iCan't Tell
Chapter 4: Stairwell
Hello everyone :)
I would just like all of you to know that I hope you are having a wonderful day!
Love,
Mizz Maddnezz
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
"I just felt sick," Carly mumbled into the phone as she twisted the black cord between her fingers. The nurse had called Spencer, to let him know she had been sick and he wanted to talk to her. She played with the wire as he continued to crack jokes, trying to make her laugh. Her other hand was propped on her knee. She looked down at her skin where goose bumps were starting to form. The nurse's office was the coldest room in the school. It always was. Nobody really knew why but there it was, a good ten degrees colder then every other room in the school, year round. It was completely silent in the room except for the dull murmur of Spencer's voice on the other line. The nurse sat there, her nose in a book, waiting for students to come in whining about headaches and colds. She had been reading when Carly was dragged in there, speckled with vomit and still sniffling. A student was lying on the bed behind the curtain across the room. You could hear quiet, almost forced, coughs coming from back there occasionally. Carly sighed into the phone as Spencer continued trying to convince her to come home early. After she had been found sobbing in her vomit, the nurse tried to talk her into leaving the school for the rest of the day but Carly continued to refuse. The last thing she wanted to do was to go home and be alone. Spencer would be there, of course, but he had been so busy these past few days with a coming up deadline on the biggest order he has ever had for his wire sculptures. If she was to go home now, she would be there, completely alone in her room, all day until Freddie got home. He would check on her when he got home, after hearing about today's episode but he would not stay for long. She could invite Sam over but that is the one thing she would not bring herself to do.
"Do you have a fever?" Spencer asked.
"No," Carly said, "The nurse took my temperature when I came in and it was completely normal."
"Alright," Spencer sighed, "Is there anything you want me to do?"
"No," Carly shook her head and glanced down at her vomit speckled shirt, "Well actually, could you bring me another shirt? This one got kind of dirty."
"Sure thing," Spencer said. They said their farewells and Carly hung up the heavy phone on its cradle.
"Alright honey," The nurse said, setting the book down on her desk and placing the bright orange bookmark at her page, "I can give you Tums or ibuprofen or whatever you need."
"I'm fine," Carly said, taking hold of her thighs on each side and squeezing them in her seat, "I don't need anything."
"Alright, suit yourself," The nurse said, "Are you feeling alright now?"
"Yea," Carly nodded. The nurse nodded and smiled before picking her book back up. "You can lie down for a little bit, until your brother gets here with your clothes. The bed on the left is open," She said, smiling.
"Thank you," Carly said. She stood and stepped over to the curtain and pulled it away to see the gray, plastic mattress bed. She closed the curtain behind her and sat on the bed. The hard plastic crunched under her as she adjusted her weight and laid her head on the soft, plastic covered pillow. She let out a long, heavy sigh as she stared at the glossy white paint of the concrete wall. She reached out and started to trace the lines of the concrete bricks, drawing a square picture with her mind. Her phone buzzed from her pocket. She pulled the phone out and looked down at it.
New Text Message
Sam Puckett: Are you okay?
She typed "I'm fine. I just got sick for some reason" And sent the text. She glanced back up at the wall. Her stomach turned as she thought about how Sam would react if she actually knew what had happened. Carly loved Sam. She was her best friend and she has never seen Sam as happy as she was with Jonah. This was the first time that Sam has ever truly fallen for someone. Of course, she had dated before and had been with other guys but never in her life had she acted the way has with Jonah. She smiled so much, it scared Carly and the way she laughs sounds completely different. Carly sighed deeply as she thought about how much it would truly kill Sam if she knew what kind of creature this boy she had fallen in love was really like when he was not in her view. The phone buzzed again.
New Text Message
Sam Puckett: Can I come over tonight? Jonah had to cancel our plans tonight because he is going to be at his dad's house in Everett.
Carly bit her lip, staring down at the text. She replied, "I don't know."She waited for a reply. She could not say no to Sam. She knew that Sam hated being at home more then she hated anything on this earth. Her mother was a drunk and everybody knew this. She hated her mother with every ounce of her being. There have been times when their fights got so bad that Sam would show up at Carly's doorstep crying, sometimes bruised. There was one time when Sam came knocking at the door, half past two, clutching her sprained wrist. Carly and Spencer stayed up most of the night trying to console her. They could not call the police, no matter how much Spencer wanted to. Sam had been in foster care before and she swore that she would never be in that position again. She was already sixteen. Two more years and she could leave and would never have to come back. Throughout the years that Carly has known Sam, she has spent countless hours running from her home and coming to Carly's. Lately, it has been different. Ever since she met Jonah, she has been staying at his house.
New Text Message
Sam Puckett: Please?
Carly knew she had to say yes, so she did. She lay there on that bed for the next ten minutes, waiting for Spencer to show up with her shirt. When he finally did get there, Carly changed her clothes, stuffing her sour smelling shirt into her backpack. She threw her bag over her shoulder and headed towards her next class.
She did not speak for the rest of the day. The entire school knew that she had been found, covered in vomit, in the floor beside the stairwell but none of them knew what had happened that day. No one knew that she was on the brink of crying every time she thought about it. Nobody knew. The rest of the day was spent with her head on the desk and her hoodie covering her face. Her skin crawled ever time she thought about Jonah. She could feel his hands touching her skin and his lips on her own. When she got home, she took a long, hot shower that seemed to last forever and curled up on her couch and waited for Sam to get home.
"Hey, " Sam said, as she let herself in.
"We do have a doorbell, person that does not live here," Spencer said from his room, hearing the door close.
"Couldn't use it," Sam said, tossing his bag on the floor, "I'm allergic."
"How are you allergic to door bells?" Spencer asked.
"How are you not?" Sam said, glancing back at him.
"Valid point," He said, closing his door.
"What's up?" Sam asked, plopping down on the couch next to Carly.
"Nothing," Carly shrugged, "I was going to watch a movie or something."
"That's boring," Sam said, stretching, "We should do something tonight."
"Like what?" Carly asked,
"I don't know," Sam shrugged, "Anything."
"Well," Carly said, "We could see what Freddie is doing."
"Anything but that," Sam said, "I had to deal with him alone through two different classes while you were at the nurses. I can only take so much of Frednerd in one day."
"Fine," Carly laughed, "We could see what is up at the Groovy Smoothie."
"Nah," Sam mumbled.
"I'll pay," Carly said, looking at Sam with a smile.
"Why are we still sitting?" Sam giggled and jumped up.
Carly tossed the blanket off of her and they headed across the street to the Groovy Smoothie. She ordered her banana mango and Sam ordered the strawberry cream, as always. She paid for both of their drinks, plus two doughnuts, Sam's favorite flavor, Boston crème, and they sat down on their usual stools at their usual table.
"Sometimes, I wonder why we do not get married," Sam laughed, taking a bite from one of the doughnuts, "You always buy me food and I love you for it."
"Well, we can get married next week," Carly said right before she took a big slurp of her smoothie, "How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me," Sam laughed, "Except not Saturday because I have a date planned with Jonah."
"How are you and Jonah doing?" Carly asked as she stared down at the bright orange cup in her hand. She flicked the straw with her thumb and watched it as it spun around in her smoothie.
"Amazing," Sam sighed, "You have no idea what he does to me, Carly. I never knew somebody could actually make me feel like I am in a cheesy romance movie set in the 40's."
"Is it that nice?" Carly asked.
"It is," Sam said, taking another bite, she continued with her mouth full, "He is always buying me gifts and making me this dumb mixed CD's. We are constantly making fun of each other one second and then totally engulfed in a kiss the next. He is such a great kisser."
"Oh I bet," Carly mumbled, taking another long sip of her smoothie.
"I think I love him," Sam said softly after a long pause. Carly looked up at her as she stared down at her doughnut, a soft smile across her lips, "I know that we are just sixteen and we know nothing about life but, I love him. For the first time in my life, I am not afraid of what tomorrow will bring."
"Sam," Carly said, taking a long hard swallow. She tapped her finger on the side of her cup as she contemplated telling Sam what was going on between Jonah and herself, "I have something to tell you."
"I already know," Sam said, not looking up. Carly froze in her seat. She could feel very little hair stand up on the back of her neck as her heart dropped down to her stomach.
"You know?" Carly sputtered, "What do you know?"
"You think I am too young to understand love," Sam laughed. Carly stared at her unsure of the words she had planned to say at that very moment. Sam glanced up at her and smiled, "This is different. He just makes me happy in a way that I did not think was real. I can feel it deep down in my heart. It is love."
"Well," Carly said, twisting her cup around on the table and picking it up to her lips, "If you say so."