What About Derrick?

"We wanted, you to know, we were thinking about you," Fish said while Henry put the bouquet of sunflowers next to Mitch's bed.

"You know, I'm going home, like tomorrow." Mitch sighed as if he really didn't need company, but Fish suspected he did.

"Sky kept talking about you. It shook him up, pretty much, you know." Fish told him.

"I wish I could have told, you, what a bad boyfriend Derrick could be." Henry looked Mitch over. "I never really talked about it to anyone." Henry bit his bottom lip. "Now, I feel really bad, that I didn't. But, he could just get..so cold..sometimes. And then there were other times, I just thought he was playing around, but he hit me too. I guess I kept waiting for it to get really bad."

Fish knew it was still hard for Henry to talk about, but he was glad he was talking about Derrick, even if it was only a day or so ago, just how Derrick really was. Honestly, Fish never knew. He was thankful he'd never gotten mixed up with him.

Of course, Fish remembered his own experience with Henry last year. He wondered now if Henry learned to act that way from Derrick. Henry wasn't even on drugs then.

Still, Fish was baffled to Derrick's whereabouts. Although, he knew it was a subject he would not bring up with Shan.

Finally, Henry started talking about his trip he was planning with his parents to New York City. They were going to pick up Vada.

"And Leo is coming too." Henry grinned as if it were a well earned trip before school started. At least, Henry wasn't venting about Vada and her runaway trip to Paris.