The Monday after the whole debacle with Tony Georgia, Drew called off. He had given the school enough notice text May and Rose on Saturday that he had fallen down his apartment stairs and wouldn't be in any shape to come in Monday.
Isabela only learned this at the same time as everyone else at the school. Even with advanced warning, it was a nightmare to find coverage. Subs did not exists post COVID. I just gave time to split his class into small pairs of students who were told to help in other classes when they would have Drew for ELA. She had a pair of girls assigned to her class. Isabela had not taught them when they were younger but they listened and read Hatchet with her students. Their schedule threw Isabela out of sorts and she forgot to release them to go math until she got the message from Megan Hera, the 8th grade math teacher. "Where are Michaela and Ashanti!?!" she typed furiously.
Drew did not respond to Isabela's texts. People at school asked her if she knew anything and when she expressed a confused frustration ("Why would I know?") most people either shrugged but Rose, the Assistant Principal, threw a barb.
"Oh, I thought you were dating. You seem to spend a lot of time together. Sorry, so sorry"
Isabela felt herself turn red just thinking about that as she drove to his apartment. She got the address from the school emergency contact sheet but he had yet to respond. Her cringe embarrassment did begin to fold into dread. It was bold of her to just show up. It defied everything about her elder Millennial mind to just drop in unannounced but she also made choices to jump over traffic bollards and chase down guys with overpowered glow sticks. Her modesty folded to the situation.
But, she worried, he was dead having bleed out internally Saturday into Sunday morning. She snuck in following something into the building. Drew lived on West 85th at the edge of a gentrifying area called Gordon Square. She knew he had lived here a while, likely when the rent was cheaper. No elevator so she shuffled up the heavily worn stairs balancing her backpack and a bag of Chinese take out.
Isabela knocked on the door, first lightly but then with more a rhythmic emphasis. "Drew. Its me, Isa. Look, I know its out of nowhere but you weren't answering and I, we, like whole school was worried."
She heard a hurt groan from inside. At least he was alive. Then an raspy shuffle to the door. He cracked it open and then said to come in. "Sorry, it hurts to stand up for too long so im going to head back to couch. But, come in." She gave him a minute and then walked in. His apartment was spartan but had furniture. She expected an air mattresses staged next to crates of books and a TV. Multiple gaming consoles as well. He lay on his side on the couch under a blanket with his head draped onto the arm rest. He clutched a pillow between his arms.
Closing the door with her hip Isa set everything on the coffee table "I was terrified when you didn't text me back. I know you called off which was a good sign but still."
"It hurts to move. My whole right side feels like it is on fire. Like getting the door was peak effort of the day." He did not look up from the couch.
Isabela pouted and took of her coat throwing it over a chair when she couldn't find a hook. "I brought food. Szechuan Chicken from Top Imperial Village. The twins still work there after school and remembered you when I said it what it was for." She moved to the kitchen assuming it was ok "Are you hungry? Must be if have not moved. Ill get some plates"
Drew was and moved to slowly pull himself up. He swore he heard other things crack. The blanket slipped of his frame and Isabela, returning with plates caught site of the single massive blistering purple bruise running from his armpit to his hip. "Oh my God," she gasped and instinctively looked away He reached back for the blanket and shook his head "Sorry. It hurts to lift my arms up so putting on a shirt takes forever. I got something here. Give me a minute."
"Oh, I'm good. I get it. More I can't believe that bruise." She felt guilt flare up from soles of her feet to crack the top of her heart.
He slowly fumbled into a t-shirt he had stuffed under his head. It was a slow process where he slung it over his head and got one arm in but other was a methodical build. Already exposed , he asked for help, letting any hesitation melt away. They ate, Isabela sharing well wishes from work and the students. They had a better plan for tomorrow so he should call off which he already planned to. He asked her what happened to the money. She nodded "I spent all day Sunday moving it around. I gave Jessica the most. She still lives with her parents, did you know that? Anyway, I found the place and just dropped it in the mailbox. Simple note saying she should quit and courtesy of Tony." Isabela reached into the front pack of her backpack. "She seemed a lot happier today at work, even with having to follow Calvin around all day. I asked her and said she got a blessing and Tony had shut down the restaurant for a few days for unannounced reasons"
She handed him a coiled roll of crumpled twenties. "Here you go."
"What is this?" He had just gotten a rhythm of moving his left arm to eat and this did surprise him. She motioned with her eyes the sign and roll of her shoulders. "Just take it. He was an asshole and this whole thing doesn't pay. I did same thing."
Drew palmed the roll. 'Its $500," she said. "Just don't put in your bank account, I guess."
His condition only intensified her guilt. After eating she fretted around cleaning up the plates and stowing leftovers. She came back from the kitchen and he was still on the couch breathing shallow and looking up to the ceiling. "Did you see a doctor? I could have taken you"
"I went to an urgent care Saturday. They said I had a broken rib and guy said to go see a specialist eventually to check my hip but beyond that nothing permanent."
"Broken rib? How do those heal?" Isabela genuinely did not know. Her sister was an ER doctor at Metro, which made for a good joke whenever a kid came to her with a random ailment- "Don't worry, I know someone who is a doctor, so I know what I'm doing" She imagined an internal cast before realizing how crazy that sounded
"Time. I have to keep it wrapped with this ace bandage and ice. They gave me Oxy, which is nice. Ill have to show May and Rose the script when I come back in." He excused himself and said he was going to lay back down.
She offered to help further. Anything around the apartment? Pets to feed? Errands to run? Sub plans to run over. She emphasized the latter. Drew said he was all set with no pet to care and the thought of her going through his place embarrassed him. He heard his mother in his hear lecturing how he had to keep his place tidy and stocked because "What if a woman comes over!?" and her it happened except he had his ass kicked and temporarily exiled to the couch.
"No, Im good. Thank you."
She nodded and waved goodbye insisting he needed to answer his texts. They never talked about their work over text. It always happened in person or over the phone but she thought about some sort of code they could use. On her drive back, everything started to feel much more real. A tangible sensation that this wasn't over. Would Tony Georgia also say he fell down some stairs? She took a winding path back to her place. She thought of why she did this and why Drew would want to help. In his apartment she saw the comic and superhero collectibles and the vintage pro wrestling posters. Rose's earlier comment popped back into her head and Isabela debated how much of Drew's motivation was about his sense of fantasy. And how much it could be about her.
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