A Proscriptive Relationship

by Jordan Lynde

  “You’re not in any trouble?”

  “None at all.”

  My eyes welled up as a swirl of emotions passed through me, the most prominent one being relief. “I’m so glad,” I finally said, doing my best to blink away my tears.

  The door to my hospital room suddenly burst open, and a few doctors and my mom came in. Mr. Heywood quickly moved out of the way so my mom could have better access to me. She threw her arms around me, squeezing me painfully. I gasped, my stomach clenching painfully.

  “Mom,” I gasped, trying to push her away. “You’re hurting me!”

  “Holly! I’m so happy you’re awake!” my mom blubbered, her voice thick with tears. “Oh, honey!”

  I winced in pain as she continued to squeeze my aching body. “Mom—”

  “I was so worried! I thought you might not wake up!”

  “Please—”

  “I have to call Lance and Casey. I promised them I’d call when you woke up.” She finally pulled away, wiping her eyes off with her sleeve. “They’ll be so relieved.”

  “Excuse me,” one of the doctors said, gently pushing my mom out of the way. “We need to do a check-up on her and make sure everything is okay.”

  My mom nodded, moving out of the way I watched as she went over to Mr. Heywood, saying something to him I couldn’t hear. He stood up, nodding to my mom. Together they started for the door.

  “Wait!” I cried out, my eyes widening. “Where are you going? Stay here!”

  My mom gave me a gentle smile. “It’s okay, honey. I have to go outside and call Casey and Lance. You want to see them, right?”

  “Yeah,” I responded, my face falling slightly. “Mr. Heywood—”

  “I’m not supposed to be in here during a check-up,” he informed me with a tight smile. “I’m going to get something to eat. Do you want something?”

  As if on cue, my stomach growled. A blush spread across my face as Mr. Heywood chuckled. I hadn’t realized how hungry I actually was. It actually kind of hurt.

  “Cake?”

  “Chocolate,” I told him, averting my gaze. “Thank you.”

  “Anything for you, Holly.”

  My mom cracked a grin, sending me a wink before she disappeared through the door. Mr. Heywood gave me one last lingering look before parting as well. I turned my attention to the doctor, who was in the process of taking out my IV. I quickly shut my eyes, turning in the opposite direction, and trying to focus on anything but the feeling of the needle slipping out of my vein.

  I dozed for a bit until Mr. Heywood returned with my chocolate cake. A few minutes later, the door burst open, scaring me half to death. Mr. Heywood quickly slapped me on the back as I choked on a bite of cake. Casey and Lance came through the door, both with excited looks on their faces.

  “Merry Christmas!” Casey cried, flinging herself at me. She landed hard, causing me to groan in pain. Immediately she pulled back, looking sheepish. “Sorry!”

  I shook my head, resting a hand on my sore stomach. “It’s fine. And what are you talking about? It’s not Christmas yet.”

  Casey’s head snapped to Mr. Heywood. “You didn’t tell her?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “You’ve been out for two months,” Lance told me in a serious voice. “I thought you were a goner—” He was abruptly cut off when Casey elbowed him in the side.

  She rolled her eyes as Lance groaned in pain. “Ignore Lance. You’ve only been out for a little over a week.”

  “A week?” I repeated incredulously. “I’ve been gone for a week? Oh no . . .” A groan left my lips and I fell back onto my pillow.

  “What’s wrong?” Mr. Heywood demanded, coming closer to my bed. “Are you okay?”

  I shook my head. “No . . .”

  “Should I call a doctor?”

  “No, that’s not it,” I told him, smiling slightly at his concern. “I’m just terrified about the amount of homework I’ve missed.”

  “Well, at least you won’t have to worry about biology homework,” Lance told me in an amused voice.

  I cocked my head to the side. “Why?”

  Mr. Heywood cleared his throat, turning away from me. “No reason.”

  “Heywood’s been skipping school so he could stay here with you,” Lance informed me, a smug smile slipping onto his face.

  I turned to Mr. Heywood, my eyes widening at the news. “Really?”

  “I’ve only skipped two days,” he informed me, shooting Lance an annoyed look. “The other days I was given off since, you know, I got shot.”

  My mouth dropped open in shock. I had totally forgotten Mr. Heywood had been shot! “Are you okay now?”

  “I’m okay, Holly,” Mr. Heywood responded with a shrug. “Although Shawn and Mikey needed some serious medical attention . . .” He turned to Lance with a smirk.

  Lance immediately dropped his gaze, scratching the back of his head. “I didn’t mean to shoot him. I just panicked.”

  “You shot someone, Lance?”

  “Mikey,” he told me. “It was either shoot him or watch him kill you.”

  “But Lance—”

  “You shot someone too!”

  I frowned at him. If I scolded him, I’d be a hypocrite. “Where’s Jeremy?” I asked, deciding to change the subject.

  “Dunno,” Mr. Heywood responded with a shrug. “I haven’t seen him since Sunday . . . That was two days ago.”

  “I saw him today at school,” Casey interjected. “He said he was going to come by later.”

  “You saw him at school?”

  Casey nodded. “That’s what I said.”

  “Why was he there?” I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.

  “Looking for Mr. Heywood, I think,” Casey responded. “After I told him he wasn’t there, he left.”

  Mr. Heywood frowned. “I wonder what he wanted . . .”

  “You, obviously,” Casey said slowly, giving him a funny look. “You don’t listen well, do you?”

  He scowled at her. “Well he wanted to talk to me for a reason, didn’t he?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “So have you heard the good news?” Lance asked, leaning towards me, ignoring the other two. “Shawn’s in jail and he’s going to be in there for a long time.”

  “I’ve heard,” I responded, smiling widely back at him. “It’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”

  Mr. Heywood snorted. “You haven’t heard much news. You’ve only been awake for an hour or so.”

  I puffed my cheeks out at him. “Shut up.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Sure thing, princess.”

  “Princess? Aw, that’s a cute nickname,” Casey interjected with a cheeky grin. “Is he prince, Holly? Or king? I feel like Mr. Heywood would prefer king.”

  “We don’t have nicknames for each other,” I told her, feeling my face heat up.

  “You don’t?”

  “No!”

  Lance snorted. “What kind of couple are you guys?”

  “Holly, you’re grinning like the Cheshire cat,” Mr. Heywood pointed out, an amused smile slipping onto his face.

  Blinking in surprise, I realized I was indeed grinning broadly. I stopped immediately, feeling my muscles protest. Mr. Heywood chuckled, reaching forward to ruffle my hair. I pulled his hand away, but didn’t let go.

  “I’m just happy that all this is over,” I told him. “No more Shawn. No more gangs. No more problems . . .”

  “No more hospitals,” he added in a firm tone. “And no more shooting people. Okay, Holly, Lance?”

  Lance and I exchanged sheepish looks. “Right.”

  Casey pouted. “Aw, I never got to shoot anyone.”

  Mr. Heywood, Lance, and I all stared at her. A small blush spread across her cheeks and she held up her hands defensively. “Kidding, I was kidding.”

  “Holly, Chris, I hope you guys are decent!” a loud voice suddenly came from the doorway. “I don’t want to walk in on you two again.”


  “Again?” Lance echoed, his eyes widening.

  I blushed, glaring as Jeremy entered the room, a satisfied smirk on his face. “There was no first time.”

  Jeremy faked a hurt look. “Are you calling me a liar? After I came all this way to visit you? Look, I brought chocolate!” He held out a small box of chocolate to me. “Does Holly want some chocolate? Oh, I bet she does,” he said, mimicking the way someone would talk to their pet.

  “I don’t want them,” I snapped.

  “I do!” Casey interjected, snatching them from Jeremy’s hand. “Thanks . . . Um . . .”

  Jeremy frowned at her. “Jeremy. We’ve met before . . .”

  “Oh! At Victoria’s Secret!”

  Mr. Heywood snorted, quickly raising a hand to his face. He cleared his throat as Jeremy glared at him. “Well, no surprise there, Jeremy,” he said with a shrug.

  “Victoria’s Secret, eh?” I repeated with a smirk. “I would have never guessed, Jeremy.”

  Jeremy flushed. “I wasn’t there! I don’t know what Casey is talking about. I’ve never met her in there.”

  “What do you mean?” Casey responded, feigning a confused tone. “You were having trouble choosing between lace and silk—”

  “I was not!”

  I laughed at Jeremy’s frantic denial. Mr. Heywood started laughing too, turning his head away. Even Lance was smirking in amusement. Jeremy stared at Casey like she was crazy.

  “We saved you from Shawn. You saw me get shot!” he cried desperately. “I drove you home!”

  “I know,” Casey responded with a grin. “I was just kidding.”

  Jeremy froze, his expression going blank. I burst out laughing again, groaning in pain as my abs contracted. Mr. Heywood sent me a worried look, but I shook my head at him.

  “Seems like you’ve met your match, Jeremy,” I commented, wagging my eyebrows.

  Jeremy pursed his lips, appraising Casey with his eyes. “We’ll see.”

  Casey puffed out her chest, looking back at Jeremy with determination. “By the way, Jeremy. You didn’t ever deny going into Victoria’s Secret. You just said you’ve never met me in there.”

  Once again Jeremy flushed as he stared at Casey in disbelief. “I—”

  Mr. Heywood chuckled, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I like your friends, Holly.”

  I smiled up at him. “Good, because I’m hoping you’ll be around for a while.”

  “I’m hoping I’ll be around forever,” he responded, leaning down to kiss me.

  When he pulled away, I realized Jeremy, Lance, and Casey were all staring at us. Jeremy looked amused, and Casey and Lance looked shocked. A blush crept its way onto my face.

  “What?” I demanded. “You’ve never seen two people kiss before?”

  Casey opened her mouth, her eyes widening excitedly. After a moment she shut it, obviously changing her mind. “It’s so cute when you guys kiss though!” she finally cried.

  Lance snorted. “No it’s not.”

  “Jealous,” Jeremy, Casey, and Mr. Heywood all taunted.

  “I’m not!”

  I laughed, wincing as once again my stomach burned with pain. “Ow.”

  Mr. Heywood chuckled, patting my head. “Okay. We should probably let you rest a little more before we reopen your wound.”

  “But I just got here,” Jeremy protested.

  “You can come back later.”

  “But—”

  “In the meantime, we could go lingerie shopping if you want,” Casey suggested, putting a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder.

  Jeremy scowled at her. “Drop it, kid.”

  “Kid?” Casey responded, raising an eyebrow. “According to Holly, you’re only two years older than me.”

  “Two years is still older.”

  “Not much.”

  Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes, pushing on Jeremy’s shoulder. “You guys can argue out there. Holly needs rest.”

  “See you later, Holly!” Casey called, trying to duck under Jeremy, who was pushing her out the door as Mr. Heywood pushed him.

  “Bye!”

  Lance waved before following the trio out the door. Mr. Heywood appeared again moments later, grabbing the door handle. He paused for a moment, staring at me.

  I automatically raised a hand to my face. “What?”

  Mr. Heywood shook his head. “Nothing. I’m just glad it’s all over.”

  I smiled. “Me too.”

  “Rest well, Holly.”

  “I love you, Chris.”

  He looked at me in surprise for a moment, and then smiled. “I love you too, Ms. Evers.”

  Epilogue

  “Just a little more, Holly. Come on.”

  “I’m trying! It hurts!”

  “Suck it in!”

  “I am!”

  “Well suck it in more!”

  Doing as Casey commanded, I took in more oxygen, sucking in my gut in as much as I could. Casey yanked on my zipper, trying to force it to the top. She let out a small, strained groan, pushing down on my shoulder. Finally I heard the sound of it zipping up.

  “It worked!” Casey cried excitedly. “It fits!”

  I let go of my breath and made a face. It was going to be difficult to breathe in this dress. “I should have just got a new dress.”

  “Well, you didn’t have time, so tough. Besides, this shade of lavender is so your color.”

  Pursing my lips, I turned to give her a disapproving look. “I can barely breathe.”

  “Come on,” Casey ordered, tugging on my elbow. “We were supposed to meet Mr. Heywood and Jeremy in the lobby fifteen minutes ago.”

  “Hold on,” I demanded, pulling my arm out of Casey’s grasp. “Let me just check my makeup—”

  “You look fine,” Casey responded, quickly snatching up my arm again. “Now let’s go.”

  Warily, I allowed Casey to pull me out of our hotel room. Being the nice friend I was, I had allowed Casey to do my makeup for the wedding. Casey being Casey had decided not to let me see it before we left—for all I knew I could have clown makeup all over my face. To make things worse, I didn’t even know how I looked in this dress. It was obviously too small. Casey let me borrow hers, but it didn’t fit so well.

  “Come on, we’re late,” Casey urged, yanking me down the hallway.

  I staggered unevenly through the hallway after her, trying to keep my balance on my high heels. “Slow down, Casey!”

  Casey threw an impatient glance at me. “Do you really want to be late for the wedding?”

  “We’re not going to be late.”

  “What if Jeremy gets lost on the way?”

  “He won’t get . . .” I trailed off, furrowing my eyebrows. Knowing Jeremy, he probably would actually get lost. “Maybe we should hurry.”

  When we arrived in the lobby, Mr. Heywood and Jeremy were nowhere to be seen. It was completely empty aside from the receptionist, who was sitting at her desk half-asleep. Casey turned to me, the corners of her lips turning down.

  “They wouldn’t leave without us, right?”

  I shook my head. “Jeremy might, but Chris wouldn’t let him . . .”

  Suddenly Jeremy appeared from behind one of the pillars by the exit. He was readjusting his tie, looking down at it with an annoyed look. Moments later Mr. Heywood stepped out from the pillar too, also pulling at his tie.

  My breath caught in my throat for a moment. He couldn’t look bad in a suit even if he tried. His hair was damp, making it look darker and more messy than usual. Casey gave me a gentle push from behind and I stumbled forwards a few steps before walking on my own.

  “What were you two doing behind there?” Casey inquired when we were close enough for them to hear us.

  Immediately both their heads snapped our way. Mr. Heywood inhaled sharply as his eyes landed on me. I blushed, quickly averting my gaze.

  “Wow, Holly,” I heard Jeremy start. “You look—”

  “Absolutely perfect,” Mr. Heywood finished, cutting in. “That col
or suits you well.”

  I looked back up now, smiling slightly. “You don’t look half-bad yourself.”

  He grinned. “I know.”

  “Well who is this strapping young lady?” Jeremy said, turning to Casey with a wide grin.

  Casey raised an eyebrow. “You clean up good.”

  Jeremy shrugged. “I try.”

  “But what were you two doing behind that pillar?” she questioned again, slowly smirking. “Something you shouldn’t be? All alone? You guys were fixing your ties . . .”

  Mr. Heywood rolled his eyes. “We’re not gay, Casey.”

  I laughed. “Okay, so are we ready to go?”

  “As soon as you put on your coat,” Mr. Heywood responded, giving me a disapproving look. “It’s the middle of winter, Holly.”

  I grimaced. “But Casey . . .”

  He sighed, taking his jacket off his arm and handing it to me. “Since we’re already late, just wear this.”

  “But—”

  “Wear it, Holly.”

  I slowly took it reluctantly. “What are you going to wear? You know, Casey doesn’t have a jacket either.”

  “I’ve got her covered,” Jeremy responded, and I turned to see Casey pulling on what I assumed to be his jacket. “Us manly men can handle the cold.”

  “But—”

  “Come on, Holly,” Mr. Heywood interjected, holding out his jacket for me to slip into. “Just wear it.”

  After another moment of hesitation I finally sighed, putting my arms into the sleeves of the jacket. Mr. Heywood pulled it tightly around me and started buttoning it up for me. I blushed, swatting his hands away.

  “I can do that myself.”

  “But I can do it quicker,” he responded with a smirk. “But if you insist. Come on, you can button while we walk.” With that, he grabbed my hand and began dragging me towards the exit with no regard for the fact that I couldn’t button my coat with only one hand.

  The trip to Lake Champlain, where the wedding was being held, didn’t take very long at all. Jeremy had thought ahead and booked us a hotel only about twenty minutes away—and he had mapped out the drive beforehand so he knew where he was going. Mr. Heywood seemed just as impressed as I was. Jeremy had a smug expression on the entire time, and when we drove into the parking lot of the lakeside cabin, he looked extremely pleased with himself.