It’s just a walk.”
Luke looked at me incredulously. “How can you walk through downtown New York City at night and not be afraid?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. You ask me.”
“I just did.”
“I know.”
He sighed, frustrated, and ran his hands through his wavy dirty blond hair. Then he stepped aside, resigned. “Happy?”
“More so.”
A few minutes later, we passed a lone man sitting, depressed, on the curb, feet dangling over the road. He was unkempt and overweight, a filthy ginger beard smothering his face. Around the man’s neck hung a sign.
Will you give me a beer, man?

I recalled my friend Hannah’s words from many months ago. “If you ever see a hobo, you have to hug it. I’m not asking. I’m ordering.” But she wasn’t here to see me. And I sure as hell wasn’t about to hug this guy. However…

“Wait a sec,” I told Luke, and rushed into a nearby food shop. Despite my command, he followed me in. I placed a ten dollar bill on the counter, and requested a sandwich. It wasn’t exactly high-quality, but it would do. I made my way back out then wordlessly handed the plastic-wrapped sandwich to the man on the curb. He glanced up at me, eyes saying all the thank yous his mouth refused to form. I gave a brief nod, then walked onward.

After a while, I noticed Luke watching me. “What?” I asked irritably. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me.

“You just helped that man,” he began slowly. “Knowing that you wouldn’t get anything in return.”

“And?”

“Not many people are good enough to help another person just for the sake of being a good human being,” he stated simply.

I bit my lip, frowning, then finally forced it out. “You were.”

Luke wrinkled his brow, knowing what I was referring to. “No I wasn’t.”

“You saved my life, with no personal benefit. Other than having the doubtful pleasure of getting to know my lovely self of course.” Usually my sarcasm could make him smile. Not today.

“I had to, Aya,” he said softly. “It was the least I could do after…” He winced, trailing off.

My eyes widened. This was the closest I’d ever gotten to him admitting why he’d done what he had. “After what?”

Luke breathed in deeply, closing his eyes. They remained closed as he replied, “After I made you fall.”

I blinked. My brain refused to make sense of what it had just heard. “Excuse me?”

“I-I ran into you. That’s why you fell onto the tracks. My friend pushed me and I bumped into you and…” He was trembling. “And you fell. I had to help you.”

“Oh.” My mind was whirring. I knew I had felt something, but I hadn’t wanted to say anything until it was proven. Never had I had the slightest idea that it had been Luke…

“Can you—forgive me?” he whispered. His head was hanging, shoulders hunched. He clearly expected a rebuttal. Well, he never got what he expected.

I cocked my head. “For what?”

That made him finally open his eyes and straighten up. “Umm…for being the reason you were in the hospital for two and a half months.”

I just raised my eyebrows. “Unless you were lying before, it was your friend who is the reason I was in the hospital for two and a half months. It’s not your fault that he pushed you. Or that I happened to be standing there. You’re no more guilty than that hobo over there,” I retorted, jerking my thumb back in the direction we’d come.

The relief on his face was tinged with doubt. “Really? You’re not angry with me?”

“Nope.”

Luke kneaded his forehead and sighed. “You’re the strangest person I’ve ever met.” There was a small smile, but then it disappeared. He stepped close to me—very close. It was hard to breathe. “I still feel guilty though. How can I make it up to you?”

By now, we were only a hairsbreadth apart. His breath washed over my face and I could feel those steel-gray eyes boring into mine. “I’ve got an idea,” I grinned. Then I closed the final inch.


The author's comments:
So, what to do you think? And so you don't have to ask, yes, this is the end.

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This article has 29 comments.


on Jun. 19 2013 at 8:32 pm
Daeorod14 SILVER, Lilburn, Georgia
9 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Look inside yourself to save yourself from your other self. Only then will your true self reveal itself.&quot;

This is adorable, I love it. =)

on Jan. 10 2011 at 8:05 am
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Thank you! :) Yeah, this wasn't my best piece, but I'm glad you liked that part.

on Jan. 9 2011 at 10:10 pm
Mykindapeopledontcarewhatyouthink BRONZE, Gueydan, Louisiana
2 articles 0 photos 124 comments
I think its really good. I find some of your other work to be slightly better but in part three when u said you were in an oven. I was blown away. 

on Oct. 11 2010 at 12:17 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Thank you again:) And I will, haha.

on Oct. 11 2010 at 11:59 am
KeepReading BRONZE, Kansas City, Missouri
4 articles 13 photos 19 comments

Favorite Quote:
&ldquo;So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.&rdquo; <br /> ―Dr. Seuss

this was my kinda read, i loved it! keep writing with the sarcasm! i also liked how even though she kept pushing him away, he never left her side :)

on Oct. 4 2010 at 2:08 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Thank you:)

on Oct. 4 2010 at 2:08 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Haha don't worry I'm that way tooXD

booklove145 said...
on Oct. 4 2010 at 12:58 pm

loved this story. it was really cute and the writing style was awesome. honestly, i could picture this really happening.

 


on Sep. 26 2010 at 10:43 am
PussnBoots GOLD, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
12 articles 0 photos 137 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;When life hands you lemons, make apple juice. Then sit back and watch the world wonder how you did it.&quot; -Unknown<br /> &quot;The world is my pineapple. I just have to figure out a way past the prickly parts.&quot; -Me

Awww! Call me a sap, but I love happy endings. lol xD

on Sep. 19 2010 at 4:55 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Thanks:D I didn't want to make it too long, so while it wasn't technically romantic before, I was trying to develop it at the beginning.  How supportive and steady he is, how protective--that stuff.

on Sep. 19 2010 at 4:38 pm
Just.A.Dream SILVER, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin
7 articles 0 photos 430 comments

Favorite Quote:
Part of the J7X team. :)

I love the story, especially where he admits it's his fault, but the last two paragraphs sounded a little rushed at the end, you'd think they'd have a better relationship before that. But I love how this story turned out, great job! :)

on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:38 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Probably.  Most likely there'd be a LOT more.

AsIAm PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:33 pm
AsIAm PLATINUM, Somewhere, North Carolina
48 articles 3 photos 606 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;According to some, heroic deaths are admirable things. (Generally those who don&#039;t have to do it. Politicians and writers spring to mind.) I&#039;ve never been convinced by this argument, mainly because, no matter how cool, stylish, composed, unflappable, manly, or defiant you are, at the end of the day you&#039;re also dead. Which is a little too permanent for my liking.&quot; &mdash; Jonathan Stroud (Ptolemy&#039;s Gate)

I think we would be lucky if that was the ONLY thing we smelled on a hobo...

on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:32 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Hopefully....*sniff* is that cat pee? 

 

Just kiddingXD


AsIAm PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:24 pm
AsIAm PLATINUM, Somewhere, North Carolina
48 articles 3 photos 606 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;According to some, heroic deaths are admirable things. (Generally those who don&#039;t have to do it. Politicians and writers spring to mind.) I&#039;ve never been convinced by this argument, mainly because, no matter how cool, stylish, composed, unflappable, manly, or defiant you are, at the end of the day you&#039;re also dead. Which is a little too permanent for my liking.&quot; &mdash; Jonathan Stroud (Ptolemy&#039;s Gate)

XD I guess we both choose good friends.  And hopefully huggable hobos.

on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:24 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Niiice. What's funny is I can see something just like that happening with my friends and me.

AsIAm PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:20 pm
AsIAm PLATINUM, Somewhere, North Carolina
48 articles 3 photos 606 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;According to some, heroic deaths are admirable things. (Generally those who don&#039;t have to do it. Politicians and writers spring to mind.) I&#039;ve never been convinced by this argument, mainly because, no matter how cool, stylish, composed, unflappable, manly, or defiant you are, at the end of the day you&#039;re also dead. Which is a little too permanent for my liking.&quot; &mdash; Jonathan Stroud (Ptolemy&#039;s Gate)

Indeed.  For some reason we were talking about dumplings, and thought they sounded really good.  And I said if I could have dumplings I would hug somebody.  He said he would hug a HOBO for dumplings.  And the rest is history! lol

on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:18 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

But it would be amusing.

AsIAm PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:14 pm
AsIAm PLATINUM, Somewhere, North Carolina
48 articles 3 photos 606 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;According to some, heroic deaths are admirable things. (Generally those who don&#039;t have to do it. Politicians and writers spring to mind.) I&#039;ve never been convinced by this argument, mainly because, no matter how cool, stylish, composed, unflappable, manly, or defiant you are, at the end of the day you&#039;re also dead. Which is a little too permanent for my liking.&quot; &mdash; Jonathan Stroud (Ptolemy&#039;s Gate)

Haha I don't think anyone has joined - we were just being weird :)

on Sep. 14 2010 at 8:11 pm
OfficialApprover PLATINUM, Orefield, Pennsylvania
48 articles 0 photos 1752 comments

Favorite Quote:
Grab life by the balls. -Slobberknocker<br /> We cannot change the cards we&#039;re dealt just how we play the hand<br /> Experience is what you get when you didn&#039;t get what you wanted<br /> It&#039;s pretty easy to be smart when you&#039;re parroting smart people<br /> -Randy Pausch

Hehe:D If I had an fb I'd join.