Young Love

by Paige Powers

  The next morning, I took a shower and got into some warm clothes before grabbing Lord of the Flies and heading out. Except this time, I didn’t go to school. I went to the hospital. The lady at the front desk smiled as I headed to Jack’s room. I knocked before entering and caught Jack with a spoonful of soup going into his mouth. I smiled and shut the door.

  “Your mom’s not here?” I asked heading over to the chair beside his bed.

  “Nope, she had work. And don’t you have school?” I peeled off my jacket and scarf grinning at him.

  “Playing ditchie.” He raised an eyebrow grinning.

  “I’ve taught you well,” he said. I laughed and sat down, pulling my long sleeves around my hands to keep them warm. His room was cold.

  “Yeah, that you have.”

  He ate his soup and then looked at me.

  “You really should be at school,” he said. I rolled my eyes.

  “And why would you care if I skipped school? You did it a million times!”

  “I didn’t do it a million times!” he said, rolling his eyes. I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. “Just a..a lot.”

  “My point exactly.” I sat down beside him. He put his arm around me and I leaned on his shoulder. “How’s the food?” I asked.

  “Like shit.” I laughed.

  “It’s a hospital. I’ll bring you something when I come next time.” He nodded. I looked at his arm resting on my arm. It had a white tag on it showing his name. His rough fingers lightly grazed my arm up and down. I smiled. The small TV was on in the corner but when I looked at Jack he was staring down at our feet. “What’s wrong?” I asked. He sighed.

  “Nothing, just thinking.” He looked at me and smiled tiredly.

  “Are you sleepy?” I asked. He shrugged.

  “A little.” I put my hand on his cheek and it prickled from the tiny hairs on it.

  “Go to sleep.” I leaned up and kissed him lightly. But as I pulled away he pulled me back and continued to kiss me. His kisses were soft and sweet but as I got lost in it, I didn’t realize that I was on top of him. He used his good arm to pull me closer, rubbing our hips together. I moaned. I put my hands around his neck and ran my hand through his hair. Someone cleared their throat and I jumped and looked toward the door. A nurse stood there, smirking at us.

  “Mr. Jack needs to take his meds,” she said. I got off of Jack and he sat up quickly, looking pink in the cheeks. She watched as Jack swallowed his pills. “Now, these will make you sleepy,” she warned. She smiled at me. “Sorry. Have a nice day.” She left and shut the door. I looked at Jack and he laughed. I did the same and slapped my hand to my face.

  “You need to sleep,” I said.

  “Well, I kind of want to do something else,” he said, winking at me.

  I rolled my eyes. “We’re in a hospital and you have a broken arm. I don’t think so.”

  He grinned at me. “What I want to do doesn’t have to involve hands...” My mouth dropped and he laughed.

  “Go to sleep!” I yelled, blushing. He smiled and settled back on the bed to take a nap.

  “Wake me up before you leave,” he whispered.

  “OK,” I said, but I knew I wasn’t going to. I hugged my knees as I looked around the room.

  “I can’t fall asleep,” Jack said, opening his eyes. I sighed.

  “Want me to read to you?” I asked. He looked over at me.

  “Yeah,” he said. I got my book out and showed him the cover. He grinned. I started to read and he laid back and closed his eyes, a strand of his hair falling into his eyes. Ten minutes later, I stopped and looked at him. His breathing was slow and soft. I smiled. I felt something rough rub against my cheek and looked behind me. Jack’s leather jacket! I pulled it off the side of the chair and down into my fingers. I smiled. I pulled it up and smelled it. It smelled like my detergent and him. I stood up and put my arms into the sleeves of the jacket and pulled my hair out from the back. It was big, but it was warm. I smiled as I quietly went out of the room to get a coffee from the cafeteria.

  When I got back, I settled down in the chair and started to read to myself while sipping my coffee, enjoying Jack being this close to me.

  Chapter 44

  I looked up when I heard the bed squeak and Jack sighed and looked over at me.

  “Hey, sleepyhead,” I said quietly. He smiled and closed his eyes a little.

  “What are you doing?” he asked. I picked up my book.

  “Reading.” He nodded and opened his eyes.

  “Why are you wearing my jacket?” he asked. I blushed a little.

  “I was cold,” I shrugged. He beamed.

  “It looks good on you.” I rolled my eyes at him.

  “Oh, good. You’re awake.” We both looked toward the door and Jane walked in, snow on her hat and a bag at her side.

  “Oh, hello, Lidia!” She smiled at me.

  “Hey.” I put my book away and stood up.

  “Here, I brought you some clothes from home.” Jane said pulling out sweat pants and a T-shirt for Jack.

  “Thanks mom,” Jack said sitting up.

  “Oh, shoot! I forgot your socks. They’re in the car. Be right back!” She rushed out and I laughed.

  “Hey, I think I’m going to head out,” I said, starting to take off his jacket. He frowned.

  “You don’t have to,” he said. I smiled.

  “Yeah I do. I still didn’t finish my homework.” He laughed. I pulled off the jacket.

  “Why don’t you keep it for me?” Jack said. I looked at him.

  “What?” I asked. He smiled.

  “My jacket. Why don’t you keep it so it doesn’t get pitched here?” I was shocked. He loves this jacket and he’s letting me take it?

  “Are you sure?” I asked. He nodded, so sure of himself. “Okay.” I pulled it back on and felt like I was wrapped in his arms. Though it had a slight smell of blood on it. “Um, thanks.” I said. He nodded. I put on my scarf and gloves and went around the bed to him.

  “I’ll come back tomorrow.” He smiled as I leaned down and kissed his cheek. I looked into his eyes, then gently kissed his lips. He sat still, savoring the kiss. I smiled and waved.

  “See you tomorrow!” He nodded and smiled back as I left.

  ****

  Three days later

  School was out for the holidays so I didn’t have to worry about going to the hospital. I happily went to see Jack every day and stayed till 6:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. He slept most of the time and when he wasn’t asleep, I would read to him or we would just talk or laugh. We fought like two times about something extremely stupid. But we always got over it. I sat in the familiar chair and watched an old episode of ‘House’ with him.

  “Dude, this guy is a jerk,” Jack said pointing to the TV. I rolled my eyes. His arm was out of the cast but still in an Ace Wrap and he couldn’t move it that much. Apparently it wasn’t a break, just a really bad sprain. His bruises were healing nicely.

  “He’s not!” I said. He looked at me his hair messy and falling to the side more, raising an eyebrow. “Okay! So he is, a little bit,” I admitted. He smirked. He was wearing a dark blue T-shirt and plaid sweat pants. “But come on! He’s hot for a 40-year old!” He laughed and shook his head.

  “You need to get out more,” he said. I frowned.

  “What do you mean?” I asked. He sighed.

  “You’re in here every day with me. It’s Saturday. Go out and have fun or something.” I rolled my eyes.

  “What if I don’t want to have fun?” He raised an eyebrow.

  “You do. And once I get out of here we are going to have some fun.” He winked at me. I laughed.

  “And what makes you think I want to have fun with you?” He frowned.

  “Well, I guess you’ll lose out, then.” I laughed again.

  “OK, whatever. I have to run to the store now for some food.”

  I stood up and got my things together,
placing Jack’s leather jacket around me. I had worn it all week. I smiled as I walked out. He waved. I got out into the city and sighed as I went to the local market. Mom and Dad would be home today. They were getting out early because they didn’t need the counselling anymore. They were OK. ‘Surprise, surprise,’ I thought coldly. I went into the store and grabbed some frozen pizzas, a small ready-made salad and a Gatorade. Just as I was about to go out the door, I ran into someone.

  “Oh! Sorry,” I muttered and looked up, pushing a piece of hair out of my face. It was Grant.

  “Lidia! Wow, hey,” he said, surprised just as much as I was. He actually looked really nice. He had his black ski jacket on with a matching hat and gloves. His blonde hair was coming out from the hat. This is how I remembered Grant. The sweet and charming guy.

  “Um, hey. How are you?” I asked politely. He smiled and showed those white teeth.

  “Good, pretty good. My dad just got promoted in his job.” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Wow! That’s awesome. He’s been trying to hit that for a while now, hasn’t he?” He nodded.

  “Yeah, he’s real excited about it. So how are you?” he asked, quietly looking into my eyes. My breath almost caught.

  “Um, good. Just hanging out, you know. Jack’s been in the hospital, so I’ve been going in every day.” Grant knitted his brows and nodded.

  “I heard about that. Heard he got into a fist fight with his step dad or something?”

  “His mom’s boyfriend. Well now, ex-boyfriend. So I’ve been a little tied up.” He nodded sympathetically.

  “Well, actually there’s a Christmas party at Jonathan’s house tomorrow if you want to go.” I smiled.

  “That would be nice. Jack was trying to get me out of there anyhow.” The look when I said Jack’s name sparked a glare just barely visible in Grant’s eyes but I knew him too well not to see it.

  “Cool, then I’ll see you there I guess.” I nodded.

  “Bye.” We went around each other and I went to my car feeling unsure if I should really go to the party without Jack. Mm, I’ll ask Jack tomorrow if I should.

  ****

  When I got home, Dad and Mom were unpacking their stuff.

  “Oh, hey, honey!” Mom said, rushing over to me to give me a hug. I hugged back a little. I was still upset with them.

  “How’s Jack?” she asked rubbing my arms. I shrugged.

  “He’s fine.” She frowned.

  “We should go in sometime to see him, Ian.” Mom said, turning to dad. He shrugged, looking the same.

  “Hi dad,” I muttered. He nodded and gave me a quick hug. I put the food in the fridge as I heard Mom and Dad talking. Well, Mom was mostly giggling. Parents! I went up to my room quickly and shut my door. The school had given me extra work to do over the holidays so we wouldn’t forget what we were doing. How fun is that? I started on the book they gave me and settled back in bed with a notebook by my side.

  I guess I fell asleep, because the next thing I knew, I was dreaming. It was just flashes but it was more of a nightmare. Grant plunging a knife into Jack’s back; the look of excitement on Grant’s face; the look of pain on Jack’s face...it hurt me. Then, I could feel Kendra behind me; I could see her face; she had the same look as Grant’s; her eyes were blazing with fire. Then everything was gone but Grant and I. He was wearing his ski jacket and his matching gloves and hat. I stared at him, his eyes were kind, like they always were. He was smiling at me.

  “I really miss you, Lidia. I want to be friends, maybe more if we can.” He said sweetly. My heart melted. Was I falling back in love with Grant? No, I couldn’t be! But this thing with Jack...it was fake. We might have had sex but does he really feel like that for me? Grant took my hands, brought them up to his heart and placed them there. I took a deep breath. “Lidia...” He moaned, closing his eyes. “Lidia,” he said again but his voice sounded like a girl’s. I frowned...

  I sat up quick and pressed my lips together.

  “Lidia?” Mom knocked on my door.

  “Com—” I cleared my throat because it sounded hoarse. “Um, come in.” Mom came in and smiled at me, her blonde hair up in a bun.

  “Oh, I’m sorry honey. Were you asleep?” I rubbed my eyes and sighed.

  “No. What do you need?” She came in smiling brightly.

  “I just wanted to talk. We haven’t seen each other for a week. And I want to know how Jack is.” She put her hand on my knee. “And you,” she said seriously. I felt my wall break down and I almost gasped when I felt tears in my eyes.

  “Jack’s hurt, Mom,” I said simply. “But Mom, I’m so confused.” She listened. Should I tell her? No, I can’t tell her about the fake relationship between Jack and me. It’s too hard to explain. I inhaled and looked at her. “Mom, I really like Jack but...I think I might still have feelings for Grant. What should I do?” I begged. Mom sighed and looked at me with sad eyes.

  “Honey, I’ve never been in this kind of a situation before. But what I can tell you is, follow your heart.” I raised an eyebrow. Mom laughed. “I know, I know. It sounds corny, but really honey, that’s what you should do. Just do what your heart is telling you. That’s all I can say.” I frowned and looked down at my hands. What if my heart was as confused as I was? Something pounded a name in my heart, it bled the name, but I couldn’t get hurt. Not again. I pressed my lips together and nodded.

  “Thanks, Mom.” She grinned.

  “No problem, sweetie!” She paused for a minute and then giggled.

  “Your father and I have been getting along great!” she said, thrilled with excitement. I really didn’t want to listen, but I had to. She told me about her and Dad’s experience with the therapist and how she worked wonders! I could care less. I thought of Jack in the hospital and decided I would go in first thing in the morning. I sighed. “So, now our sex life is great!” I stared up at her with wide eyes.

  “Mom! Ewe! Stop it! I don’t want to hear about that!” Mom laughed and patted my knee.

  “I know, sweetie. Oh, well, I have work in the morning since they called in. Night.” She kissed my head and left the room. I fell back in bed with tears stinging my eyes once again. My phone vibrated on my night stand and I reached out glumly and picked it up.

  “Hello?” I asked.

  “Lidia, are you OK?” Candice asked, sounding worried. I sniffed, clearing my voice.

  “Um, no, sorry. What’s up?” Candice was quiet for a second.

  “OK...Oh! Um, I just found out that Kendra and Grant broke up last night.” I raised an eyebrow.

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, Tommy said he and his friends were walking to the pizza place and Kendra stormed out crying. They asked some people and they said Kendra and Grant got into a huge fight in front of everyone at the restaurant.” Wow, I never thought that would’ve happened. Even though Kendra and I weren’t talking, maybe I should call her? She might need a friend.

  “Is she OK?” I asked. Candice snorted.

  “She’s probably sleeping with a guy right now getting over---Oh! Lidia, I’m sorry, I forgot you and her—”

  “No, no, its fine. I know what people thought about her,” I said calmly.

  “Oh…OK, well I’m sure she’s fine but, who knows. Listen I got to go. Tommy and I are going out. Just thought I’d let you know. Oh! How’s Jack? Tommy and I went to see him yesterday but we didn’t see you.” She rambled on and I couldn’t help but smile.

  “Yeah, I was gone by then. OK, go, have fun. I’ll call you tomorrow or something.” Candice laughed.

  “OK, bye!”

  I hung up and sat my cell phone down. I curled into a ball and thought of calling Kendra.

  Chapter 45

  The next morning, I got up, took a shower and changed. I grabbed a candy bar and a pop-tart from the cupboard and headed to the hospital. I hugged Jack’s jacket to me, trying to find that smell again. When I got to the hospital, Jack was awake and flippin
g through channels on the TV. He grinned when he saw me.

  “Hey, Princess!” he said. I rolled my eyes but smiled. I kissed his cheek.

  “Brought you something,” I said, wiggling an eyebrow as I ate the rest of my pop-tart.

  “Oh, yeah? What?” he asked. I pulled out the candy bar. He grinned even wider.

  “Thank god! Real food! The food in this place sucks!” I laughed.

  “Didn’t Jane bring you anything?” I asked. He shook his head.

  “Only some...stupid healthy stuff.” I laughed again.

  “She’s your mother. You have to listen to her.” He scrunched up his face. I laughed and shook my head. “Glad you’re back,” I said and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. He moved instead and our lips met. He pulled me onto the bed and I could feel the lust and passion in his kiss. I was so surprised. I latched my hands in his hair as he bit down on my bottom lip. I moaned. I didn’t hear the heart rate monitor till it was beating so loudly, that I pulled away quickly. Jack was panting and he looked at me. I smiled.

  “Your heart would’ve beat out of your chest if we didn’t stop.” He laughed with pink tinted cheeks. I just smiled. But then I thought of Grant. He would never have blushed. Not for me at least. Why was I thinking of him though? “I think we should stop for now.” I said, pulling myself free of Jack. He frowned slightly. I sat back in the chair, calmed my breathing, and tried to regain my composure. “Um, so Jonathan Merith is having a Christmas party tonight. I was invited.” Jack raised an eyebrow. I waited for him to say something.

  “Are you going?” he asked. I shrugged.

  “I’m not sure. I was waiting to talk to you first.” He laughed.

  “Lidia, why do you have to talk to me first? I’m not your father; you don’t need to ask for permission.”

  “I wasn’t going to ask for permission!” I said. “I was just going to see if you didn’t care-”

  “I don’t. You need to get out for a while, anyhow. I mean, you’ve been in here every day with me. Get out, have some fun.” I frowned.