THE MAN WO CAN'T BE MINE

Chapter 6

Cheska.

Cheska. My head throbbed as I woke up in a brightly lit and quiet room. I intended to sit up, but the moment I made the slightest movement, someone stopped me. It was Mama. Only then did I notice the dextrose attached to my arm and realize I was in the hospital.

What happened? The last thing I remembered was going to the kitchen with Mama for dinner, and then everything went blank.

"Don't move around too much yet," Mama cautioned me.

"What happened?" I asked.

I clutched my head as I felt the pain from the sudden movement of trying to sit up.

"Cheska, you're awake?!"

I was startled when Jack suddenly hugged me, but even more surprising was the appearance of Jacob. Why was he here too?

"Don't talk too much for now, okay? I know you have a lot of questions, but just behave yourself for now, Ches," Jack teased, but I could sense his worry.

"I'm hurting... You're too heavy." I patted his back, and he sheepishly released me from the hug.

"You okay?" Jacob approached me and asked. I could only nod in response because I truly felt weak. "Don't worry about our report. I'll talk to him and try to pull some strings for you." He smiled to assure me it was okay.

That was the first thing that came to my mind when I found out I was in the hospital. We worked hard and stayed up late for two days on that, so our effort couldn't go to waste.

"You'll be discharged at 6 am tomorrow, but you won't be going to school so you can rest at home." Mama's tone was serious, so I had no choice but to just nod.

Since it was already two in the morning when I woke up, the only place to buy food was 7/11, and Jack volunteered to go while Mama went down to the pharmacy. That left Jacob and me alone in the ward.

"Do you mind if I ask a question?"

"No..."

"Why are you here?" Oh, God. That came out wrong.

"Don't you want me here? I was worried too. Jack told me, and I went along to find out how you were. Besides, our report is with you, right?" he explained while peeling an apple for me.

If he was here, could Tyler have dropped by too? He probably wasn't busy either. I shouldn't get my hopes up.

"Open." Jacob held up the apple he had been peeling. I ate it, but why was he being so kind to me? Was I dying? "This will help you recover, so don't overthink things."

~

A day passed, and now it was Wednesday, and I was going back to school. I heard there was a mountain of work waiting for me. Seriously, I was only absent for one day, but it felt like a month. I had already done some of it last night, and Jacob was helping me too, but there was still so much.

I bumped into Minchie when I arrived. We were chatting happily, but the next thing I knew, I was on the ground because someone had pushed me. Okay? This wasn't how I imagined my return. Who the hell is this b***h?!

I angrily looked for whoever had pushed me, but the anger in my eyes immediately vanished when I saw the reason why I fell.

"Francine?" I said in surprise. I didn't know she was back from Dubai, and I also didn't know that her anger towards me was still this intense. And most of all, she was still acting like a Grade 7 student.

"What the hell are you thinking?!" I didn't accept Minchie's hand and stood up on my own to approach Francine.

"I don't know? Adrenaline rush, I guess? You deserved it, anyway," she said cattily, laughing and even glancing at her friends.

I raised my hand, and she braced herself for a slap, but I stopped myself because I would never stoop to her level just because of anger.

"What are you waiting for, huh?"

I turned my back on her and started walking ahead even though I could hear Minchie calling me. I knew why she was angry with me, and I didn't want what had happened before to happen. I was very young and naive back then, which is why I did those things, and honestly, it was such a shallow issue; she's the only one making a big deal out of it.

"You need to tell Jack what happened." I ignored Minchie and just taped the manila papers I had worked on yesterday for my report on one subject.

"What is it?"

I froze in my spot when I heard Jack's voice. Why was he so early today? He's always late, isn't he? Bad luck! Every day is just unlucky for me.

"Based on what I overheard..." Tyler paused, seemingly trying to build suspense. But when he saw Jack glaring at him, he continued, "...Francine apparently pushed your girl earlier."

Damn it. For a guy, he's so gossipy.

"Is that true?" he asked calmly.

"Good morning, class." Saved by the bell! This was the first time I was happy about the teacher's arrival.

I immediately went back to the front with Minchie to report. I was explaining our topic well, but towards the end, I suddenly felt dizzy, so I grabbed onto Minchie.

She's going to lecture me even more. Francine, this is all your fault! I should have just slapped that war freak.

We finished our reporting smoothly, and finally, we were able to sit down. We heard nothing but praise from Sir, and we also got the highest grade among all the groups. So my hard work was worth it.

"You look pale. Did you eat?" Jacob asked me.

I ignored him and just bowed my head. I felt even more tired, and I felt like sleeping all the time since I got out of the hospital. My body was giving up on me. This was from staying up late during the vacation. I really won't do that again, or I might just collapse next time.

"Eat." Jack placed a sandwich on my lap and left immediately. He's so grumpy, no wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend.

~To be continued...