Chapter 9: Falling Again
I opened my eyes to see the bright sun shining through the window. I knew already that this was going to be a great day. I quickly got out of bed and got dressed. Grabbing my things and my bathing suit, I ran out the door, making sure to take care of my animals before I left to the beach. I was already pressed for time.
It was nearly 8am, and I wanted to get there early to see Kai. As I ran down the cobblestone walk I tripped, falling to the ground with my stuff flying every where.
"Damn!" I cried. I sat back, noticing that there a fairly large gash in my knee. I looked up to see Cliff running toward me.
"Jen... what happened, are you ok?" He questioned. He helped me to my feet.
"I'm fine, I just tripped that's all," I answered. Cliff started to pick up my stuff. "No, it's fine I'll get it," I said to him, trying to bend over and grab my things. My knee hurt whenever I bent it, and it was still bleeding pretty badly.
"No Jen, you're hurt, let me do it. You should go to the doctors and get that checked out. It looks pretty bad," he said to me as he finished gathering my things. He handed me my bag.
"You're right, I probably should go to the doctors," I said. I took one step forward, but as I tried to take another with my bad leg, the pain swept up my leg, filling each nerve with pain. I leaned to the side and almost fell over, but Cliff caught me just in time.
"Let me help you to the doctors," he said, "I don't want you hurting yourself even more."
"Thanks," I said as I leaned up against him. "I'm lucky to have you I guess," I said smiling. As we walked to the office we talked, but eventually he asked me something that I wish he never would have.
"So.... I heard that you and Kai have something going on. Is it true?"
"Well...," I replied at first. Cliff and I had become friends, even after what had happened, but it just didn't really feel right telling him about my new love life. "No... we're just friends that's all," I said finally.
"Ok... I just wanted to see if the rumors were true. I'm sorry if I offended you." He said with a solemn face. We continued our walk to the doctor's in silence.
Once we got there he opened the door for me and helped me inside.
"I guess I'll see you later," He said turning around and starting to head out the door."
No," I quickly said, "Please stay and keep me company. I've always hated the Doctors and it's always nice to have a friend around," I said with a smile.
"No problem," he replied and sat down next to me as we waited for our turn. The hospital in Mineral Town was never crowded, so I got in pretty quick. The only other person there was little Stu, who had scratched his knee while running with May.
"HI CLIFFIE!" Stu said as he ran up to Cliff giving him a big hug.
"Hey Stu," Cliff said ruffling Stu's hair with his big hand. Stu was very fond of Cliff ever since he came to mineral town. Stu turned toward me and his eyes grew wide.
"What happened to you!?" Stu asked me pointing at my knee.
"The same thing that happened to you, except I hit a piece of glass and cut my knee," I replied.
"EWWW!" He said pointing at the blood running down my leg. "Does it hurt?" He asked.
"No, not anymore really," I said.
"Ohhhh.... That's good!" Stu said smiling. He leaned in a little closer and whispered something in my ear. "Is Cliff your boyfriend?" The little boy said it quiet, but loud enough that I knew Cliff heard him.
"No... He is just my friend," I replied, my smile slightly fading away.
"Oh... that's too bad cuz he really likes you!" He said in that semi- quiet voice, and ran out the door. Luckily to save me from that awkward situation, I was called into the office by Tim. Cliff helped me limp into the office and went back out into the waiting room.
"Well let's see," Tim said as he examined my knee. "It looks like I'm going to have to give you a few stitches, nothing to be worried about."
"Um... ok," I said nervously. Tim cleared away the blood and poked a needle into the gash to numb it. I anxiously watched as he quickly and gracefully stitched up the small gash. He wrapped a big bandage around it and gave me a few painkillers.
"Six stitches was all it took," He said with a smile. "You are lucky that it wasn't worse. Make sure you stay off it for a few days, and don't go swimming until it is healed." After finishing all the paper work and paying, Cliff helped me walk out of the hospital.
"Where are you headed to?" he asked me.
"I have to go to the beach for the festival. What about you?" I asked him in return.
"Same. I'm competing in it. Not that I have a chance to win though, Kai wins it every year!" He said laughing.
"Don't worry I'll be cheering for you," I replied smiling. Cliff helped me limp down the stairs to the beach. There were balloons and colorful decorations everywhere, but no matter how great everything looked, I could only think about one thing:
I was starting to fall for Cliff... again...