Remember me When I'm Gone
A/N: Hey, guys. How ya been? Once again, me apologies. I want to thank all who reviewed and for being patient. I know it's been over 2 years and for that I am truly sorry. But enough of my groveling, on with the story.
Chapter 9:
Two days past after the surgery and Cornelia was finally able to go back home. Mrs. Hale was sent home a day after surgery and she felt just fine apart from the usual jolt of pain from time to time but the doctor said that was normal for donors. Cornelia's Grandmother was still staying with them because Mrs. Hale still needed some help looking after Lillian. It was 5:15pm and Cornelia was in the hospital room doing some last minute packing, hopefully she wouldn't be back here for a very long time. It had taken her 45 minutes just to pack everything since she could barley move, was still sore and couldn't breathe as easily. All side effects of the surgery. The doctor said that if she wanted to stay the two extra, recommended days it was all up to her but she just wanted to get as far away from the hospital as possible. Caleb was going to pick her up in about 15 minutes since her mother was in no position to drive so she was just making sure she packed everything.
With one last look around the room, she zipped-up her duffel bag and heard a knock on the door. Having her back facing the door, she said, "Come in." When there was no response, she spun around and found Hayley standing by the door, holding a package in one hand and an envelope in the other.
"What do you want?" Cornelia said coldly. "I don't know how the nurses let you in here and I don't wanna know how you managed to manipulate them, but if you're here to mock me…"
"No, it's not that." Hayley said, cutting her off, "I just came to apologize."
"For what, huh? For publically humiliating me? For making fun of me?" Cornelia picked up her bag from the bed and angrily dropped it on the floor, partly because she wanted to relieve the anger she felt inside and partly because it was heavy.
"For everything." Hayley said barley a whisper, "For mocking you, for spreading the rumors, for everything." She placed the package on the desk and added, "These are for you by the way."
"Huh, well guess what? It's a little too late for that now" Cornelia said, After all the things she did to her, after all the torment she'd received, did she really expect to be that easily forgiven?, "I've already been humiliated." She said, calmly.
"Look, Cornelia I understand that you're upset…" Cornelia scoffed but let her go on, after all, she wanted to know what sick game she was playing at. "But after what I did, after I mocked you in front of the whole school, that night I lay awake thinking about how horrible I was. I was mean and selfish and… cruel and because of that I truly am sorry."
"Huh? The leader of the cheerleading squad lay awake for actually tormenting someone?" Cornelia said, "Am I really supposed to believe that?"
"I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me." She spun around and headed for the door, where she bumped into Caleb. He scowled at her but didn't say a word.
"What was she doing here?" Caleb said as he kissed her lovingly.
"You won't believe this." Cornelia said with a scoff, "She actually came to apologize. Can you believe that?"
"Really?" He noticed the package and the envelope, "Did she bring these too?"
"Yeah, but I'm not gonna open them." Cornelia said as she picked them up.
"Why not? It's not like she's Phobos' evil cousin sent here to blow you up." He said with a smile.
"Ok, that's not even funny considering the things he's done."
"Fine, point taken. But what if they're chocolates?"
"So what 'if they're chocolates'?"
"So… I'm hungry." Caleb said with a smile.
"Fine, open them." She rolled her eyes and gave him the package, smiling as he tore it open. It was in fact, chocolates, which he devoured in about 5 seconds. Cornelia sat in the wheelchair while Caleb picked up the duffle bag. "Come on, lets' go home. I wanna get as far away from this place as possible!" Caleb nodded and wheeled her to the parking lot, all the while chewing the peanut butter cluster balls which he left for last. Once there he helped her into the passenger seat. She tried to buckle the seatbelt but since her hands where shaking, thanks to the surgery, she ended up fiddling with it instead. When he saw she was having trouble buckling the seatbelt, he helped her and that's when she snapped.
"I can do this myself Caleb, thank you." She said, her hair covering half her face making her look a bit tormented. By the looks of it, having shaky hands wasn't a good thing in Cornelia's book.
"Obviously you can't since you're hands are sha…" She shot him a death glare which made him stop in mid-sentence. He knew that look all too well, a look that meant 'Say one more word and you'll regret it.' "Fine. I just don't know why you're so stubborn all of a sudden."
She let out a shaky sigh and said, "It's nothing."
"Is this about the chocolates?" He asked.
"No, it's not about the chocolates. Seriously, I couldn't care less about that, it's just…" She said, but thought better of reveling the real truth about why she was all moody, "…nothing." Caleb shrugged and went to place the wheelchair in the trunk, he knew better than to keep pressing on a subject she didn't want to talk about. When Caleb was out of sight, Cornelia looked at her hands and as she feared, saw that they were still trembling. She clenched them into fists when she saw Caleb enter the car, at an attempt to try and make it stop. 'I hope this isn't some long term effect.'she thought, fearfully. He started looking at her funny.
"What?"
"Uh… Cornelia, you know you can tell me anything, right?" She nodded her head a yes and he continued, "So, why won't you tell me what's bothering you? Is it Hayley? Did she say something that upset you? Maybe I can help."
"That's just it. I'm sick and tired of people always wanting to help the 'sick girl'." She said 'sick girl' like it was a bad thing. Like it was her fault she was sick. "I can't walk two steps without someone coming to hold my hand. As if I can't walk." She said with a scoff. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful and all but… sometimes it's just too much. Like for instance, I can't take a bath by myself without any help." He started smiling a perverted smile and opened his mouth as if to say something which, at that moment, he thought was funny but that just angered Cornelia even more. "Don't, just don't." She said with a warning like he was a child, "It's not funny." She took a shuddering breath in order to calm herself down, it was all she could do to stop herself from screaming or bursting into tears.
"Look, I'm sorry. I know it's not appropriate." He said, trying to compose himself and when he suddenly turned serious he said, "Listen, I know how you feel, when I broke my leg I…"
"No, Caleb, you don't!" Cornelia said, cutting him off, "This isn't like the time you broke your leg. You only had your cast on for a couple of weeks and you were fine but I've been sick for months now and I can't take it. I've been visiting the hospital every other week, like it's some 'cool' place to hang out. And I'm sick and tired of it. At least when you broke your leg you weren't throwing up every night and having the worst possible headaches." An awkward silence fell between them and all Caleb could do was stare at her, trying to find the words to make her feel like herself again, before she got sick, before all this tension started to build between them, tension he had no control over, tension he had no idea how it came to be between them. But he knew that in the last few months some sort of weird tension had started to grow, and he could do nothing about it, the same kind of tension you get when repeatedly rubbing 2 pieces of wood against one another for a long period of time. In the end it can only result in 1 option; fire and by the looks of Cornelia's out bursts, it finally gave flame. He sighed and turned the key in the ignition, the engine purred and they sped on home.
The ride home was strangely long considering it only took 15 minutes from the hospital to Cornelia's house. Partly because no one talked, fearing it would spark up those strange anxious feelings once more and partly because there was nothing to say. Although the silence was a bit reassuring, making sure they were on the same page, it was still a bit nerve wrecking. Once they got home, Caleb parked his Silver Volvo in the drive-way and killed the engine. He got out, went to the trunk and took out Cornelia's wheelchair. He brought it to the passenger's side and was considering helping her out the car and into the chair she despised so much, but when she opened the door and got out by herself, he knew it was a bad idea. She started making her way to the door and when he noticed she was wincing, so he went by her side. "Cornelia, stop resisting my help, you're just making it worse. You're in pain, I can see that. Just let me wheel you to the door then you can walk inside." He said as he tried to grab her arms, trying to be as gentle as possible as not hurt her. "The doctor said to take it easy for the past few days."
"I know but I'm fine." She said, shoving his hands away.
"Can't you see you're hurting yourself?" He said, trying to reason with her but she was just as stubborn as a mule.
"I can do this myself, Caleb." If she could walk, she'd make it to the door, and then she could lie in that accursed chair.
"Fine!" He stormed his way back to the car, took out her bag and slammed the doors. 'Great, now I've upset him.' Cornelia thought, as he passed by, having the wheelchair in one hand and the bag in the other. He opened the door on his own and once inside they found the living room shrouded in darkness. Cornelia searched for the light switch and that's when everyone jumped up from their hiding place and shouted: "SURPRISE!"
Cornelia looked totally flabbergasted while Caleb just sat the wheelchair and the big duffel bag down on the floor, trying not to meet her gaze. Since leaving the hospital she smiled for the first time. By the looks of it, Caleb or her mother, she wasn't sure, invited everyone; Will, Matt, Irma, Josh, Taranee, Nigel, Keira, Mark, Hay Lin, Eric which was Hay Lin's new boyfriend, and of course Mrs. Hale, Lillian and Cornelia's Grandmother where there as well. All the close people in her life. They also decorated the house a little bit; there was a big banner in the middle of the living room which read "Welcome Back Home", completed with balloons of every shape and color, multi-colored streamers hung from the walls and the ceiling and a snack table was set up at the far right side of the room, having a whole array of snacks and drinks. The sofa was placed right up against the wall so as to make room for the guests.
They all rushed to give her a gentle hug and all Cornelia could do was smile. When they pulled apart, they all started talking about how good she was recovering and how good it was that she was getting so much better. They talked to each other and when it got kind of quiet Lillian decided to turn on the stereo.
Irma made her way to where Cornelia was sitting and said; "Hey, how have you been feeling? I heard the surgery was a success."
"Yeah, it has, but I'm still pretty sore and I keep having these tremors." She said, looking at her hands that were holding a cup of punch fearing she'd start spilling punch all over her mother's sofa. "They just come and go, you know?"
"Maybe it's the anesthesia wearing off. I bet it's normal for leukemia patients," she said, trying to ease her friend's mind although she knew that the anesthesia wears off right after surgery but she was no doctor so she had no idea what they meant.
"Yeah, I guess." She said, not that all confused about the situation. Then she remembered that Irma was dating Josh which made her want to tease Irma a bit. "So, you're dating Josh, huh? How's that been going? Is he a romantic lover?" She said with a smile, finally Irma had a 'stable' boyfriend. She was always the one who dated boys for kicks but now she finally found someone who she really wanted to be with, or that's what she thought anyway and she was happy for her.
She turned bright red and after nervously drinking what was in her cup said, "Uh… well… so far, it's going great." Having a big smile plastered across her face. "I never noticed, he was so sweet and kind. Last night he showed up at my house with roses, it was so romantic, if only my little brother didn't open the door."
"Really? I guess he only showed those signs to you since he was always busy pranking me." She said with a chuckle, not that she expected him to show up with roses at her house, that would be weird considering they didn't get along and he was her boyfriend's brother.
"Yeah, I've talked to him about that. He said that he swore to Keira, and me, that he'd stop." Irma said. "By the looks of it, she has already spoken to him about that,"
"FINALLY, my locker will be free from green slimy goo!" She said, excitedly. Irma burst laughing at the comment and that's when Josh came and sat beside her.
"What's so funny?" He said.
"You." Irma said as she looked at him. "You've got frosting all over your chin." Apparently, he had eaten a cupcake and smeared his chin with purple frosting; she wiped it off with a napkin and gently kissed him.
"Hm… I should get frosting on my chin more often." He teased as he leaned in and kissed her again while putting his arms around her.
"Ohhkay, I'm not really used to you guys making out just yet, so I'll leave you two alone." Cornelia said with a smile and got up from the couch, "Just don't leave stain marks on my sofa," she laughed and walked to where Keira and Mark where standing.
"Hey, how are you?" Keira said.
"Kinda sore and my back hurts from time to time but otherwise a lot better than last week." She said with a smile, she felt like she was bitching about her surgery when someone asked her how she felt but what was she to do.
"Well, that's expected considering it's only two days after the surgery." Mark said.
"Yeah, the doctor said I would be sore for a couple more days." She said. She looked to where Caleb was standing and noticed that he was talking to Eric, he was Hay Lin's new boyfriend. Taranee and Hay Lin both started dating Nigel and Eric at about the same time so they were kind of new to the group but Eric hadn't quite been introduced to the group until a couple of weeks ago. 'I wonder why he's ignoring me?' she thought, 'Maybe it's because I snapped at him back at the hospital parking lot. Why do I act like a bitch sometimes?' she wondered.
She saw Hay Lin steal Eric away from Caleb and make their way to Keira and Mark. Leaving Caleb picking at the food he piled on his plate, by the looks of it, he wasn't having as much of a good time as Cornelia was. Nigel walked over to the snack table and started making small talk with him as he nibbled on a cracker. Obviously, he was ignoring her but she decided to leave him alone for a few more minutes, if her suspicions where right, he needed time to cool off. Hay Lin and Eric talked for a few minutes with Keira and Mark and when it finally got painfully silent Will, Matt and Taranee made their way next to them.
"Hey Cornelia, you feeling ok?" Will said as she laced her fingers through Matt's.
"Not that bad, considering they tore open my back." She said, trying to lighten the mood but they all just didn't know what to say so they just nodded and silently drank their drinks.
"I kinda know how you feel. When I was 11 years old I had to have knee surgery because of a soccer injury." Eric said, "So, it kind of feels like they invaded your body."
"Exactly." Cornelia said with a smile. They continued talking until she saw that Caleb was finally alone and that's when she excused herself and made her way to the snack table. She gently nudged him but he barely looked her way and that's when she pulled him into the kitchen, trying to get as much privacy as possible. She wanted to know why he was acting all weird.
"What?" Caleb said, clearly annoyed. His emerald-green eyes now turned a darker shade of green, like they always did when he was mad or irritated.
"Was the party your idea?" She said with a smile, trying to figure out what his problem was but decided not to ask him, it would just anger him more. Maybe it was because of her out burst in the car, but all she could do was guess.
"Yeah, sorry it's so painful to sit there and have people adore you." He said, or the proper term was yelled, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and tried not to meet her eyes.
"What? Who ever said I liked being adored? And by the way I was going to thank you for throwing the party!" She yelled back, and at that moment, the CD player in the living room chose that brilliant moment to break down, so everyone was now listening to the fight. "I was having a good time when I noticed you were ignoring me!"
"Oh, really? You were gonna thank me? Was refusing my help when you were in pain a way of thanking me too?" Caleb said, letting his emotions get the better of him, this rarely happened but today was one of those days. It really hurt him to see her in pain and when she refused his help it angered him more.
"I was just sick of people always treating me like the injured rag-doll. Always dragging me here and there, telling me what to do, choosing what to do for me. " She said, feeling her eyes burn and her throat tighten 'I can't believe we're having this fight, right here in my kitchen. With a party going on in the other room' she thought cynically. She swallowed the tears and continued, "For once, I wanted to do something on my own."
"You always do stuff on your own!" He said, throwing his hands in the air. He circled the island and stopped when he was just opposite of her, resting his hands on either side of the corners. "You even broke up with me just because you thought you could do it on your own. Which may I add, was stupid."
"Yeah? Well sorry for trying to protect you!" Cornelia said as she burst through the kitchen door trying to get away from the clueless fight but Caleb was hot on her heels. She spun around furiously with tears in her eyes, throwing her hands in the air and said, "Sorry for trying to give you a chance at a NORMAL relationship!" He stopped dead in his tracks as if she just jabbed him in the gut, and just stared at her, taking a moment to notice her. She had tears streaming down either cheek and her eyes were pink, clearly, it really must have hurt her to have broken up with him but he had never really taken it into account at how she had taken it, how much it had hurt her or how she coped with it afterwards. 'She must really love me if she went through all that pain for my well being.' he thought. She sniffled and when he made a step towards her in order to comfort her, she stormed up to her room, with incredible speed taking into consideration that she just had surgery the previous two days.
Caleb just slumped his shoulders and looked at the guests. They were shocked and kind of embarrassed to have witnessed such an intimate fight between them. And at that moment the CD 'magically' got unstuck and continued on playing 'The ring of Fire' by Johnny Cash "Umm…sorry you had to see that." He said, while apologetically rubbing his neck.
"Well, that was a quick party!" Lillian said. Her mother gave her a stern look as if to say 'stop it' which made her slide off the couch and onto her Grandmother's lap where she thought she was safe.
Cornelia lay on her bed, having her face buried in a pillow, crying her eyes out. Where did that fight come from? Did Caleb really think she liked being adored? Had she angered him by her outburst earlier? All these questions ran through her mind but sadly, she didn't know any of the answers to them. She grabbed a teddy bear that was lying on a chair beside her bed and aimlessly threw it against her wardrobe door trying to lessen her frustration, it was after she threw it that she felt the all familiar sting in the lower part of her back. She clutched her pillow against her face, almost tearing at the seams, and tried to stifle a scream but it was no use, it was scream to lessen the pain or just let it pass. So, she chose to scream and that was when she heard a knock on the door. "GO AWAY!" she yelled, not knowing if it was her mother or Caleb. But knowing Caleb, he wouldn't give up that easily.
"Cornelia, please let me come in." Said Caleb's muffled voice.
"NO!" She grabbed a text book and threw it at the door, which left a noticeably big indentation right in the center of the door. Again, she felt as if her back was being torn into, but this time it was worse and that's when she screamed again. When she finally thought he gave up, the door swung open to reveal his pain stricken face. 'I should've locked that door' she thought, she didn't want to deal with it just yet. Clearly, he came to his senses and knew he didn't mean most of the words he said.
"The guests left so we can talk…Cornelia, I'm sorry." He said as he approached the big double bed he sometimes slept in. She could see in his eyes that he regretted picking the fight. "I'm sorry I was ignoring you but…"
"I don't wanna hear it." He knelt beside her bed and grabbed her hand which she thought of pulling back but the touch of his skin against hers made her forget about the idea.
"Just hear me out." He said in a calm voice. When she didn't utter a word he took it as a sign to talk, "All I wanted to do was help you, to lessen the pain you were feeling, I don't like seeing you in pain or being hurt and I just wanted to make you feel better." He caressed her hand with his thumb and that's when her face softened. "When you pushed me away it really angered me, especially when I saw you cringe when you move. At that moment, I just wanted to help you even more." He took a lungful of air and continued, "But when you said you didn't need my help that's when I snapped. I felt underappreciated, that all I did was worthless."
"I didn't say I didn't need your help." Cornelia said, defensively.
"You didn't say it, you showed it." Caleb said, "What I don't get is why you got all stubborn all of a sudden." When he saw her anger had lessened he climbed up on the bed next to her, both sitting cross legged.
"Well, ever since the surgery I've had these tremors and I just… I don't know, I felt defenseless I guess. Having people do everything for me isn't my kind of thing." She said as she looked deep into his gorgeous emerald-green eyes. "I guess I got sick of it. The trips to the hospital, the chemo… the teasing." She said, referring to Hayley, he got the hint and she felt him stiffen but he quickly relaxed. He leaned in and gave her a kiss. She pulled him closer to her, running her hands through his hair and just loving the way he smelt. When they pulled apart she said, "Did you really think I liked being adored?"
He took a deep breath and thought about what he really meant when he said it, "No, I just said that because I was mad. I wasn't thinking straight. I didn't mean any of it." Caleb said as he turned to lie on his side. "Well, maybe I did mean some of the words I said. Like, I meant that the break up was stupid but that's all."
She smiled, knowing that he was right. After a few seconds of silence she said, "How did we let it get this out of control? I mean, we used to talk everyday about our how we were feeling and now it just kind of exploded all of a sudden." Slowly lying down on her back looking at the ceiling, having her arms spread around her.
"Well, I think we were both worried about the upcoming surgery and we just let it build inside us." He said, playing with his jacket zipper, a few moments passed and that's when he spoke again, "Did you really break up with me so that I could have a chance at a normal relationship? Were you really trying to protect me?" It took her a couple of minutes before she spoke;
"Yeah, I mean, how can having a sick girlfriend be normal? I know it would be hard having a sick girlfriend, you know, driving her to chemo therapy, staying up when she's too sick to sleep. I know it would have been hard seeing you around with another girlfriend, especially if it was Hayley but if it would have made you happy…" She let the sentence trail off, while fiddling with the bedspread lace, having her frown turn into a grin, "And, yes, I was trying to protect you from the reality that if I died… well…you know… you wouldn't have to go through the horrible pain of having someone you love die. I know how it feels by having my dad pass away and it's not something I'd like anyone to experience first hand." He grabbed her by the shoulders and enveloped her in a hug while kissing her head lovingly.
"Oh Cornelia, don't you know that the only normal relationship I can have is with you? And so what if you're sick? You're getting better, I can just see it in you eyes." He grinned, "Those beautiful aquamarine eyes, I would never get fed up looking into." He said half to himself making Cornelia smile. "By breaking up with me you weren't protecting me, you just ended up hurting me more, when we weren't together I was miserable everyday, did you know that night we broke up I got drunk and Keira and Josh had to drag me up to my bed?" he said, half embarrassed, half wanting her to know the truth about what happened when they weren't together.
"Really? I wouldn't have imagined you as the drinking type." She teased.
"I'm not, but you know." He said, clearly uncomfortable about the way he acted.
"By the way, I do appreciate you, more than you'll ever know." She said with a smile, noticing that there was nothing wrong between them, they just needed a moment to talk, catch up on their feelings. "And everything you do is never done for nothing." They both smiled. He leaned in and she did the same, and when their lips finally touched the world just melted away. All that existed were just the two of them. He gently nudged her lips apart and she happily co-operated. She smiled and slipped her tongue inside his mouth. He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her even closer but once he gave in deeper into the kiss a vibrating noise could be heard coming from the dresser. It was Cornelia's mobile which she grabbed on the 5th vibration all the while kissing Caleb. She pulled apart and flipped it open, he continued by kissing her neck making her giggle uncontrollably. She had gotten a text message from Irma reading:
Are you ok? You seemed pretty upset when you stormed off to your room :-(
She texted back, still having Caleb gently kissing her neck, saying: I'm ok now, it was all just a stupid fight. Sorry to have ruined you night :-).
As soon as she sent the message, Caleb's own mobile started blaring 'What's this' by Fall out boy, apparently Cornelia changed his ringtone again, he stopped kissing her and fished it out of his pocket and pressed answer. "Hello?"
"Where are you?" Keira said, clearly on the verge of hysteria.
He knew that sound all too well which made him snigger. Whenever she was worried about something or someone, she'd always be in full-panic mode. "I'm still at Cornelia's."
"THANK GOD!" she yelled, he heard the crunching of leaves and the rustle of the wind which suggested the thought she was walking, "He's still at Cornelia's." She said to someone else.
"Why did you yell in my ear and who are you talking to?"
"Because the last time you and Cornelia fought like that, I'm only imagining that the last fight you had was something like that, you ended up drunk and passed out on your bed. And we had to hull your heavy ass up the stairs which I do not want a repeat of." She said, which made him blush. "And I'm with Irma."
"Huh, figures, she just sent Cornelia a text, didn't she?" Mouthing the words 'Its Keira and she's with Irma' to Cornelia as she was looking at him oddly.
"Uh, can you blame us?" She said clearly annoyed.
"No, not really. Now that my check up is up can I get back to making out?"
"Ok, I didn't need to know what you were doing. Just needed to find out if you're ok." Keira said. "Well, see you at home. Bye"
He hung up and then slipped his phone back in his pocket. "She just needed to know if I was alright." He told Cornelia
"And you most certainly are." She crawled on top of him and kissed him slowly, savoring the taste of sea salt, again, suggesting the thought that he ate a couple of potato chips before hand.
He in return, responded by slowly making his way down towards her nape, she smiled and let out a giggle when he playfully nibbled at her neck.
She leaned back, allowing him access to do as he pleased. Letting him know she was enjoying every moment of their make-out session. He heard her give a low moan and considered it as his cue to run his hands under her shirt, giving her goose bumps where he touched. He slid his hands upwards stopping only when they were under the strap of her bra. He knew that she was smiling and could only think of how he loved the feel of her body heat spreading into his hands. It was as if he could read her mind and it was saying 'do it.' with a menacing smile, he unbuckled her bra clasp and cupped one of her breasts which made her nipples stand on end. This was pure ecstasy.
She closed her eyes and just enjoyed his touch, she felt his chest vibrate as he gave into a low growl and couldn't help the smile that crept its way across her face. She didn't know where this sudden urge had come from but she suddenly wanted him pressed hard against her. At that time and moment, she didn't feel like a leukemia patient and she certainly didn't feel like she just had surgery, she felt like her old self again. She felt like the old all-powerful Guardian of the Veil. She hadn't felt like this in ages so she hungrily fumbled with the two buttons of his shirt, having her knuckles graze softly against impenetrable muscle.
Caleb knew where she was going with this notion and happily met her half way; he tucked his head quickly under his shirt, slid his arms expertly through the sleeves and threw the shirt at one side.
This made Cornelia reach an all new level of high; she slid the palms of her hands all over his rugged chest which seemed to send shockwaves of pleasure through her whole being. She could feel that he had been sexually awoken just by the feel of his man-hood, pressing hard against her thigh. While he passionately kissed her, she unbuckled his belt but stopped when she heard him take a sharp intake of breath, she saw that he was breathing heavily but he didn't protest the least bit so she took it as a sign to continue, she unbuttoned his Levis and was about to slip her hand inside when he grabbed her and in a husky, winded voice said, "Cornelia, we can't do this, not after just two days after your surgery."
She managed to free one of her hands from his grasp and placed it on his bulging erection. He let out a raspy sigh and placed a hand behind him in order to steady himself.
"I don't care about that," She, seductively smiled while toying with him, "I want to feel you in…
She stopped in mid-sentence as the bedroom door burst open revealing Lillian, who joyfully skipped inside, holding a stuffed bunny rabbit. Caleb scrambled from underneath Cornelia, as gently as he could, while zipping his opened fly. Once he did, he managed to regain his breath.
"What 'cha doin'?" She said while holding her stuffed toy by the ears and dangling it.
"Uh… we uh…" Caleb said, crossing his legs to try and hide what Lillian was so young to see. When she saw him stutter she remembered why she was sent to her sister's room and said; "Mom wanted to see if you two were all right."
"Oh, w-we are." Caleb said, still startled by Lillian's sudden appearance, he quickly grabbed his shirt which was lain askew on the floor. Cornelia, who by her sister's unexpected manifestation jumped so quickly off the bed she felt dizzy, went in front of her and said;
"Didn't you ever learn how to knock?" Without a doubt, annoyed how she had just destroyed such a special moment. This had happened twice before, and in both those moments it got spoilt. Either by the ringing of a doorbell or by the knock of a door and in these cases, it was always her mother.
"I…" Lillian began but was stopped in mid-sentence by Cornelia shooing her through the door.
"I don't wanna hear it. Just tell mom we're fine, she can stop worrying." She closed the door in her sister's face and turned to face Caleb which no longer was bare chested.
He slumped on the bed and ruefully rubbed his face with the heels of his hands. "That was close." He said through his hands. Cornelia let out a frustrated sigh and sat next to him. She clasped her bra strap back together and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm glad it was your sister instead of your mother. Your sister may have thought we were playing some sort of… game but your mom is not that clueless." Caleb said with a nervous chuckle. He rested his arms behind his head and just felt his body relax. A minute ago, he felt like he was going to burst at any moment.
"Yeah." She smiled weakly. She thought about what she would have done if it was her mother instead of her sister who had burst through the door, or worse, what if it was her grandmother? She would be mortified. She couldn't simply explain what they were doing, at one point or another in their lives, they probably did the same thing, or something like it.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Came Caleb's voice, he sat up and gently placed a hand on the small of her back having the other one grab hold of one of her hands.
"Nothing." She whispered, placing her right hand on his. He gave her a look that suggested 'I know better'. "I'm just mad at my mom for ruining the moment." She confessed.
He stared at her for a couple of seconds and smiled, "Don't worry, we'll have more moments like that in the near future." This seamed to lighten her mood because she crawled over a pillow, which was separating them, straddling his lap. His arms circled her petit waist, locking her against him, and she delightedly snuggled into his muscular arms. He smiled, loving the warmth she was emitting from her body. Cornelia then slid her hands up his perfectly sculpted chest, grasped him behind the neck and whispered something mischievous in his ear, trying to get him in the mood again. She knew he was smiling but sensed that it was no use; she could feel his sexual drive grow weaker and weaker. She had read some where that it was difficult for men to have two erections in such a short period of time, or in Caleb's case, after a scare like that, so she gave up on the idea of getting him aroused and changed the subject.
"I was thinking…" She began
"About how sexy I am even when I'm caught off guard?" He said teasingly.
She playfully hit him and laughed. "No, not about that, I was thinking about Hayley."
"Seriously?" He questionably replied, "You're standing on top of me and you're seriously thinking about her?" He playfully teased.
"Ok, I'm getting off of you now." She answered as she slid off him.
"Ok I'll be serious." He turned on his side and just listened.
"I was thinking of driving up to her place and just hearing her out, maybe even accept her apology. She doesn't really apologize to anyone so I think she may really have meant it."
"And by you driving up to her place you mean I'd be the one who's actually driving, right?"
"Well, that's what good boyfriends do." She smiled mischievously. He sighed and got up from the bed, "Fine, I'll drive you to her mansion." He said with a jingle of his car keys.
She hugged him, kissed his cheek and said, "Uh, I may have to grab a quick shower before we go."
He gave a hearty chuckle, "I wonder why that might be."
"I don't know but suddenly I feel very dirty." She whispered as she passed him by. She opened her wardrobe and swiftly settled on a pair of burgundy skinny jeans and a light blue shirt, a pair of clean underwear and a fresh bra.
She quickly walked down to the bathroom with Caleb closely following her with a smile. When they were downstairs Cornelia made her way towards the bathroom stopping only to kiss Caleb and say that she wouldn't be long. As he approached the living room, he noticed it was eerily dark and that the only light in the room was being emitted from the TV.
He walked inside and saw Beatrice (as she liked to be called) sitting in an armchair holding two long needles and a ball of yarn. Apparently she was knitting but how she was doing it in the dark without stabbing herself was a mystery to Caleb but he just shrugged and figured that she must have been doing this for years now. He looked to his right and saw Mrs. Hale sitting on the sofa, holding a steaming cup of chamomile tea. As he took a closer look he noticed she looked really tired and he felt sorry for her. She reminded him of his own mother. She used to do the same exact thing after a long, hard day of looking after him and his two younger siblings. But now she finally for a break from it all since he took on the responsibility to care of them.
His train of thought was brought to a complete halt by someone rustling in a bag of potato chips. Once he saw a certain young girl having her hair done up in two separate pony-tails, jumping up and down he knew it was Lillian. She was happily munching on the bag of potato chips while hopping up and down on her knees. With a smile spread across his face he sat in the last remaining armchair which was just facing Beatrice.
"You two were up there quite a long time, young man." Beatrice said keeping her gaze steady on the TV still doing her knitting without a problem.
"We were just talking." He fumbled with his thumbs and tried to concentrate on watching Fish Hooks. "She was really upset." If she really knew what they were doing up there she would forget about the knitting and just thrust those needles straight at him.
"It didn't look that way when Lillian walked in, did it?" Mrs. Hale said as she took another sip of her tea. She rested the now empty cup on the coffee table and yawned. "She said Cornelia was sitting right on top of you."
Lillian jumped in, having her hands greasy which she was happily licking. "Yep, that's what I said." She said between a lick, she looked close to a sugar rush which Caleb was sure Mrs. Hale was in no mood for.
"We were just talking." He repeated and prayed that Cornelia wouldn't be long. They continued on watching Fish Hooks in silence or so Caleb hoped.
Once in the bathroom, Cornelia peeled out of her clothes and left them in a heap on the floor. She looked down at her naked body where she saw that the lower part of her stomach was covered in bandages.
After wrapping the bandages in plastic, like her doctor suggested she would do before bathing, she stepped in the shower.
The lukewarm water was just what she needed to feel whole again. She lathered, rinsed and stepped out. Once toweled off, she sprayed herself with vanilla spice and got dressed. She went to the living room freshly showered, and feeling like she could conquer the world.
She came up from behind the living room and enveloped her mother in an awkward kind of hug but she knew her mother wouldn't mind the least bit. "Mom, we're going out but we won't be long." She bent over the sofa and kissed her mother's cheek.
"Ok." She said. "Just don't be too long. Remember the doctor told you to take it easy for the next few days." Caleb gladly got up from the arm chair he was sitting on and handed Cornelia, her grey jacket from the coat rack and her matching beanie.
"Mom, don't worry too much. You should be the one who should take it easy." Cornelia said as Caleb helped her put on her jacket. Her mother smiled and nodded. She knew her daughter was right and so went up to bed her mother could take care of Lillian for another hour or so. They said their goodbyes and walked to the car.
"What the hell took you so long?" Caleb said. He pressed his automatic key to unlock the car doors as he quickened his pace. As the taillights blinked to acknowledge the command, they illuminated the garage door.
Cornelia couldn't help but smile, the way Caleb spoke when he was flustered was just too funny. "I was just taking a shower. I didn't take that long." They reached the car and she opened the door.
"Yeah, any longer and I was sure your Grandmother was going to thrust her knitting needles… hqhm…somewhere quite private." He said with a wince as he imagined what it would feel like. This made Cornelia double over laughing stopping only when she felt the sting in her back. He ignored her and entered the car closely followed by Cornelia who was wiping tears from her cheeks. Once strapped in, he sped to the Parkers' mansion. He remembered the way since he'd been there a couple of times when he was dating Hayley. It was a long drive and he only stopped once he was within view of the most magnificent mansion they had ever laid eyes on.
They approached enormous wrought iron gates that sported the Parker family crest on each side. This consisted of a golden Knight's helmet skillfully welded on an oval ring show-cased on either side of the gates which gave it a regal sense of appearance.
They stopped and pressed the buzzer located on the driver's left hand side. A male voice spoke asking who it was. Caleb explained why they were there and waited for the gates to open. A buzzing noise was heard and they opened slowly. Once they were fully opened, he drove on. On entering the grand gateway, the graveled driveway took to a long drive which had the most glorious pine trees they had ever seen and considering Caleb came from Meridian, a place surrounded by every kind of tree imaginable, it was kind of breath taking.
"I can only begin to imagine how beautiful it would be in the spring time." Cornelia said, completely baffled at the beauty of it all. Being the earth guardian and all, she could almost imagine what it would be like.
The sun was entirely gone now and Caleb turned on the headlights. He figured with all this wildlife around them, he could easily run over a deer and that wouldn't be such a pretty sight so he was just taking safety measures. After a couple of minutes of driving in partial darkness, a dozen lamp-posts or so illuminated the rest of the way.
The rest of the drive led to a magnificent courtyard hosting a beautiful lion fountain. It consisted of 3 marble tiers, each slightly bigger than the next, show casing 3 bronze lion heads right in the middle of the stunning fountain. All of which, gushing with clearest water there was.
"Whoa! Now that's what I call fancy." Cornelia said gawking at the fountain, fascinated by the sturdy structure.
"Yeah, and you'd think Hayley would at least show some class once in a while." Caleb replied, parking right in front of the mansion as he did so.
The mansion was set on a slight hill and made out of what looked like, white stone. It was five stories tall, capped by a burgundy colored roof. The slopping rooftop gave the whole mansion a somewhat homey feel even though it looked like a fortress.
Caleb turned off the ignition and unbuckled his seatbelt. He turned to face Cornelia and said, "Are you ready?" She nodded and unbuckled her own seatbelt. Caleb got out first and stretched a bit. It was a long drive and it really took a toll on him, but if it was what Cornelia wanted then he'd do what he had to to make her happy, he would walk to the ends of the earth for her. And he knew that she would gladly do the same for him.
They walked to grand oak doors both having beautiful brass knockers crafted in the shape of lions' heads. He grabbed one and knocked three times then, waited for someone to open the door. Just as Caleb was about to say something someone opened the door and said;
"May I help you?"
"Uh… we came to see Hayley." Cornelia said, "She isn't expecting us but we just needed a moment to talk."
"I'm sorry, but Ms. Parker isn't feeling like herself and requested for no one to come by and see her." He said. This apparently was the butler. He was kind of old, having a crop of grey hair plastered on the top of his head. He had beady little eyes and was wearing the 'traditional' butler suit.
"I'm sorry." Just as he was about to close the door, Hayley walked behind him, holding a bowl of cereal, and told him that it was alright. She let them inside and walked them to the living room. Cornelia scanned the area and noticed that it looked more like a palace than a home. Paintings of the Parker family hung on the walls and beautiful rugs were spread across the tiled floors. She noticed Hayley's living room totally didn't look anything like her own. If she had a 32 inch television Hayley had a 50 inch plasma screen hoisted on the wall. And if Cornelia only had a three seater sofa and two armchairs, Hayley had a white leather six seater sofa spread across the entire room. Hayley saw Cornelia gawking at the exquisite furniture and, between bites, said, "Please, make yourselves comfortable." Caleb looked utterly bored and just sat down without a word or glance at the furniture Hayley had. Cornelia sat next to him and Hayley sat two seats further where they were. Apparently, she really wasn't feeling like herself. It was either that or she was really on the verge of change.
Just as Hayley was about to say something, a maid entered the living room with a tray full of cookies. Cornelia looked totally weireded out by this notion she never took Hayley as the cookie-type so Caleb explained that this was customary when someone visited the grand mansion.
"Go ahead, help yourselves." Hayley said, resting the still full bowl on the mahogany coffee-table. Caleb, somehow always being hungry, automatically took one and stuffed it in his mouth. Cornelia looked embarrassed by Caleb's behavior but said nothing about it. She took one as not to be rude.
"Listen Hayley I'm just going to cut to the chase," Cornelia began, "We came here, well I came here Caleb just agreed to drive me since I'm in no condition to drive," she said with a forced smile, trying to make this less awkward then it had to be, "I came here to apologize for my behavior earlier this afternoon and to…"
"No, no. That's perfectly understandable, I would have behaved the same way." Hayley replied, stopping Cornelia in mid-sentence.
"I also came here to accept your apology. I now see I acted too cruelly towards you." She sat the cookie down on a napkin and waited for a response.
"Oh, thank you. I know I can be a bitch sometimes…well most of the time but now I see that I was out of line when I made fun of you in front of the whole school." She turned around to face the couple, "I don't know what it's like to be sick all the time or how it feels to have doctors do weird tests on you so I'll just say it again. I'm sorry."
Cornelia was silent for a few minutes, she couldn't believe that the girl she hated so much, the girl who hurt her so much was actually apologizing for her 'crimes'. Caleb on the other hand just kept eating the cookies, looking too interested in the walnut cookies to care what Hayley had just said. "Wow, I've never heard you actually apologize. I mean… wow." At this comment Hayley burst out laughing which made Cornelia laugh as well.
"I heard you had surgery…a bone marrow transplant was it?" Hayley enquired.
"Yeah, I did." Cornelia said. She told her what happened and the procedure the doctors did on both her mother and herself, how she was feeling and how unexpected her apology was. They spent the remainder of the night talking as if they were old friends.
End of Chapter 9
Well that's chapter 9 for ya. I hoped you guys liked it. I know it WAAAAAYYYYY too long but I haven't written for these past few years (OMG I HAVEN"T WRITTEN IN YEARS!) so I just wanted to make it up as best I could. I know it's a crappy ending but I thought I'd show you Cornelia's forgiving nature xD. Well leave a review or 2 –xKrissyx-
