“Code of conduct, timetable, student ID picture, lockers, recess, class, lunch... Do I need to go on?” Stephan listed.
“No. I got it thanks”
“Hey Oliver wait up.” I heard calling behind me.
I turned to see Adalynn waving at me and sighed. Adalynn was nice, but she lived in a fantasy world where she thought football players should be dating cheerleaders exclusively. She had gone through a lot of team members already, and I had no intention of being her next victim. She was pretty. She had long blonde hair and piercing green eyes, but she wasn’t my type, and even though I kept refusing to go out with her, she never backed down. She spent a lot of energy on trying to change my mind.
“So have you thought about it?” Adalynn asked as she joined me. We waited in line together for the next table.
“Thought about what?”
“The date.”
I saw Stephan’s smirk when I rolled my eyes.
“Um–”
“And you are?” My ninth grade math teacher asked.
He’s joking right?
“Oliver Langton, advanced mathematics, always sat in the back row. How can you not remember an awesome face like mine, Mr. Fontaine?”
He chuckled. “Of course, Oliver. I’m sorry I wasn’t really looking.”
I observed him and came to the conclusion that he didn’t have a clue who I was. The older he got, the more I thought he was losing his memory.
“Here’s your schedule, important papers to read, and forms for your parents to fill out. Go take your I.D. picture over there and you’re all set. Oh and if you need help with your math class this year, drop by the math office, Oliver. Have a great school year.”
I shook my head looking at my timetable; I’d be seeing him first period after lunch.
“Hey, Oliver, wait up.” Adalynn called as I stepped away from the teacher who assigned me my locker.
I groaned.
“Here, I almost forgot.” She grabbed my right hand and wrote her phone number in my palm. I could have just taken it away, but for some reason, I just stood there letting her do whatever she needed to do. Besides, I knew very well my next stop would be the restrooms to wash it off.
“Don’t forget to call,” she whispered, leaning in on me. Before backing away, she left a soft lingering kiss on my cheek.
I was stunned. Completely unable to move. She stepped away with a wide smile on her face and left without saying a word. As for me, well, I blinked twice and the second I reopened my eyes, that’s when I realized that Abby was only a few students behind me, watching what I had let happen.
Abbygail
All I wanted to do was to smash Adalynn’s face against the wall when she passed with a proud grin, but I did what I did best when it came to her: I looked at the floor. And funnily enough, I did the same the moment I passed by Oliver. I couldn’t even tell if he tried to reach out to me or not. I completely lost focus until I was far enough to regain my composure.
“She kissed him,” I growled as soon as Kylie joined me.
“I know. I saw. Are you okay?”
“No, Kylie. I’m not okay. What was he thinking?”
“He? He didn’t do anything, Abs. Adalynn kissed him, and in his defense, I’m pretty sure he didn’t reciprocate either.”
“Who cares? She kissed him.” I kicked the nearest locker. “And why have you been sticking up for him so much today?”
“Because I don’t feel like you have a legitimate reason to be mad at him.”
“Why not?”
“Because he didn’t do anything, Abby.”
“You should think about becoming a defense attorney,” I scowled.
“Maybe I will,” she laughed. “Let’s go now. We need to find our lockers.”
***
“Do you think the person in my locker will want to switch with us?” I asked Kylie as we unloaded our bag. We got lucky, we were only five doors apart from each other.
“You don’t even know whom you’re paired up with yet.”
“I don’t think I’ll care who it will be. Besides, there aren’t too many people that tolerate my messiness.”
“I don’t tolerate your messiness.” she said shutting her door.
“OMG! Did you just see Adalynn kiss Oliver?” Zoey exclaimed as soon as she saw us. “The whole school will be talking about this by lunch time.”
I growled.
“Zoey, don’t,” Kylie demanded.
All three pairs of eyes were on me, but only one dared to continue. “Oh come on, Abby. You’re not his girlfriend, you’re his best friend. You do realize he’s one of the hottest guys in school, and he’s single? It’s like you don’t want him to have any fun.”
“I hate her, Zoey. You know that already.”
“Then it’s a good thing you’re not the one that’s going to date her.”
I frowned.
“He’s not going to date her. He doesn’t even like her.”
“Really, Kylie? How could you possibly know that?”
“I just do, Zoey. Now quit it.”
I crouched down and tried to stop their conversation from getting to me. The only one who hadn’t said anything was Ava. She just looked at me with a worried expression. She and Kylie were the only ones who knew how I truly felt about my best friend.
“Abs,” Ava whispered.
I looked up to her and she nudged her head forward. Oliver was walking up our row. I stood. Facing him was the last thing I wanted, but the first thing I should have expected.
“Guys. Could you just please shut up?”
Both stopped arguing and looked at me. I didn’t even know what they were talking about anymore, and honestly, I didn’t care. The last thing I wanted was for Oliver to know what was going on between us.
“What’s your deal, Abbygail?” Zoey questioned.
“My deal, Zoey, is that you should know how much I hate that girl, and you should also know how much she despises me. She’s going to make my life a living hell. But if you’re going to support Bimbo Blondie, then just go over there and be a pompom girl. We are all done talking about this.”
She glared at me and spun around coming face-to-face with Oliver.
“Done talking about what?” he asked curiously.
“Nothing.” Three of us declared at the same time.
Zoey just stared at him and batted her eyelids.
“Okay...” He paused and squinted at me.
I knew I’d be going through a whole lot of questioning as soon as the girls would be dismissed.
“I’m going to need you to step aside.”
“Why?” I frowned
“Because if you don’t, I won’t be able to put my things away in our locker.”
“Our locker? How did you manage that?”
“It’s the Langton’s charm. Hey girls, would you mind if I stole my bestest friend ever for recess?”
“Please do.” Zoey answered. “I’m out. We’ll talk later.”
Oliver started unpacking while I observed him. I couldn’t believe he was able to charm a teacher into changing lockers.
“Do you still want to switch partners?” Kylie whispered just loudly enough for me to hear.
I shook my head and smiled at her.
“We’ll talk later,” she responded. “Come on, Ava. Let’s go see what’s up Zoey’s panties this morning.”
I leaned on the metal door and watched both of them walk away. When they turned the corner I raised my eyes to Oliver’s. He was leaning on his arm above my head, staring at me intently. He was so close, his face literally inches from mine, and it took everything to maintain a steady breath.
“We need to talk,” he chastised.
I swallowed nervously.
“Do I want to know what that was about?”
“Um… No you don’t.” My voice trembled. “Girl drama?”
He eyed me suspiciously, trying to read me. I could tell because of the way he looked at my eyes. I didn’t even
know what I was feeling anymore; my heart was juggling anger, jealousy, happiness and fear.
“I see you finally got rid of your fawning harem,” I said pulling away. Being so close to him was driving me crazy.
He took his binders out of his back pack and dropped them on the top shelf. “A harem is composed by more than one person, Abby.”
“Who cares about definitions, Oliver?” I sneered. “I saw you. Do not stand there and deny that satisfied look on your face when Adalynn was hanging on your arm or when her hands were all over your body in the auditorium.”
“Satisfied look? I was annoyed, Abbygail. Of all people, you should know the difference.”
“You kissed her.”
“She kissed me.”
“Same fucking thing.”
“No, Abby. It’s not.”
“Are you going to call her?”
“Eww, God no. And I’m actually insulted you think so little of me. Clearly, you have no idea what kind of girl I like.”
“Please. You’re a sixteen-year-old guy. You like anything with boobs and long legs.”
“That was totally uncalled for. What’s it to you, anyway? Jealous much?”
“Jealous? Me? Uh, no.”
God yes.
“If you think I’m jealous of a blonde bimbo cheerleader that smooches your face and pets your leg to get your attention, you are totally mistaken.”
“Well, if you ask me, the fact that you noticed any of her doings proves the opposite, Abbygail.”
“It proves nothing. I hate her. The fact that she’s trying to weasel herself into your pants and that you’re letting her infuriates me. And stop calling me Abbygail with that tone. It annoys me.”
“First of all, I can call you whatever I want and however I want. It’s the privilege of being your best friend.”
I snorted.
“Second of all, I’m not letting her do anything. I don’t like her like that, Abby. For fuck’s sakes. Could you just tell me what’s going on with you this morning, so we can move on from it?”
“Nothing.”
“Cut the shit, Abs,” he said slamming the door. “You’ve been pissed off at me since this morning, and I have no fucking clue what I did wrong. If you’re going to be mad at me, don’t you think I should at least know why?” His index finger and thumb held my chin up to his face. “Tell. Me. What’s wrong.”
He was so close. I could feel my heart wanting to beat itself out of my chest. I looked at his eyes, at his lips and then back at his eyes again.
If I tell him, it will be a disaster…
I bit my bottom lip trying to shake my head.
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“That. The bottom lip thing.”
I frowned and then laughed. “Why?”
“I don’t know. It–”
“Abby?”
Both of our heads turned to the end of the row of lockers. “Is that my mom?”
Oliver chortled. “I think so.”
I groaned.
This has got to be the most humiliating thing I have ever experienced in my entire life.
“Abbygail?”
Why is my mother screaming my name? What could I have possibly done to deserve this? This is the first day of school… and I’m in the middle of a super important conversation.
“Abbygail, there you are,” my mother puffed. “We need to–”
Did I forget something this morning? My keys? My lunch? No. I just put my lunch into my locker before Oliver got here. Didn’t she have a patient at the clinic this morning?”
“ABBYGAIL.” My attention switched back to my mother. “Have you not heard anything I just said? I’m bringing Oliver to the hospital.”
“Why?”
“I swear, I really wish you’d listen to me when I talk once in a while.”
And I wish you didn’t show up at school shouting my name like a mad woman, but we can’t all have what we want now, can we?
“Henry’s been in a car accident, Abby.”
My worried eyes crossed my best friend’s. “Is he okay?”
“I don’t know. Are you coming with us or not?”
I grabbed his hand and frowned at my mother.
Talk about a stupid question!
Unsteady
Abbygail
The drive to the hospital was silent. I chose to sit on the back seat with Oliver instead of the front seat with my mom. I have to admit that he was good at keeping his self-control. The only sign of stress he showed was his left leg bouncing uncontrollably as he stared outside, lost in his own thoughts.
I looked at his worried features. I wanted to say something, but nothing seemed appropriate. I wished I could just tell him everything was going to be okay, but it felt wrong and the last thing I wanted was to lie to him. I stretched out my hand and interlaced my fingers with his. As soon as our touch met, he lost his focus and turned his sad eyes to mine, then to our joined hands.
“Oliver?” I whispered.
I didn’t say anything more; I simply lifted our combined hands to my lips. With a silent nod he pulled me closer to him and placed them back on his thigh. The unsteadiness of his heartbeat was the only thing I heard while we silently held on to each other.
Oliver
The drive to the hospital took fifteen minutes. I knew this because I checked the time when Aunt Jenna put the keys into the ignition of her Mercedes. The Evens’ must have been as anxious as I was because no one inside the car said a word since Abby and I left our locker. The silence was eerie. The only sound we heard was the voice of Amy Lee playing on the radio as she sang her part of Broken by Seether.
Abby and I holding each other was the only thing that kept me grounded. For a brief moment, when we were at school and she wasn’t paying attention to her mother, I actually believed that she had been so angry with me that she wouldn’t come to the hospital with us. But having her heart beating so closely to mine made me realize how, even the thought of it, was ludicrous. Our morning argument had completely dissipated into thin air, giving room for more important things. It was then that I understood that my father was right: nothing could tear us apart. This girl had no idea how much I needed her.
I straightened my spine when I saw that we had arrived at the hospital. “Aunt Jen, can you drop me off at the emergency entrance?”
Sensing my nervousness Abbygail pulled away from my shoulder, but didn’t let go of my hand.
Jenna hesitated. I knew she would have preferred our going in all together, but I wasn't patient enough to wait. I begged her with my eyes. Conceding to my desires, she dropped Abby and me at the door and took off with a faint tire screech. We turned to the revolving doors, and with a loud sigh, she linked her fingers with mine again as we walked in.
The entrance to the hospital was a drab gray and brownish color. It was poorly lit, uninviting and stank of cleaning products and sick people. The place was loaded with patients waiting in line. I groaned. The last thing I wanted to do was to wait for my turn. It seemed like such a waste of time.
As if she read my thoughts, Abby exhaled loudly. “This is ridiculous. I’m not waiting in line. Stay here.”
She walked off a few meters away and addressed the awkward security guard standing a few feet away. I watched her talk animatedly and smirked when she signaled me to join her. I had to hand it to Abby: more often than not she knew how to use her temper to our advantage.
“Come on.” She grabbed my arm. “We need to go to the trauma unit. It’s on the second floor.”
I wanted to take the elevator. Something about her words scared me, and I didn’t think my legs could carry me up there. Unfortunately for me though, Abby dragged me along with her, claiming we had wasted enough time. Together, we climbed the stairs, two by two, until we reached the door to the second floor.
As much as downstairs was dark, the second floor, was the complete opposite. The walls were cream colored with bright fluorescent lights, and the smell�
�� it was as bad as the ground floor but worse in some way. The antiseptic seemed stronger, more present. I hated it.
Walking together side-by-side, we turned left, and the deserted corridors turned into chaos. As I stood motionless, searching for my mother, the scene made me dizzy. Employees were running around, worried family members sat holding each other while others paced impatiently. Without hesitation Abby, let go of my hand and walked up to the nursing station. It was a good thing I had her, otherwise, I would have been completely lost.
“Hi.”
The nurse looked up from her desk.
“My friend’s dad was just in a car accident, and we’re looking for his mother.”
“What’s the patient’s name?”
“Henry Langton.”
I noticed grief in the nurse’s face when Abby named my dad. I frowned at her, trying to figure out what was behind her sad demeanor, but she was quick to recover and looked on her computer and smiled.
Get a grip Oliver...
“You may go to room two seven five, but Miss, you can’t go with him. Only immediate family members are allowed in the area.”
Abby rolled her eyes at the nurse. “Fine… I’ll just follow him and not go in.”
“I’m sorry, Miss, you can’t–”
I gave the nurse a mean glare and grabbed Abby’s hand.
If that woman thinks I’m walking there alone without Abby, she’s fucking delusional. I don’t care who you are, you are not keeping my best friend away from me right now!
We could hear the nurse hollering at us when she saw that I chose to ignore her request, but neither one of us slowed down until we were far enough away to not to hear her anymore.
As we turned the corner, we both came to realize that the room the nurse had instructed us to go to was in a very secluded and quiet hallway.
“Oliver.” Abby tried to let go of my hand, but I held on. I was on edge and wouldn’t have been able to let go even if I wanted to.
I didn’t want to.
“I’m going to wait here for you,” she whispered. Her voice was unsteady. It was like she knew something that I didn’t.
“Please don’t let go,” I pleaded.
She nodded sadly, and I knocked on the slightly ajar door. It opened gently and I saw my mother sitting alone on one of two plastic blue chairs. What I was seeing was nothing I expected. I couldn’t understand why my mother was sitting in that room all alone and not by my father’s side. Hunched over herself, she was leaning on her elbows holding her head. I'd never seen my mom so broken. She had always been full of light, and joy. Now, her eyes and face were puffy and red, and she was shaking.
No Regrets (No Regrets #1) Page 4