White Liar
Page 16
Justin saw her stick her finger up at him and had to laugh. Even after her blatant dismissal of him, he still wanted to go after her. “I must be a masochist,” he muttered to himself, watching Chloe get in her car. He knew exactly what he was going to do. He struggled to pull himself up to his feet and glanced once back at the school before turning around and taking the same path to the parking lot that Chloe had just taken.
He was going to follow her. The walls that Chloe had built around her were thick as granite but he was determined to break them down somehow, someway. No one should have to shoulder whatever it was that she was harboring inside of her. What small glimpses of her passion, her sheer determination that he’d seen, simply awed him. He wanted to get to know her; he wanted to know what it was that made her tick. Strangely enough, he wanted her to know him too. And if that wasn’t the damndest thing, then he didn’t know what was because he had never wanted anything like this with any other person in his life. Not even Cathy.
Only Chloe.
Reaching his car, he opened the door and slid in. Justin hurriedly put his key in the ignition and started the car when he noticed Chloe already pulling out of the parking lot. Slamming the gear shifter into reverse, he backed out of the parking space and sped to catch up with her. “You can run Chloe,” he mumbled under his breath, “but you can’t hide; not from me anyway. Not anymore.”
*********
Chloe wasn’t sure where she was going; she just drove and then drove some more, thinking about nothing and yet, thinking about everything. About an hour later she found herself parked in the hospital parking lot.
For the longest time, she just sat there in the car, staring blankly at the red and white emergency sign. At first she didn’t realize why she was here, but the longer she sat there, the clearer that reason seemed to be. She needed to talk to John. She wanted to make sure that he understood she was sorry, truly sorry. She didn’t expect his forgiveness, but she needed him to know that she regretted what she had done and if she could have done anything to change what had happened- she would have.
Getting out of the car, she slowly made her way inside the enormous square shaped building. It was like deja vu when she walked in. The sights, the sounds, the smells- they were all exactly the same.
She turned the corner and walked into the waiting room. The nurse’s station was centered in the middle of the room with one nurse manning it. Feeling a little less sure of herself, she headed in that direction. She remembered how hard it had been for her to get to him the last time. If John was still in intensive care, they probably wouldn’t let her see him now. She frowned at that. Now that she made up her mind, and she was here, she really wanted to at least see him.
“Miss, do you need help with something?”
Chloe glanced up and an older lady with a gentle smile was watching her. She hadn’t realized that she had stopped in the middle of the room and got lost in her thoughts until the nurse spoke to her. “Umm,” she started, nervously wringing her hands. “I wanted to see a friend.”
“Do you know what room he is in?”
Chloe shook her head no and tugged at her tomato sauce stained shirt.
The nurse only smiled warmly at her and patted the counter with her hand. “Well come on over here child; whom would you like to see?” She sat down at her computer and started to type out a few things. “We’ll see if I can get a room number for you.”
Chloe stumbled forward, grateful for the woman’s warmth. “John,” she whispered. “John Rhodes,” she said again, a little louder this time.
Just a few minutes ago, she was so sure of what she was going to do and now that she was standing here, she was finding that she wasn’t all too sure anymore. What if John didn’t want to see her? What if he screamed at her? Or worse, what if he had her thrown out of his room? Frankly, she couldn’t blame him if he did any of those things. After what she did to him, she didn’t deserve his attention much less his welcome.
“Room 304,” the nurse spoke up, bringing Chloe back to the present. “If you go up that elevator and take a left,” she pointed with her hand, “his room will be the last one on the right.”
Chloe nodded and took a deep breath. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Your very welcome, child.” The older nurse smiled at her once more, reminding her of a sweet loving grandmother. She had never met either of hers because both of them passed away before she was born. But this lady was everything she imagined a grandmother to be and with her smile, Chloe felt a sort of calm come over her. It relaxed her and readied her to go and see John.
Stepping back, she turned to the elevators and strode forward, moving one foot in front of the other. He was obviously out of ICU since she was able to go straight up to his room; and that was a good thing she told herself. A very good thing that meant he was on the mend and would hopefully be back at school soon.
Chloe pressed the button that would take her up. Standing back, she watched the numbers light up as the elevator descended. She pressed her hand to her stomach, hoping to settle the butterflies that were dancing around in her belly.
Finally, the door opened on a stretched groan and she stepped inside. Turning around she pressed the small button that would now take her up to the third floor and to John. The door slowly closed, and she felt her breath hitch. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so nervous. Only one of two things would happen. He would either accept her apology or curse her out of the room. Either way, once she left here, she could at least absolve herself that she had done all she could, considering the circumstances.
Shifting nervously, she ran her hand through her hair and scrunched up her nose when she felt the stiffness of it from the food and drink that had been dumped on her earlier. As soon as she left this place, her next stop was to find Erica. It was high time that the two of them had a tit-for-tat conversation. Erica had started it and now Chloe was ready to finish it.
The elevator doors opened and once again, Chloe found herself lost in her own thoughts. With her head still down, Chloe wasn’t paying any attention to where she was going and abruptly ran head-on into something- or rather someone.
Stumbling backwards, she scrambled for the wall and steadied herself.
The very feminine ‘oomph’ that she heard told Chloe that it was a girl she ran into. “I’m so, so sorry,” she apologized, turning around and holding out her hand to help her unsuspecting victim stand back up.
The second that Chloe’s eyes locked with the girl, she knew that she had made a grave mistake in coming up here. The angry orbs that stared back at her radiated nothing but pure, unadulterated fury.
With Chloe’s hand left hanging in midair and her mouth gaped open, she couldn’t seem to fathom a single word. How could she have so easily forgotten about her of all people?
But John’s younger sister didn’t seem to have that problem. After what she learned Chloe had done to her brother and then being suspended because of her, she had lots of things that she wanted to say- starting with the backs of her fists.
Alana pulled herself up into a standing position and her mouth twisted in a wicked scowl. “You are so dead!”
Chapter 23
“You are so dead!”
Chloe heard the words spill from Alana’s mouth and for a minute, her feet were glued to the ground. She wasn’t sure what to say or what she should do. This was the last place that she wanted to cause a scene. And she really didn’t want to fight Alana again, because this time she wouldn’t just take it. This time, she would fight back.
She heard the groan of the elevator door as it closed behind her and that spurred her into action. “I’m sorry,” she exclaimed suddenly and the rest of the words started to run out of her mouth like verbal diarrhea. “I’m sorry for everything, okay. I never imagined anything like this happening and if I could take it back, I would,” she implored to the younger girl who was glaring at her. “But the fact is…I can’t. All I can do is apologize to you, to John, to your family a
nd everyone else that was adversely affected.”
Chloe held up her hand to Alana. “I don’t deserve nor do I expect your forgiveness, but a measly apology is all that I have to offer you. Take it or leave it.”
“Take it or leave it?” Alana took a step forward purposefully crowding into Chloe’s personal space. “Is that all you have to say to me after you nearly killed my brother.” Alana started to feel the rage build up all over again. How dare she show her face around here after what she has done? She shoved Chloe up against the wall and stepped up to her face. “You have a lot of nerve, coming here like nothing ever happened. I should kick your ass every day just for the hell of it.”
Chloe bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, so hard that the bitter coppery taste of her own blood filled her mouth. She had to admire the kid though, she had a boat load of spunk in her and she was having a hard time faulting her for wanting to be protective over her brother. With that being said, she wasn’t going to stand here and take her harassment either.
“Look,” Chloe hissed, “I get that you're mad and I get that you're upset so I’m going to give you what I like to consider a fair warning.” She paused a moment, locked in a direct stare off with the girl who was just scant inches from her face and let the drama add to the effect before she continued. “You can take your hands off of me right now, or I’m going to break them.”
Alana laughed. She grabbed the collar of Chloe’s shirt, balled it up in her fist, threw her head back and laughed. “You’re kidding right?” She had stopped laughing, her expression was now more of a smirk. “You forget, I’ve already seen how you fight, it’s pitiful. I’m not worried about a little slut like you.”
“One,” Chloe started, her eyes glinting hard. She really was giving the girl every opportunity she could to just walk away from her, but the girl really was starting to push the limits.
“Two,” Alana raised a sarcastic brow and counted out loud for her, which only further pissed Chloe off.
“And three-”
“Alana Marie, What in the hell do you think you are doing?” John’s angry voice cut through the taught tension that stretched between the girls and Alana instantly shut up. She immediately let go of Chloe’s shirt, not before shooting her a feral sneer first, and took a step back.
Chloe turned in John’s direction and was taken aback. Despite standing in the hallway wearing one of those ridiculous hospital gowns, and his hand being connected to a roll-around IV, he looked a hundreds time better that when she last saw him. Rosy red color was back in his cheeks, his eyes seemed to almost shine with a renewed vitality and he looked just like John, the old John that picked her up and drove her to the school just hours before the big game.
“What’s going on?”
Chloe spun around at the sound of the new voice and spotted Justin standing at the opposite end of the hallway, his hands shoved in his pockets. His gaze touched on Alana’s and then moved to Chloe’s before returning to John’s.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out?” John piped up, slowly moving closer to the girls.
Justin also took several large steps, bringing him closer to the two girls that seemed ready to spring and attack each other at any moment. The energy bouncing off of both of them was so electric; it almost sizzled in the air. “Chloe?” he asked, maneuvering himself so that he was looking only at her, “Is there something going on here?”
“Oh please,” Alana smacked her lips and complained. “Why are you asking her? She shouldn’t even be here. We wouldn’t be here,” she stressed "if it hadn’t been for what she did to John.”
Justin ignored Alana and kept his focus on the girl standing in front of him. He could visibly see the muscles in her shoulders constrict when Alana spoke and knew if he didn’t get them separated soon, someone was going to get hurt and this time, he didn’t think it would Chloe.
“Chloe?” he asked again and this time reached for her hands that rested limply at her side. “What’s up? Talk to me.”
Alana couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Justin was holding hands with her. He was sweet talking her and she was the enemy. There was something seriously wrong with this picture. She reached out and grabbed Justin by the shoulder, roughly spinning him around. “What’s going on Justin?” she asked him with accusing eyes.
“Alana, not now,” he told her and turned away from her.
She was having none of that. Alana wanted some answers and she wanted them now. She grabbed Justin again and this time when she pulled him around, he snapped and pushed her hand away from him, a little harder than was probably necessary.
“Hey!” John called out and caught a seething glare from Justin. “That’s my sister you're pushing around, bud. I suggest you watch it.”
Before Justin could retort and another argument between the boys break out, Chloe interrupted them. “Alright,” she yelled and held her hands up in the air in surrender. “That’s it, I give up and,” she shook her head, “I’m outta here.
She’d had enough, more than enough really. All she had wanted to do was make a simple apology. She wanted to be able to tell John herself how badly she felt about everything that happened. Even something as simple as that, was impossible for her these days. No one ever seemed to understand her, she was just always misunderstood. It happened at her old school and now it was happening here again, which was exactly why she was the way that she was today.
Turning away from the others, she smashed the elevator button repeatedly, telling herself that she would not cry. She had already shed enough tears over this incident, now it was just time to move on.
The elevator dinged and the doors squeaked open. Chloe stepped into the small metal box without once looking back. She had done all that she could to make amends. At least it looked like John would make a full recovery, so she could at least take some solace in knowing that much.
She pressed the button that would take her to the ground floor and watched the door slowly begin to close. From her spot on the elevator, she couldn’t see Justin, Alana or John. All she saw was the plain white wall. She was so tired now and more than anything, she just wanted to go home.
But just before the doors melded together, she could have sworn that she heard John call out her name. Feeling the weightlessness as the elevator began to descend, she decided that she must have been imagining things. There was no way that John would be calling her back. He had to hate her now for what she had done. No, she told herself, she must have been hearing things.
John looked over at Justin and pointed to the elevator that Chloe just left on. “What is going on here? Why did Chloe come and then just leave like that?”
Justin didn’t say anything. He didn’t know if John knew about Chloe and Alana’s earlier altercation or not and he didn’t feel like it was his place to be telling him either. This was a conversation that brother and sister needed to have. Right now, he was more interested in where Chloe was going. He still wanted to talk to her. He just had this niggling feeling that there was something more bothering her than she’s let on.
Leaning over, he pressed the button to the elevator which would take him back down stairs. “Look John, you need to talk to your sister. I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
“Alana? Why do I need to talk to her? Why can’t you just tell me?’
The elevator door opened and Justin moved to step into it. He was eager to get downstairs before Chloe left. “Ask her,” he gestured towards Alana. “I’ll text you later man, but right now I’ve gotta go. Good to see you up and around, though.”
Justin pulled back inside the elevator and as the doors automatically slid closed, he could already hear John yelling at his sister. It was obvious that John held no ill feelings against Chloe and it was also painfully obvious that he still liked her in a way that made him surprisingly tense. He wasn’t all too sure how he felt about all these new feelings he was discovering, he just knew that he needed to know more about the ever intriguing Chloe Mill
er.
The elevator door opened and Justin stepped out, moving towards the exit with a purposeful stride. He was on a mission now, one that was going to require him to draw off of every innate skill that he possessed, in order to charm Chloe. One way or the other, he would figure out Chloe Miller. That much he was certain he could handle.
It was the rest of it, his strange feelings, that he wasn't too sure about.
Justin hit the ground running. After the elevator he had been riding in ceremoniously made a stop on every single floor, he finally made it out of the hospital. His face instantly fell though, when he realized that Chloe’s car was already gone. He searched the parking lot, but she was nowhere to be found. He thought about going to look for her, but then second guessed himself; thinking that even to him, that was borderline stalker-ish.
On his way home though, he decided to take a little detour and casually drove past her house, telling himself that he was just making sure that she made it home safely because of all of the emotional stress she’d been under lately. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if he didn’t at least check to make sure she didn’t wreck on the way home or something. It wasn’t until he actually spotted her parked car in the driveway that he let out the deep breath he hadn’t realized that he had been holding. She was safe.