by B C Morgan
I mean it wasn’t a complete lie, I do need to see the doctor today. I just don’t need to stop off at the ICU ward after.
“Hey H, how are you doing today?” I ask as I look at his chart and see there’s little improvement.
“You’re back, we wondered if we’d see you again,” says the same nurse as last time, Maria.
“My school wouldn’t let me out before today, how’s he doing?”
“I really can’t say, sorry chickie.”
“I understand, it’s hard not to worry though. And the boy who did this is wracked with guilt, I just wanted to give him some good news,” I say softly, taking his hand and trying unsuccessfully, not to cry. Maria doesn’t need to know the tears are for Amias.
Once she leaves, I go back through his folder, I don’t understand any of it until I see a treatment scheduled for tomorrow. Fuck me, he’s having surgery.
Fifteen
Mrs. Hutchinson confirms that he is set for surgery, she is royally pissed that I went to see him but there isn’t a lot she can do.
She doesn’t tell me a lot, only that it’s being done to improve his chances and to drain the fluid that is building up in his skull. I can’t tell Amias, it will only make him worry even more. I’ve looked it up and I know his chances don’t look good, even if he survives he won’t be the same person he was before the fight.
If that isn’t bad enough the guys are still acting like children in general. So much so, that I’ve taken to eating with Bella and the girls instead.
“Are you really going to keep ignoring them?” Leah asks, and it makes me laugh.
“I’m not ignoring them, Amias comes to my room most nights. It’s innocent I swear, I see Noah in the afternoon and we do our homework together. And Elijah is always bugging me, I just can’t be around them together at the moment when they’re acting like moronic twerps.” I laugh, but this situation is making me feel uneasy, and the guys are not making it any easier.
“So, you’re really going to go on your own. There are three hot guys happy to take you.”
I don’t understand why this is so confusing for her, what is the big deal about going to a party by myself? “No, there is one who wants us to go as a foursome, another who can’t be with me and won’t tell me why and the last who has made it clear that if I’m with him that’s it. I’m not even ready for all that serious crap yet, and even if I was, how the hell do I choose?” Groaning in frustration, I throw my hands in the air whilst the others laugh at my misery.
“If it isn’t the little tart, oops,” comes from Britney right as a hot liquid is poured down my back.
I scream in pain as Bella jumps to her feet and Britney runs off pretty much cackling like the hag she is.
The girls help me up and it’s agony, they quickly get me to the nurses office and she wastes no time in cutting my top off. Unfortunately, she can’t remove the material from the burn because it caused me to shriek and cry. Too damn painful. She’s now getting me into a wet room and running cold water over my shoulder and down my back.
I can’t contain my scream, it’s agony and the girls have been shown out.
“It’s okay dear, this is the best way to ensure it doesn’t get any worse. We’re going to have to have you sit here for at least twenty minutes and I’ll wrap up the rest of you so you don’t get too cold.”
She leaves the door partially open and I can hear voices coming from the other room, that vicious little hag. How could she do this? I’m not making the same mistake as before, I’m telling the headmistress this time, how could it make things any worse?
“Bloody hell little cub, we can’t leave you alone for a second, can we?”
Amias is better than any salve or compress, especially as he crouches in front of me.
“You’re getting wet,” I grit out through the pain and he strokes his hand down my face.
“I don’t care, I can always get dry and you need me.”
It isn’t long before Noah and Elijah are joining him on the wet floor and the nurse gives up trying to get them to leave. I guess keeping me calm is better than the rules at the moment, and once twenty minutes pass she leads me out of the wet room wrapped in a towel.
I lie down on the observation table and she covers the burnt area with some kind of cloth before bandaging me up.
Once she deems it safe for me to leave and it takes a lot as she has to make sure I haven’t gone into shock. The area is quite large and it’s concerning her, but at least it wasn’t a third degree kind. I guess there's always a bright side or some crap like that.
The headmistress gives me the rest of the day off, although that’s probably because I have to spend the rest of the day at the hospital where it takes hours to see anyone. The nurses had seemed concerned by my injury but a well-placed laugh here and there and a feeble excuse of ‘accidents will happen’ was enough to keep them away from the police. Thankfully I’m now lying on my stomach in my own room and it’s definitely comfier.. I got lucky really, my skin is probably red and will more than likely blister. But we got to the nurse fairly quickly so there shouldn’t be any real complications. I have three days until the party and right now, I think I might just skip it all together.
Elijah comes in an hour later and he’s so excited, at least someone has something to be happy about.
“Britney has been suspended, her parents looked super pissed with her.” Elijah is laughing but I’m failing to see the funny side right now.
“Hey, come on hot stuff, cheer up. You’re doing alright and the nurse seemed fairly confident that you wouldn’t have any long-term scarring,” he says, and his word choice is only making my mood worse.
“Oh, I see, so as long as I haven’t got scarring it’s all okay. Wouldn’t you be interested if I had a few burns on me then Elijah.” My tongue can burn just as easily as the drink that was poured over me, and Elijah is in the firing line.
He tries to backtrack, but I don’t care right now. Noah comes in to see him getting flustered and asks what’s going on.
“You really need to think before you speak,” he says once Elijah explains everything.
“I didn’t mean it like that, I was just trying to cheer her up. I didn’t mean to insinuate that I only care about her looks.” He sounds desperate to make it right, but I don’t want it right now. I’ve had just about enough for one day.
“Can you guys just leave me alone for a while, I want to be alone,” I shift onto my side so my back is to them, and I let the tears fall once I hear them leave.
One more day until the party, Britney will not be coming back until the start of the new term. We have no idea how Harrison’s surgery went and I’m still being kind of bitchy to the guys. I’m sick and tired of being injured and with them always keeping an eye on me, I feel like they’re my babysitters. How can they not be fed up with it, when I am.
The girls are easier to be around, plus none of them want to get with me so that’s definitely a positive. Only, Bella isn’t her usually bubbly self and I don’t know what to do to help her.
“What’s going on with you?” I ask and Roxie rolls her eyes.
“She doesn’t have a date for the dance, she’s been asked tons of times but not by the guy she wants to ask her. But she won’t ask him herself so she’s mopey.” Roxie rolls her eyes, she doesn’t really do sympathy.
“Enough is enough, who do you like?”
She goes to open her mouth when Mattias approaches us, the only guy in my life I’m not trying to avoid.
“Matti, I haven’t seen you for a few days. How’s it going?” I ask and he smiles sweetly.
“Not too bad, can I talk to you for a second.”
I get up and move away from the girls and he looks so nervous, this can only be to do with one thing.
“What are the emails saying now?” I’m not trying to be offhand with him, I haven’t got any issue with Matti, I just don’t need any crap right now.
“Nothing new, I’m actually here as a
n advocate for Noah. They’re worried about you and Noah is having a really hard time at the moment and I know he wishes you were talking.” He looks really uncomfortable and I don't have it in me to make it any worse for him.
“I want to, but it’s just too much. I’m sick and tired of them acting like my keepers, I can look after myself. Even if I have done a rather crappy job of it lately, besides Noah never tells me anything anyway, how am I supposed to help?” I feel frustrated and helpless and I know my tone conveys that perfectly.
“Ask him why he holds himself back and if he won’t answer, then tell him you won’t be around until he does,” he says, and it seems really cruel.
I tell him that and he shrugs his shoulders, I know he’s trying to help but I don’t agree with manipulation. I give him a quick hug which causes another blush, before going back to the girls and an annoyed looking Bella.
“Fuck my life, it’s Mattias isn’t it. Oh honey, if you want to go with him you’ll need to do the asking, he’s ridiculously shy bless his heart.”
It’s her turn to blush now, before she excuses herself and runs off. Why do we do this to ourselves? I think with a laugh, and Roxie stares at me as if I’ve finally lost the plot.
I find Noah sitting on the floor by my door when I get back and Elijah and Amias leaning against the wall. and my heart is aching.The real reason I’m avoiding them, is because I’ve finally figured out how I feel and it’s terrifying. I’m falling for all three of them, well I’m falling for two, I’ve already fallen for Noah.
“What are you doing here?” I sigh heavily, I’m not annoyed but I don’t know if I’m ready to speak to them yet.
“You haven’t spoken to us since you booted us out of your room, I miss you Leighbear,” his voice is soft and I want to wrap my arms around him and lose myself in his kisses, but that isn’t going to happen.
“Can I be honest with you? It isn’t easy for me to say though, so I’ll need you to bear with me,” I say as I open my door and he follows me in.
He sits down and waits for me to start, I’m about to fuck everything up and I still don’t understand how having multiple boyfriends would even work.
“I’ve been feeling sorry for myself because I haven’t been able to stop all this bad crap with the Shepherds from happening. And part of that is because I know I deserve this and a lot worse. When Elijah said it wouldn’t scar it made me angry, is he only interested in me because I’m attractive. His nicknames have the tendency to compliment my looks and not much else.”
Dragging my hand through my hair as I pace back and forth, Noah is suddenly standing before me and taking my hands in his.
“I say this way too much, but I can’t be with anyone not yet at least. But I think I’m falling for you guys, I know I’ve fallen quite hard for one of you already and it’s messing with my head. If I have to choose one day, I will lose the only people stubborn enough to keep bugging me until I let you stick around. How can I risk what I have with you guys?” I don’t hide my fear or try to mask the crack in my voice, I feel strongly about this and they need to know this too.
“Henleigh, I don’t want to know who you have fallen for. I don’t think any of us want to know that right now, but Lija doesn’t care about the way you look. He’s a little vain and likes pretty things sure, but he wants you because of the way you are. He doesn’t do serious yet he’s going to take you home to meet his parents, that isn’t vanity.” I look at Elijah and I can see the truth in Noah’s words, it isn’t just looks for him, and I hate that I ever accused him of that. “Amias has had a hard life so far, but he’s adaptable. There’s nothing to say he won’t change his mind later on.” Amias doesn’t looked convinced by this statement but he’s here, that has to mean something. “As for me, there’s something I need to tell you. So, what if you come to the dance with Lija and me, and the morning after I’ll tell you the reason I close myself off and why I’m hard to reach when I get home.” He looks scared but determined and it makes it easy for me to make my decision.
Screw it, I accept his offer, but I make it clear. If he doesn’t tell me after that, I’ll deal with it. Having him in my life is more important to me than knowing all his secrets. Even if the curiosity is tormenting me to no end.
The girls and I are getting ready together in Mikaela’s room. Ivy hasn’t been around for the last few days, her parents came to get her three days ago and she won’t be back for the party. Me and the guys have all sent her messages, but she hasn’t got back to us.
The weird thing is, I received an email this morning and it wasn’t redirected to Matti which means it’s from a new address.
I am all for seeking and revealing the truth but I also enjoy witnessing your torment and watching as you come apart. Your secret will be announced very soon Henleigh Monterey, but I think I may delay its reveal just a little. But don’t worry, your fellow students will receive enough just to keep them interested.
PastFinder.
It confuses me because it’s written as though it’s coming from PastFinder, but it feels different, and I can’t help but wonder if this is a completely different person. How many people are in on this?
“Earth to Henleigh, come on beautiful we need to get you ready.” Leah winks, and I remind her that her girlfriend Charlotte doesn’t appreciate her calling me that.
“She can get over herself, she doesn’t own me, and I can call my friends whatever I like. She doesn’t get a say and neither do you guys,” she exclaims, pointing at every one of us in turn.
“You realise my dress choice is redundant right, it’s backless and I can’t pull that off at the moment,” I say, throwing a pity party for one.
“Don’t be an idiot, the dressing is gone and it’s a healthy shade of pink.” This is from Mikaela and how can I not laugh.
“Fine, I guess it’ll match the dress perfectly at least,” I say, chuckling before disappearing into the bathroom to get changed.
It’s a pale pink halter neck, with a crisscross lace over across the chest and falls low on my back, practically to my hips. It has an ankle length chiffon skirt, and a knee length slit up one leg.
I’ve got my bracelet from the girls and my two necklaces on under my dress. I finish the outfit off with a pair of silver sandals with ribbons that wrap up along my lower leg and end just below my knees.
I can’t help but look at my back and wince at the bright red and blistered skin, sod it, I'm not going to let it spoil the night. Besides, I have a surprise for Bella that will either make her night or blow up in my face. So, excitement all around.
I leave the bathroom and am immediately seated so Roxie can get to work on my makeup and Bella is on hair duty. I can do it myself, but it is nice to be pampered every now and then. And when they finish, I barely recognise myself.
My makeup is soft and light with no black eyeliner to be found, and my hair is up in a fancy twisted bun with a braid wrapping around i A couple of loose curls frame my face.
“You look stunning,” says Roxie before rushing into the bathroom so she too can get ready.
By the time we’re all done Leah is in a form fitted, knee length cocktail dress made from satin and lace, she has a figure to die for and the dress really accentuates that fact.
Bella is in a wavy, floor length cream skirt that starts at her waist, with a red off the shoulder crop top. She’s wearing a pair of gladiator sandals and she is a sight for sore eyes, I really hope my surprise is well received, I’m starting to feel really nervous now.
Roxie is unsurprisingly in a black mid-thigh dress, with chains semi circling one hip and leather straps crossing up and around her chest, over her shoulders and falling to circle her hips. She also has on a pair of black faux biker boots, covered in studs and chains.
Mikaela hasn’t dressed up like we have, she’s wearing a deep blue, halter neck top and a pair of black trousers but it suits her perfectly and she still looks elegant.
I glance at the clock and there’s only seconds t
o spare before the door goes and I grab Bella and hide us behind the bathroom wall.
“What are you doing you crazy woman,” laughs Roxie as she opens the door and I can hear her giggling.
“Only Declan can make Roxie giggle like that,” Bella says wistfully, and my nerves are getting more and more intense.
“Where is she?” I hear Noah and Elijah say.
“Were we supposed to go to her room?”
My heart stutter stops at the sound of Amias’ voice, I didn’t think he was coming.
I don’t think as I step out into the room, my eyes filling with tears that I do not want to fall.
“You’re here.”
“Of course I am little cub, you can’t go to the party without your dates now can you? Damn Henleigh you look breathtaking,” he says as I step close enough to wrap my arms around his neck.
“What about us,” Elijah asks, and he soon pulls me away from Amias until I’m wrapped up in his scent.
“You really are beautiful Hen, and not just on the outside.” He drops a kiss on the side of my mouth and I’m pretty much swooning.
Noah isn’t as touchy feely, but he does hold my hand and place a chaste kiss on my cheek as he reverts to his usual habit of drawing circles on me.
“Did he come?” I ask and I see Bella go pale as Matti stands in the doorway and awkwardly knocks on the frame.
“Henleigh,” she says before running into the bathroom.
“Oh bugger, one minute,” I say before pushing my way into the bathroom and finding her sitting on the toilet with her face in her hands.
“Bella I’m sorry, I just wanted to help.”
“This isn’t helping, it’s you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. It’s humiliating Leigh,” she won’t even look at me as she says this.
