Cara ended up letting me stay home from school on Friday. Well, 'let' is a strong word, since she can't force me to go to school, but she suggested it. I spent the weekend avoiding the stairs and trying to figure out the best way to navigate with a bum leg. Showering was the worst obstacle because it was too painful to stand without my boot supporting my leg, so I resorted to lying in the tub. Cara took over more of the cooking and housekeeping while I learned to adjust. On Saturday, Matthew came to check in, followed by Angela, who brought Bella along.
Bella and Angela were supposed to be good friends (Angela's words), but from my perspective, they rarely ever hung out. Maybe it was because of Bella going zombie-mode for months, or because both of them had boyfriends and less time to spend with each other. But it was apparent, based on the way they interacted in the same space outside of school, that they hadn't completely mended any bad blood.
"How exactly did this happen anyway? One second you were in government and the next, Matt catches me in the hallway, saying something about you and Jasper going to the hospital."
The details of my sprain had been glossed over in text. I didn't have enough messages per month to handle how Angela and Jess would react to the whole thing if I tried to send them the full explanation.
"I dove for a ball during PE. My foot somehow slipped and turned at an odd angle, there was this loud popping noise and the next thing I knew, I was laying on the floor. When Coach radioed down for the nurse, Jasper was with her and he offered to take me to the hospital. He brought me back home afterward, and I've been trying to take it easy since then."
My foot was propped up on a stack of pillows on my bed. Angela sat at the end and examined the ACE bandage. Bella stood near the door, her arms crossed protectively across her body. She didn't look my way, and I wondered if it was the absence of her boyfriend or being in my room that caused her to seem so uncomfortable. Instead, her eyes were focused on the balcony door. From where she stood, she could probably see her house.
"Edward was with Jasper when they got to the gym. They looked like they'd been arguing but I wasn't sure. You wouldn't happen to know what they were doing, would you, Bella?"
Bella's eyes flitted over to me, then blinked a few times, as if she was returning from a different world.
"Um, I don't really know. I wasn't with him," she swallowed hard. Her eyes moved away again.
"I actually saw them talking about something in the hallway the other day. They were definitely fighting then." I didn't bother asking another question that I knew she'd avoid. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it and shrugged, blinking a few times. Angela turned to her, then back to me again like she was missing out on something.
"I'm sure they fight every once in a while. It seems like Joshua and Isaac never stop fighting," she laughed. I smiled and nodded, but knew this wasn't your average sibling squabble. Whatever it'd been about had something to do with me, I was certain of that at least.
"Jess is wondering what you're going to do about the dance. You're still going, aren't you?" Angela asked.
"Good Lord willing and the creek don't rise. I'll have to borrow some of her sandals because I don't think heels would pair well with this," I gestured to my lame foot.
We wrapped up the visit a few minutes later when Bella mentioned that she needed to get home, due to the Charlie-imposed grounding that she was still subject to. I wondered how long she was punished for, considering she had run away, no matter how briefly, to Italy and then returned with her estranged boyfriend. The whole story Angela had told me seemed too random. Bella goes to Italy and magically finds Edward and his family, who decides to then return to Forks? And why had they left anyway if they were going to come back in a few months? Sure they were stupid rich, but it didn't make a lot of sense to me even then. Maybe if I were stupid rich, it would.
Minutes after Bella and Angela left, someone else knocked on the door. I was in the middle of heating up a can of ravioli in the microwave, one of the few things accessible to me in my current state. I thought it might be Matthew again, coming by to make sure I was still okay and didn't need any help maneuvering around the house, or Cara, who was out doing a large grocery trip since we weren't both making our occasional stops by the store like usual. But as I opened the door, I couldn't have been more wrong.
Jasper Hale was standing on my front porch, looking windswept from the chilly weather.
A couple of things occurred to me simultaneously: one, that it was freezing outside. I couldn't be sure if the chill bumps on my arms were from the low temperature or the new visitor. Two, that Jasper looked just as fine on the weekends as he did during weekdays. Even better, almost. And three, I was looking rode hard and put up wet. Hair in a bun. Tattered sweatpants. Old Beta Club t-shirt. No bra.
"What are you doing here?" All southern hospitality had left my voice as I tried to cross my arms over my chest while still propping myself up on a single crutch. The microwave beeped behind me but neither of us paid it any mind.
"I'm supposed to be tutoring you in calculus; you're two days behind. We have a test this week, or have you forgotten due to your concussion?"
"I don't have a concussion," the words exited through gritted teeth, but I opened the door wider to let him in. He walked over the threshold and stopped in the foyer, looking up the stairs curiously. "We can set up at the kitchen table. I don't feel like walking up the stairs right now."
I also didn't feel like being alone with him in my room. Standing close together by the front door was enough to make my stomach twitch and my heartbeat quicken. I grabbed a jacket off the hooks by the door and pulled it on, thinking back to the sweatshirt he'd let me borrow and how nice it'd smelled. Mine just smelled like Persil laundry detergent and Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume. While Jasper unpacked his book bag onto the table, I grabbed my piping hot ravioli out of the microwave and set it on the counter, then hobbled over to the cabinet and grabbed a glass. Before I could make it to the fridge, Jasper was up and opening it.
"What are you drinking?" His tone was short and impatient.
"Uh, tea. Do you want anything to eat or drink?" An image of Momma popped into my head. I could hear her now, saying that you always offered something to a guest, whether they were agreeable or not. Especially if not. But he just shook his head and poured a glass of tea for me.
"Already ate."
So while Jasper gave me the condensed version of the last two calculus classes, I quickly scarfed down Chef Boyardee's finest, sipped on my tea, and wrote down the high points of the chapter. I liked listening to Jasper talk when he didn't have a bad attitude. It reminded me a little of home. His eyes were looking brighter today under the kitchen lights, and there was a flush to his usually pale cheeks. The sunken shadows under his eyes were all but gone. Perhaps the migraine medicine was working.
Once the last ravioli was eaten and the final sentence from the review was written, we started on a round of practice logarithmic problems. I had known they would be difficult before we even began the review.
"You should have used the product rule here to combine both equations before setting them equal to the other."
This was the hardest chapter we'd covered yet, and the semester was far from over. At this rate, Jasper would be tutoring me until graduation. I rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands and went to remove the ponytail holder that was starting to give me a headache (or perhaps, it was the math giving me the headache). I shook my hair out and drug my fingers through it, hoping to ease the tension. I watched as Jasper's hand clenched into a fist so tightly, his arm shook. His jaw flexed while his eyes snapped shut.
"Hey, are you alright? Is it a migraine?"
He didn't respond, just sat there with his muscles as tense as a compressed spring. My fingers inched towards his hand in what would have been a concerned gesture, but he snatched his fist out of reach.
"I'm fine, just a minor headache." He ran a hand over his face and through his hair, gritted his teeth, and rewrote the correct solution for the problem I'd missed.
I stood and grabbed a crutch, then slowly ambled to the downstairs bathroom.
"Where are you going?" Jasper asked, sounding slightly irritated.
"To pee. I'm sure I can manage on my own, thank you," I glanced back in time to see a look of surprise and embarrassment cross his face. It brought me the greatest joy. In the bathroom, after washing my hands, I opened the medicine cabinet behind the mirror and grabbed a bottle of Excedrin, shook two pills into my hand, and returned to the table.
"Here," I said, placing the two white caplets in front of him. "These should help. Don't worry; it's nothing illegal, just aspirin, acetaminophen, and caffeine."
His mouth quirked into a curious smile, almost as if he was amused that I'd fetched him headache medicine.
"Thank you, ma'am," he said as he popped both pills in his mouth and chased them with a swig of tea from my glass.
By Sunday night, I was going stir crazy from being mostly alone in the house with a bum leg. Alice had texted and offered to give me a ride since Friday hadn't panned out. I was not only excited to ride in a brand-new Porsche, but the idea of getting to see Matt, Angela, Jess, and even Bella had me practically skipping out of bed. Well, as much as one can skip with crutches and a walking boot. It was too cold to wear capris, so I settled with fitting my stylish new shoe under a pair of very flared jeans. My heavy sweater and rain jacket at least added some cushioning for my armpits, which were getting sore from all the crutch usage, though it was annoying to have my backpack slap against my back with each lurch, especially on the stairs.
At seven-ten sharp, the shiny, canary yellow sports car pulled up to the yard and let out a high pitched 'honk!' It looked so much nicer up close than from across the senior lot. As I walked out of the front door, Alice met me and took a crutch and my bag to lighten the load on the way down the steps. The exterior had been polished to an impeccable gleam, the leather seats were soft and supple. It smelled like a new car and whatever perfume Alice aways wore, something sweet and a little spicy. Forks Hospital must be paying Carlisle a fat check.
"How've you been?" Alice asked as she slid into the driver's seat and started the engine. It purred beautifully without any hiccups or stalls. The same couldn't be said for my car. As we passed Bella's house, I noted that Edward's Volvo was pulling into the drive.
"A little lonely. Mostly trying to get used to moving around on one foot. What about you? How was your weekend?"
"We went on a short camping trip Friday, came back on Saturday morning. It was nice getting away for a while."
I had wondered if Alice would stop by since everyone else except Jessica had, and that was mainly because she had so much college coursework to finish. Camping in this weather sounded absolutely horrible. Camping in good conditions wasn't really a Walker family tradition either, unless it included a cabin with electricity and hot water. How else would my momma fix her hair?
Alice usually talked nonstop, but today she seemed more reserved. Her ever-present smile drooped and her eyes were fixed at a spot far off in the distance rather than the road in front of us. She was speeding too, but not so much that I worried. Her driving was perfect anyway, and if I had a Porsche, I'd probably speed all the time, too.
"Alice, how long did you say y'all've been living in Forks?"
Angela had told me about the Cullens leaving Forks for a couple of months, but none of them had ever mentioned it since then. If any of them would give me details about their departure, it would be Alice. Edward would probably stare into my soul; Jasper would likely ignore the question. But people moved all the time, right? Military families left and came back and then left again. Surely there wasn't some nefarious reason behind it all.
"We've been here almost two years, minus the four months Carlisle took a job in LA."
"Oh what was that like? Moving to a bigger city after living here."
"It was difficult. Most of us didn't want to move, but we were overruled by Carlisle and Edward."
Edward. At this point, he was my least favorite Cullen, which was saying something considering how Jasper and I got along. But we could occasionally be civil when necessary. Edward made that uneasy feeling in my stomach about three times worse whenever I saw him at lunch or between classes, and I think he knew it.
"I was elated when it was decided we'd move back. LA was a little…busy for my taste."
"Is that why Edward went to Italy?"
It wasn't exactly a secret that Bella had tracked down Edward in Italy. Angela and Jess knew, since Bella was grounded for the foreseeable future as a result. It just seemed like one of those things you don't bring up for fear of being rude. I hoped that Alice wouldn't be too put out by my asking that she'd not answer. The far off look in her eyes faded and her attention focused back on the road. One corner of her mouth twitched up into a smile.
"Edward spent some time studying abroad there as part of a school program. Bella and I had been communicating via email while we were out of state. She decided to fly out in hopes of winning Edward back."
"And that worked?"
She nodded her head yes just as we pulled into the senior parking lot of the high school. The idea of flying out to another country solo in order to get a boy to move back to his previous home, after four months of being away, sounded absolutely unhinged. And the fact that the entire Cullen family had moved back was even more ludicrous. I didn't press any further for answers, mostly because we'd run out of time. Angela, Eric, and Tyler were standing around Mike's Tahoe, talking and laughing. I thanked Alice for the ride and started on my slow journey to my other friend group. She didn't follow.
"What's up, Dixie chick?" Tyler, who had been hanging around Mike and Eric a lot more lately, waved as I approached.
"Nothing much, just hopping around with these things."
I balanced on one leg and held my crutches up. Cold wind blew the hair out of my face and mist into it. The sun hadn't made an appearance in weeks; I started to wonder if it ever would again. As I settled the crutches back, an arm wrapped around my waist as someone came up from behind. I lost my balance for a second and nearly brought both myself and the other person down. It was Matthew.
"Woah, careful there," he kept his arm around me, helping to steady us. "Haven't quite gotten used to having one usable leg, have you?"
A twinge of irritation made me squint my eyes in his direction.
"I think she'd be doing fine if no one had snuck up on her," Angela quipped. It was rare that Angela ever got short with anyone, but her tone was less than friendly.
"It's okay. I know you didn't mean to do that. Can we get inside? It's colder than a witch's teat out here."
Matt insisted on carrying my bookbag to and from every class. I didn't mind too much, as it got a little old having my books hit my back with each lurching step. Jessica had seen us in the hallway before calculus, and waggled her eyebrows. She may be the only one of my friends that actively supported Matthew and me, but she was doing the work of three people.
Gym was torture.
As much as I loved reading, I'd loved playing volleyball each day too, but Coach relegated me to sitting on the bleachers with a book or schoolwork. At the very least, I'd be done with The Count of Monte Cristo soon if watching my classmates play didn't distract me so much. Abbigail took my spot with Lily, Megan, and Ashley. I was trying to tear my eyes away when my phone buzzed.
Int'l Txt Message
Momma
I'm sorry we didn't call this weekend. How is your ankle? Hopefully I can call tomorrow before you get to school. Love, Mom.
Momma had spoken with Cara sometime Friday about my hospital visit since it would be billed to their insurance, but since then, they hadn't called or texted. It could get expensive, but I had hoped to hear from them a little more now that they were so far away, especially since I'd gotten hurt. I was sure they'd been busy getting settled, unloading boxes, exploring the city, and meeting new people. Maybe they would call tomorrow or at least sometime before this weekend so we could catch up on everything from my grades to the upcoming dance. When it came to Cara, Momma and Daddy had always been attentive. They showed up to every softball game, every award presentation, every special event. I was there, too, whether I wanted to be or not. Then, when I started playing volleyball, things started to get much busier in our lives. I had a school trip, Cara was home from college. I had a volleyball game, dad had a work dinner. It was always something. And more often than not, that something didn't include me. Maybe I was a little bitter, but it seemed typical that they hadn't called and had only just now texted.
Matthew sat with our table at lunch, again. He was doting more than usual, though I still didn't mind him carrying my bag because it made it so much easier to limp from class to class. Normally, Alice or Jasper would sit to my left at lunch depending on who she wanted to talk to more. Matthew took that seat, completely oblivious to the death glare that Alice aimed in his direction. I mouthed a "sorry" to her, but she didn't react as her eyes shifted away and focused on something over my left shoulder. I'd intended to turn and look too, but Matt caught my attention, bringing up the idea to double date before the dance on Friday. Angela and Eric were both reluctant to agree.
"We can get ready at my house if you guys want," Angela offered to me and Jess. I nodded, then remembered how Alice had missed out on dress shopping.
"Do you wanna come, too?" I asked Alice, who had returned to the present conversation. Her face brightened back to its usual glow and her mouth spread into a grin.
"I'd love that."
I knew without looking that Jessica was giving me "that look" and that Angela wasn't. Jess had mentioned that she thought Alice was a little "off" or "unusual" but I thought those same qualities made her unique.
Jasper was back to his normal moody self. Whatever headway we'd made on Thursday and Friday and disappeared over the rest of the weekend. It made me even more nervous about the upcoming test on Wednesday. What if Jasper was intentionally trying to psych me out? What if I bombed the test because I wasn't prepared enough? Normally, you could vent these concerns to your tutor, but when I had tried on Tuesday, he'd just shrugged and silently continued to paraphrase the section we'd moved on to. It was maddening.
Before the test that Wednesday, Matthew wished me good luck before seeing me off to class.
"You'll be fine. And then afterwards, we can celebrate with ice cream tonight. And if by some freak accident, you don't do as well as you thought you would, we can still get ice cream."
I nodded my head, not really hearing what he said or registering when he lightly kissed me before walking to his own class. Just then, Jasper walked past me into the classroom, very obviously rolling his eyes on the way in.
When the test papers were passed out, I thought I'd throw up. Even if I did know how to perform the calculations, I couldn't concentrate well enough to show that. My eyes scanned the words and numbers but it all seemed like gibberish. I looked up and around the room. Mr. Savrda was watching from his podium to ensure no one cheated. He gave me a small smile and a nod of his head. I then glanced over at Jasper, whose hand was flying across the page without pausing. He was clearly doing fine. Back at the paper, only some of it was starting to make sense as I took deep steadying breaths. Time was ticking, and before I knew it, my 45 minutes had turned into 20. Some of my classmates were done while I began attempting to finish the first problem. Just as I thought all hope was lost, my heartbeat started to calm down ever so slightly until it no longer felt like I'd been running a marathon. The questions on the paper were making more sense once I was able to focus. Wait, I totally knew how to work these problems! I had less than half of my test time left, but felt more and more confident that I could pass as I moved on from one to two, then from two to three.
"That's time! Everyone put your pencils, flip your papers over, and begin passing your papers forward."
I'd just written the last number when he'd called time. I could breathe much easier knowing that the first test post tutoring was done.
"Miss Walker, if you would wait just a moment."
I paused and looked around for support. A few students looked my way with sympathetic glances. Jasper too, though there was anything but sympathy in his eyes. I slowly turned around and carefully walked to his desk, not bothering to grab my crutches.
"Yes sir?"
"If you'll wait just a moment, I can go ahead and grade your test. I'd like to know sooner rather than later if you should be moved to a different class."
He whipped out a red pen and began scanning my test paper. My stomach twisted into knots as he made a few marks on number one. I closed my eyes, unable to watch until he was finished. What should take no more than a few minutes felt like it was taking hours and hours. The sound of my own shallow breathing, the ticking of the clock, and the scratch of the red pen were all I could hear. Then, the smallest slip of him putting the paper back on the desk. I opened my eyes and couldn't believe what I saw.
90, A-
A sigh of relief whooshed out of my lungs. My stomach suddenly felt unknotted.
"Miss Walker, you seem to be improving nicely, but I think it'll be best to continue with the tutoring. Would you agree?"
I thought about how Jasper couldn't decide if he hated me or not and pondered what would happen if I insisted on having a different tutor or dropping it altogether and praying that I passed the AP exam. I'd had perfect straight As until this semester; would it be too risky?
"I think so. Thank you, sir."
Outside in the hallway, Jasper was just putting a book in his locker and swinging it shut. I hobbled as quickly as I could and called out his name as he turned to walk in the opposite direction. He stopped mid turn and looked over his shoulder at me with one eyebrow raised, partly in question, partly in annoyance. The words I'd planned on saying struggled to claw the rest of the way out of my throat. Sometimes, I forgot how gorgeous he was. Sometimes, like now, I remembered, along with the fact that he seemingly couldn't stand me most of the time.
"Um, I made a ninety on the test. I wanted to thank you for your help this weekend and say that I think we make a pretty good math team."
It sounded cheesy but I was hopeful it'd at least get him to smile, something other than his current expression. Instead, his lips pursed together tightly and he turned back around, and walked away, leaving me standing alone.
A/N: *I changed the very end of this chapter. You may have already read it* I'm so sorry this chapter has taken so long to write and even sorrier that it's not as substantial as others. HOWEVER, there are big things coming that I've been working on (later chapters) and I think they'll more than make up for it.
I also wanted to start giving a shoutout to everyone that reviews my story. Thank you for everyone that has reviewed my story up until this point, but a special thank you to zaneri0t for reviewing my last chapter!
Happy reading!