So…..I wonder if anyone liked the last chapter. Hardly anything….but Im not complaining. I swear. Believe me, if I were, you'd know.
I also need to know something. Who would you rather learn more about, (a) Corey's life, or (b) Roxy (Rain)'s life??
Ssoo…..here goes nothing.
Corey's POV
The doctor was staring at my X-rays like a man would stare at a…model. He looked awed, shocked, confused…about to hurl? I was staring at them too. What was so special? What had him looking like that?
"Well," he cleared his throat suddenly, composing his face. "This is odd. I've never seen anything like this in all my years of schooling."
Mom grabbed his arm, shaking it frantically, about to knock over the doctor himself. "Tell me! What are you talking about? Is he okay? Is he going to be alright?!" Even Holly was looking at mom like she was on drugs. Her little eight year old eyebrows were raised, and she met my eyes. With the perfect dramatic effect to it, she rolled her eyes, sighing.
I couldn't stifle my laugh.
Both mom and Doctor Mackey turned towards me. "Uhh… Holly was making faces," I blurted.
"Was not!" she huffed, crossing her little arms and glaring in the other direction. Another laugh escaped.
"Doctor," mom pleaded. "Please. Seriously."
He pulled his head up, trying to look professional, no doubt. "Well. It's convenient that we're taking the casts off today, but most of the time, when they come off, the body is a few days away from completely healing the bone. His," he tapped my X-ray again, the line that split right through my bone. "Healed right away."
His eyes turned to me. I fought to look slightly innocent. "Anything specific you were doing Mr. Treyman?"
I leaned back on my good arm, tracing the cracks in the ceiling. "Ahh….no, not really. I don't recall. I just followed all the rules."
"Did not!" Holly blurted again. I glared at her, trying to make her stop. She turned to face the doctor, young face eager to rat out her older brother. "I would always hear him walking across his room on the weekends for hours an hours! It was so annoying! I told 'im I'd tell. But he din't believe me!" she looked at me, sticking her tongue out. "So ha!"
What a cute kid. A cute kid that I really felt like strangling at the moment.
"Kit!" Mom's voice was accusing. "You…"
"Actually," Dr. Mackey cleared his throat again, cutting mom off. "It's weird, because with most patients, putting pressure on the injury makes it worse, but in Corey's case…it helped him."
I shrugged my good shoulder. "Maybe cuz I'm a soccer player. Y'know, the fact that my legs are stronger, that could've…." I trailed off. They were both looking at me funny. Then they went back to talking, but in more hushed tones.
It'd been a month since that last "tiff" with Roxy. Even since then, I'd only been running into her occasionally, sitting in front of her in history, across from her in Art, and studying her at lunch.
It was horrible.
The little brush-bys did nothing to sate my hunger to know her more, they just fueled it. I didn't know why she wouldn't talk to me. I knew she was mad about what had happened in the hospital—but that was two months ago! Couldn't she let it go?!
Eventually, they got past the shock and took my cast off. I'll leave the gooey details to me and my tormented mind.
The next day I went back to school, slightly unsteady due to the lessened weight of my cast. I had no idea how many times I'd tripped, or fallen.
I sat down in Art, putting my books on the floor, and resting my head in my arms. I was exhausted. Physical therapy was kicking my butt, Holly was trying to figure out why I was being so "weird" and mom was working constantly.
"Are….are you okay?" A soft, velvet voice asked. I tensed, almost nervous to see who it was. But it didn't matter. I knew that voice….it'd cussed me out when I was in the hospital.
I raised my head, my eyes meeting hers. They were guarded, but I could see the concern alight in her eyes.
"Why does it matter?" I blurted. Whoops. He face shut down and she threw her things down on the table, throwing herself down in the seat across from me. She looked at me through pink and brown bangs.
The silence grew longer as more and more students filtered in the room. Her eyes stared straight into mine, never wavering. I felt a flush creep up my neck before she finally spoke again. "I don't know," her voice was soft, not so incoherent to be called a mumble, but more of a murmuring to herself.
I was so in over my head.
Roxy POV
Why did I have to do Art class? I'd already done, like, a zillion times. My artwork was always being displayed. And now Mr. Moviestar was being an ass. I had followed him from history to Art. He was walking funny; his cast was gone. If I had a heart, it would have clenched upon itself. How long till the vision came true?
He tripped once or twice and my whole being ached to reach out and help him. He was so unsteady on his feet, without the extra weight of the cast.
And then, I couldn't help it. I had to say something. And then it turned and bit me in the ass.
And it turns out Mr. Moviestar isn't much of a movie star after all. He had his downfalls. I frowned. One of which being me.
"Roxy?" Corey's voice was soft, questioning, hesitant. I looked at him, dropping my guard for two seconds.
He did the same. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "I'm in a bad mood. I've been tripping and running into things all day. And Phys. Therapy's a pain in the ass."
Seems to be a lot of that going around.
I shrugged. Just then, Aila came bounding into the room, cutting in front of everyone else to toss her agile body into the –normally empty—seat next to me. "Hi Rain!" she squealed. "I had to join this class, cause it's Art, y'know? And I really missed it from our elementary days. Remember when we made those paper Mache (sp?) fish we made and I threw mine at that kid…oh, what was his name?" she snapped her fingers, frowning.
I had to say, it was a pretty good play. I knew his name. Jimmy Tenders. Aila had told this story many times and I had it basically committed to memory. Corey was looking at her with an almost amused look on his face.
"Oh!" Aila's head snapped up. "Jimmy! That was it, right, Rain?" she looked at Roxy with an expectant look on her face.
"Rain?" Corey finally piped up.
I threw a glare at Aila but she completely ignored it. "Yeah, Rain. We came up with it when she first came to live with us. Roxanne Anita Isabel Neero. Pretty cool, huh?"
Thank God or whoever, because just then the teacher came in, a gentle smile on his face, clapping his hands and telling the class to shut up.
My lips quirked into an automatic smile. I loved gay teachers.
#!#(()()&(&#!#
I walked down the hallway, glad that I'd convinced Aila and Mayla to let me take my own car for the day—especially after Aila's little stunt in Art. What was she doing? I had my money on the fact that they were probably planning something, devious little….vampires.
Just as I walked out the front doors, I saw Corey leaning against the wall, cell phone dangling in one hand, looking hopeless. He rubbed a hand over one face and I saw how tired he really was. Once again, I began to ache for him.
"Corey?" I called out hesitantly. My voice rang out across the yard and his head snapped up to stare at me. I walked towards him, slow; trying to ignore whatever emotion was being dug up inside of me. "Do you have a ride? The late buses already…" I stopped. I was about to say something he probably already knew.
I had years of unfathomable experience in upset humans. Decades, actually. Centuries….yadda, yadda. But none of that had prepared me for what I saw in Corey's eyes when he met mine. When he did, I felt an unconscious tug that just about sent me sprawling towards him. His eyes were alight with unshed tears, dark with an emotion that I didn't want to dig up.
"No," he finally replied. "My mom's still at work, my sister's sleeping over at her friends house and—" his voice cracked suddenly and he stopped. "No," he repeated softly.
I almost felt like crying? Was I gaining Mayla's power or something? I was never this…sensitive.
"C'mon," I murmured. "I'll give you a ride." Just as I said that, the air tensed up suddenly and I knew exactly what he was about to say. "Yes, I'm sure. I'm not about to abandon someone out here, especially when there's about to be a storm."
"What?" he asked as I practically dragged him to my car the sleeve of his shirt. "No way. It's beautiful out."
Right. Whoops. Wasn't supposed to let that slip. I'd had another vision at lunch and it involved me sitting down in my car, looking at the time just as lighting split the sky.
I unlocked the doors, throwing my backpack into the back, Corey propping his against his knees.
I stuck my key into the ignition, the car purring to life. My eyes meandered down to the clock: 3:23
At that exact moment, Corey breathed, "Holy shit…"
I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe. The only thing that I seemed to process was the smell of his blood. In such a small enclosed space—it was suffocating me, my thought processes. Oh no, oh no, oh no.
I began to get dizzy, something inside me that I had no idea existed, waking up. I had to –get out of here. I needed to—drink from him. No! I've got to— get the fuck out of here!!
No! I was torn. I'd just promised him a car ride home. And he couldn't walk all the way to his house on a healing leg through the middle of a thunderstorm!
I rolled down the window. Cool, damp air filtered in through the car. "Uh…where do you live?" I asked.
He told me his address and I pulled out of the parking lot a lot more careful than I felt. I tried to refrain from breathing, because it wasn't like I had to….it still felt weird. His scent in such an enclosed space lingered in the back of my throat.
As I sped down the roads, Corey took in the rapidly increasing clouds. "How'd you know it was going to storm?" he asked. "Even the weatherman said it was going to be a good day.
"Bad feeling," I lied. "There were no animals out—that's obviously a sign." Please don't notice, I pleaded in my head, tightening my grip on the steering wheel.
He frowned, but didn't say any more.
I pulled onto his street, and I felt the air clog with the same tension as before.
Why didn't I want him to leave?
So…..so far so good? Plleeeaaassseeee review?! Lol. I'm going to camp tomorrow for 7 days. I hope to have lots to look forward to when I come home!!
-BBL