Bad Girls

by Aurora Yeo

  “I would take her place any day, just so that the world needn’t be without her smile for too long.”

  Chapter 18

  I blinked once, then twice as the light blinded me. The first thought that hit me was Where on Earth am I? There was a constant, annoying beep, and I turned my head to search for the source. Raising my head slightly off the pillow, I examined my surroundings with sleepy eyes. Is this…a hospital?

  I almost screamed when I noticed a man resting his head on my bed just right beside my hips, his hands holding mine. I cautiously shifted my fingers out of his grip, but he shot up, awake with attention.

  “Avery? Ava, oh my God.” He sighed in relief and pulled me into his arms as I awkwardly patted his back with my heavily bandaged hand.

  “Hey, Wes,” I croaked out, smiling as tears filled his eyes. “Are you going to cry on me, Jerald? These hospital gowns are designer fashion, you know?” I joked and smiled. My voice was hoarse, and my body was weak. I eventually leaned back against my pillow again.

  “No.” He sniffed, wiping his cheek with the sleeves of his sweatshirt. He turned to my bedside table to pour a glass of water, and when he brought it to my lips, I eagerly gulped down the liquid and licked my lips in satisfaction.

  “Ah, that felt good.” I sighed contentedly as Wesley poured another glass of water and handed it to me. He sat back down in his armchair, and I noticed the giant bag beside him; his clothes were almost pouring out of it. I also saw the light stubble on his chin, and I frowned. “What exactly happened, Wes?”

  Wesley’s face turned from absolute joy to absolute pain and disgust in a matter of seconds. “You! Oh my God, what were you thinking? You could have died! You can’t just leave your best friend alone! You can’t just go off and die!” Wesley pointed an accusing finger at me, and I scowled, pushing his finger away from my face.

  “I’m sorry that fate wants me dead!” I scoffed, rolling my eyes as Wesley’s eyes softened.

  “Avery don’t scare me like that again. I’m too young for a heart attack,” Wesley mumbled as he pulled me into his arms once more. His embrace was comforting like a summer’s dream. I relaxed in his arms, my eyes closed shut, and my heart aflutter as silence engulfed us.

  “Wes?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Why do you smell like hand sanitizer?” I laughed into his sweatshirt as his body started to vibrate a little as well, laughing along with me.

  “’Cause I’ve been showering here the entire time you were zoned out. That’s why.”

  “Bathing here? And what’s with the bag?”

  “I stayed here the whole time you were out of it.” Wesley gently pulled back.

  I wrinkled my nose. “And how long was I out for?”

  “Quite a few weeks. Do your math. It’s mid-November now, so you’ve been out for about two months.”

  My eyebrows shot up as I took a deep breath. “Two…months?” I sputtered in disbelief, and Wesley nodded.

  “Yeah. You were in a pretty bad shape. Lost a lot of blood and all. Luckily you wore your helmet, if not, you could’ve…could’ve…”

  “Died.” I finished for him as he looked up from the bedsheets to meet me in the eye, his tears threatening to spill again. “But I’m here now. I’m okay. Except my back’s a little numb from all the lying down and such.”

  “I’m so glad you’re okay, Ava. Gosh, what am I doing? Hold on. I’ll call the nurse.” Wesley shot up from his seat and burst out of the door, leaving me alone in the cold room as I pulled the blanket higher up my body. Silence enveloped me as I racked my brain for memories of what on earth happened two months back.

  Why was I in an accident? I was always careful. I practiced road safety. I’m not that careless.

  As I thought more and more about what on earth had happened to me, snips of memories started to come back into place one by one, and then, like a broken dam, they flooded my brain.

  Charlotte and Summer. Ryan. And Blake.

  “Honey, let me check up on you, alright, dear?” A friendly nurse popped into the room with a tray in her hands, pulling me out of my thoughts. Wesley came back and settled on the seat again, taking my hand back in his.

  “I’m not fragile, Wes.” I rolled my eyes at him as the nurse took some notes down on her clipboard and fiddled with the tubes and wires attached to my arm.

  “I’m not taking any more chances,” Wesley whispered and lightly kissed my hand.

  “Well, it seems like you’re all good to go in about a day or two. You’re recovering very well, almost too well. You’re going to be kept here for a while more for observation, though.”

  I nodded as she wrote some more on her clipboard.

  Wesley’s phone vibrated. “I’ll be right back. “It’s Winnie.”

  I made shooing motions with my hands, and Wesley flashed me a grin, kissed my forehead, and left the room. My cheeks reddened like burning marshmallows over a fire.

  “Your boyfriend is very sweet. Poor fella never even left your side for more than five minutes.” The nurse gestured to the door, a smile still on her face. “I’ll be off now. Call if you need me.” She left the room in a hurry to tend to other patients.

  I wanted to tell her that Wesley wasn’t my boyfriend and we were nothing more than just really good friends, but she was in such a hurry. I sat there open-mouthed, but I still couldn’t deny; even if I really wanted to.

  Strangely, I liked the sound of that.

  When Wesley stepped back into the room, he had a cup of hot coffee in his hands. He gently passed it to me as the door swung shut behind him. “Winnie and William are on their way. They’re bringing Peter with them.”

  Gratefully, I accepted the cup of coffee. The lack of caffeine in my veins was causing my muscles to scream loudly in protest. “I miss them. I know it felt like it’s barely even been twelve hours for me, but I really do.”

  “Well, they certainly miss you.” Wesley laughed and grasped my hand. “I know I did.”

  My heart melted instantaneously, a warmth flooding into my cheeks as I smiled. With my blood roaring loudly through my veins, I raised my eyebrow and said, “Prove it.”

  He was about to reply, a grin of his own already teasing his lips when the doors were slammed open. In rushed three familiar figures, two tall ones and a small one.

  “Avery!” Peter reacted first, pushing Wesley out of the way with a quick jab to his face and jumping into my arms. “I missed you so much! The house isn’t home when you’re not around.”

  I immediately placed the cup of coffee down on the table and wrapped both my arms around Peter, crooning as I kissed his cheeks. “Oh, you’re such a sweet talker, aren’t you?” I ruffled his hair, smiling so brightly that my cheeks hurt. “But I missed you too, buddy.”

  When Peter finally climbed off the bed, I was left in plain sight of the triplets, and the two newcomers all burst into sobs. Winnie was full out bawling as she leaped to give me a tight hug. William, however, stayed behind content with sniffing once in a while and using the sleeves of his sweater to wipe the tears behind his large round glasses.

  “We came as soon as Wesley called us,” Winnie said. “Oh, Avery. I missed you so much. Life just isn’t the same without you. And don’t worry I’ve been causing as much trouble as I could in school in regards to Charlotte and Blake. I did not forget about your legacy.”

  “I’m just glad to be able to see you guys again, Winnie.” I laughed, wiping away a few traitorous tears, and reached out a hand for William to grasp. He took it without a single moment of hesitation. “I missed you too, Will.”

  And though at that moment I hadn’t known, William smiled for the first time in two months.

  Chapter 19

  Behind piles of pillows and blankets, with one arm and one leg still in a cast, I listened to Winnie as she rattled on and on about what happened while I was in operation. It had been a week since I woke up from my comatose state, and like the nurse had promised, I was let out a few days ag
o with no extra complications. I only had to check back once every two weeks.

  “And promise not to get angry, babe, but Blake had to audacity to say that he wasn’t obliged to donate any blood to you! I mean, I know that you guys hate each other’s guts, but I didn’t know that it was to the point that he wanted you dead!”

  It surprised me too and wounded me deeply that Blake hadn’t tried to help me. He left me to the wolves, defenseless when he was the one carrying an ax. It came all at once: disappointment, fury, rage, and sadness. I was so overwhelmed with all those feelings that I could even feel my face turning red. Yet I bit down the anger, relishing the pain.

  “Winnie, it’s okay. He matches with Charlotte this way. A blind man can tell that their hearts are blacker than soot.” I snorted, picking up my jug of milk and small chocolate chip cookie. “Plus—” I took a bite of the cookie “—after I’m all healed up and got this shit heavy thing removed—” I lifted my casted leg slightly up into the air “—we can finally get back to what we do best: revenge,” I smirked and chomped the cookie.

  “Don’t stress out your leg too much, dimwit!” Wesley screamed across us. We were inside the game room of my house, and he was playing Mario Kart with Peter. Peter took advantage of his distraction, easily speeding past him and toward the finish line. “Ah damn it! How are you so good at this shit of a game?”

  I scowled. “Don’t curse in front of my brother, Jerald. Only I can do that.”

  Peter laughed as he did a mini victory dance.

  Wesley turned around to face me and stuck out his tongue childishly. “I can do whatever I want to. You aren’t my mother.”

  “If I were your mom, you would have to listen to me,” I retorted and finished up the warm milk, ruffling Wesley’s brown hair.

  “Hey! Stop it!” He swatted my hand away and pulled on his gray beanie, tucking everything inside as he slumped further into his soft beanbag and away from my reach.

  “Wuss,” I smirked as Wesley turned around and shot me a brief glare. “So, you guys have school tomorrow huh?” I wrapped the fluffy blanket around my shoulders as Winnie groaned.

  “Why do you have to do this to us? I hate school,” she mumbled, pouting slightly as she ran a hand through her smooth blonde hair.

  “Suckers.” Wesley laughed. He leaned back in his beanbag and calmly returned his attention to the game. “I’m not going.”

  “What? Why?” I sat up as Wesley shrugged.

  “If I go, who’s gonna take care of you?”

  I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. “Duh, me.” He slammed the game control to the floor. “I can damn well take care of myself, you know. I’m not a baby who needs help every few minutes.”

  “Fuck this. I’m not playing with a hacker,” Wesley cursed, and Peter laughed even harder. I, in turn, scowled. Wesley climbed from the beanbag and onto the couch where Winnie and I sat. He tucked himself into my blanket, with his head on my shoulder. “You’re taking off your casts tomorrow anyway. I’m bringing you to the hospital since your dad is always busy,” he mumbled into my neck as I stiffened slightly.

  “Yeah, okay,” I said as he wrapped his arms around me. “Wesley?”

  “Hmm?”

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “You’re comfy.” As if to prove a point, Wesley snuggled further in, his breath tickling my nape.

  “Get off.”

  “No.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Get off, you pig.” I jerked my shoulder sharply and pushed him off me. He tumbled off the couch with a yelp.

  “You are such a violent woman,” he mumbled, rubbing his bum as Winnie burst into a fit of laughter.

  “You guys are so adorable.” Winnie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively as she picked up her bag and stood up. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got a date waiting for me. You two, don’t make babies. Thanks. Bye! Don’t miss me too much!” She sang, prancing out of the room, leaving me scowling.

  “Bitch!” I yelled back, and she just laughed.

  “Am I that bad?” Wesley pouted exaggeratedly, and I shoved my palm to his face, pushing him back.

  “Yes. Yes, you are.”

  ***

  “Your leg seems to be looking like it is healing great, and you no longer need to depend on the cast, but I’m afraid it will scar so…” The doctor scribbled something onto his clipboard.

  I shrugged and grinned at him. “Well, it will make me look more badass?” I laughed as the doctor flashed me a relieved smile. He was probably worried that I would be a prissy little princess and react badly to a scar. At most, I would just tattoo it up to cover it in the future if it really did bother me.

  “Right, so I’ve changed the cast for your hand, and it’s healing up nicely. It’s just the wrist you have to be careful of. It should be all healed up in about a month’s time. Perhaps even less. As for the scar on your leg, no worries, it wouldn’t be too big. That’s it. I’ll see you again in two weeks, Ms. Chase.” He smiled, showing off his set of perfect white teeth, and walked off, leaving me alone with Wesley.

  “You were so checking him out. He’s like, forty, Ava!” Wesley rolled his eyes at me as I scoffed.

  “Dr. Samuels is only what? Twenty-six? He is still young enough, Wes.” I snorted and stood up, clutching the side of the chair tightly while waving a hand. “Plus, you were the one who was checking him out, not me.” I laughed as he frowned.

  “I was not, what the hell?” Wesley made a disgusted look as I bent over and laughed until my stomach actually hurt. “Besides, Avery Chase, I only have eyes for one person in the entire world.” He winked at me, and my cheeks flushed red.

  “Which lucky girl—excuse me, I mean guy—had caught your eye?”

  “Me.” He smirked.

  Almost instinctively, I slapped Wesley on the back of his head, and he yelped loudly.

  Narcissistic jerk.

  Chapter 20

  We were barely even twenty steps away from the doctor’s office when we found yet another vending machine. As a caffeine addict, I simply couldn’t resist slotting in a few coins. While I was fumbling in my pockets, Wesley stood to one side, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans as he rocked on his foot.

  “Avery, I’ve been meaning to tell you something.”

  “What is it?” I asked, attention still fixed on slotting in the coins. Waiting patiently for my drink to finish preparing, I turned to face Wesley with slight difficulty, pivoting on my good leg to smile at him. When I saw Wesley’s crestfallen face, I felt my heart sink even though I didn’t know what he was about to say. “Are you leaving California again? Or you have an illness you can’t tell me about? What is it? Why do you look so sad?”

  Wesley paused, shaking his head. His tongue darted out to wet the bottom of his lip, his eyes looking anywhere but me. “No, that’s not it.”

  “Then what is it?”

  Wesley took my hands in his own. “I like you, Avery. More than normal and more than just as friends.”

  At that moment, I did the worst possible thing I could’ve ever done. I laughed.

  I had not been with many guys actually, contrary to many peoples’ belief. I had honestly dated one guy, and that one guy as you all know was none other than Blake Ryder. I had the biggest crush on him long ago, and I didn’t really see myself with anyone else other than him, you know? There’s always this one guy that you’ll picture your future with—getting engaged, married, and starting a family with him. I thought that one guy for me was Blake.

  Fate proved me wrong, though.

  Apparently, Destiny didn’t think I was the perfect match for Blake, and she sent a dream-crusher called Charlotte Brooke to steal the man of my dreams then. Thank heavens she did. If everything didn’t happen the way it did, I wouldn’t be there with Wesley holding my hands and looking at me with so much sincerity that even the cheesiest romance novel characters would puke their guts out, all while a cheap cup of piping hot coffee was waiting for me in the vendi
ng machine.

  I swear when the person you have feelings for holds your hand and asks you out, you will immediately, and I mean immediately, melt into a puddle while screaming yes to the heavens. But what made this different? It’s that not only was Wesley Jerald fucking gorgeous, he was also the current Prince Charming on a Harley in my dreams, and he was also my best friend.

  This made things so much more difficult.

  Why, you ask? Well, to answer your question, look what happened between Blake and me. One Charlotte came into our lives like an unstoppable hurricane, and not only did we split, we also stopped being friends. That guy then hated my guts so much that he thought it was okay to just let me die from a shortage of blood. She didn’t just take the man of my dreams, she had also taken the boy I grew up with.

  I guess the only reason why I laughed in Wesley’s face after he told me that he only had eyes for me was that, ultimately, I was scared. I was scared that if we didn’t work out, I would lose him as a friend, my best friend. I had lost Blake, followed by the cheering squad and the whole school, and then Summer. I thought I couldn’t handle losing Wesley too. Plus, losing Wesley would also mean losing both Winnie and William.

  I was just not up for that.

  But when I saw how Wesley’s face fell faster than the stock markets on a bad day, I felt my heart contract in my chest. He looked absolutely crushed and so hurt. I actually felt bad. Not only because I pitied him—actually no, I didn’t—I actually felt bad because I couldn’t be the girl that he needed, the one who could provide him with the happiness that he deserved.

  “Why?” That one word was like an arrow straight to my heart. His hands released mine, and his face turned stone-cold. I couldn’t even find the words to defend myself.

  “I…What if I lose you? Just like how I lost Blake and Summer and…I don’t think I’m emotionally and mentally up for that. I can’t lose you too.” I took his hands back in mine as I looked teary-eyed at him.