Chapter 7: Surprises
1448 Words
"Why would you do that to me?" I asked, not trace of hostility in my voice as I played with the buttons on Nate's shirt. We were laying on his bed, cuddling with limbs entangled and I just felt so complete in that moment.
"I'm sorry." Nate replied, softly. The arm my head was extended to stroke my thick hair with it's fingers. I sighed, content.
"I was hurt. I thought I didn't matter to you." I confessed.
"You mean everything to me."
The sound of a door shutting jerked me awake and I groaned slightly, the little carpenters in my head aggressively showy they're hardworking. I sat up and reached out to my bottled water on the bedside table, taking a huge gulp.
I still felt like s**t.
And remembering what I dreamt of didn't help at all. Ew. I was too intimate with Nate and for what reason would I have that dream? The flu must be messing with my dream control center.
I cringed as I slipped out of bed and instantly regretting the decision. My door opened just as a dizzy wave made me fall back on my bed.
"Honey, what're you doing out of bed?" My mum rushed to me with a tray in hand. She placed it on the bedside and helped tuck me back into bed in a sitting position. I felt like an overgrown baby.
"I heard the door." I said as she put a bed table over my thighs then the tray on top. It's been 2 days since I'd been diagnosed with the flu and a fever and my mum has already gotten a bed table.
"Oh. That was a friend." She replied and I looked at her with raised eyebrows. True that my mum always encouraged me to socialize, and while I knew she probably did sometimes too, I've never really seen any of her friends. Does she even have any? She stays at home all day most times, drawing.
Like mother, like daughter.
I noticed her averting eyes and the pink blush on her paler skin. She finally looked at me.
"What's with that look?"
"You have friends?" I asked then rephrased to not make my mother feel like I thought she was also an antisocial gremlin like me. "You have people you talk to?"
"The second question did nothing to make me feel better about the first question." She deadpanned and I shrugged, taking a spoon of hot porridge.
"I tried."
"Uh yeah, I do."
"I'm surprised."
"And I'm offended." She lightly pinched my arm. "You have friends, why can't I?"
"I'm not saying... you can't." I sniffed with a light cough into my arm's crook, the porridge really made me feel good in a way only food can.
"Oh dear." My mum exclaimed at my little coughing fit. She would probably get infected soon, my immune was stronger than hers.
"I just mean, you're at home all day–"
"Not all day."
"—and I go to school, filled with people to meet. So you having friends is more surprising."
"Yeah..." She trailed off suspiciously and I narrowed my eyes at her. Then she stood up. "I have some things to go do, I'll come check up on you in some time."
"Don't bother." I sniffed.
"I will."
Then she left my room.
I didn't completely finish the porridge because my appetite at the moment was a tricky thing, so I left the tray at my bedside table and lay back down, kicking the bed table off me.
When I woke up again, it was because of some voices I heard and I caused myself for being such a light sleeper. I sat up and reached for my medicine, a lot that made my illness look more serious than it was. Even though she was just doing her job, I glared so much at the nurse that brought the prescribed medicine for me at the hospital. Like why was it so much?
I dragged back the bed table that found itself at the edge of my bed while wondering who visited. Mum's friend again?
"I think she's still asleep." I heard my mum whisper outside my door as it slowly opened then the voice I heard next lifted my spirits.
"Don't worry, ma'am. I'll just drop this and leave."
When the door opened, I saw my mum a little surprised to see me sitting up, mouthing a small "oh". Then I smiled weakly at Rosie.
She'd asked and I told her my address on w******p yesterday when I was strong enough to use my phone. I didn't know she would actually visit.
"Hey." She smiled, a plastic bag in her hand.
"Hey."
"Okay, I'll leave you two and go do mum things." My mum said and shuffled out.
Rosie laughed and walked towards me. "Your mum's cool."
I rolled my eyes. "Live with her first, such an adorably awkward human."
She smiled as she handed me the bag. "How're you feeling? You're missed."
I peeked inside and almost cried out of joy. A chocolate box and some cookies, no shortbread though. That reminds me....
"Well so much better now that you're here... with these." I raised the bag, grateful. "Thank you."
"It's nothing. Just get well soon." She patted my legs through the blanket. "A lot of people are asking about you."
A lot of people. What? I only interacted with Rosie and Aaron.
"Huh?" Was all I could get out.
"You're a mini celebrity." She joked and I rolled my eyes, expecting the names of people who asked about me. "Tara, Audrey from 10th grade, Phoebe, even Daniel Pierson did–do you talk to him?– a few other people."
"Huh?" I got out stupidly again.
I wasn't entirely sure what to be surprised about. Sure I knew the people she mentioned, however I didn't think it was enough for them to care about why I was absent. And Tara? Really. We were nothing close, just friendly smiles whenever she sees me, which I politely return. Audrey who I lent one of my novels and she exchanged hers with me too and that was our relationship. Daniel Pierson, a classmate in the basketball team–I also don't know why, I just helped him with a pencil one day.
"I think the sickness messed with your vocab." Rosie laughed lightly at my confusion. "I'm not sure if you noticed, but people like you. Maybe they have a thing for quiet, hot girls."
"Now you're just tripping." I rolled my eyes with a smile as I reached for my water bottle. Rosie reached it before me and gave it to me. "Thanks."
"Whatever you think doesn't change my own thoughts." She smiled. "By the way, Aaron's the one who got you the chocolate box. I tried to drag him to come but he wouldn't, something about feeling awkward."
"Oh really?" I said, emotional probably because of the flu. "I appreciate that so much."
"Of course you do." Rosie smirked ad I rolled my eyes again, squinting at a random, increased head pounding.
"I better leave you to rest." Rosie stood. "Be better by Monday or else."
I laughed. "Thanks for visiting. Tell Aaron I said thanks."
Rosie had a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Tell him yourself. Why haven't you two exchanges numbers?"
I sighed tiredly at her attempts. "Aargh Rosie."
"Don't aargh me." She was about to say something else then she stopped. Then spoke again. "Did I tell you Nate asked about you when I left the nurse's office?"
And again... "Huh?"
She rolled her eyes at my vocabulary depletion. "He said he was 'casually passing' and saw us heading into the office, then asked what's wrong."
"Oh."
"I was surprised too but told him you'd just puked your guts out–"
"That was not a necessary information."
"–and your mum was on the way." She gave me a side eye. "Still nothing between you two?"
I took out my medicine pills on the bed table. "There's nothing. He was just concerned probably."
"Probably." Rosie mimicked then sighed dramatically. "Okay. If you still don't want to tell me, okay."
I was amused. "You make it seem like I'm forcefully taking an important part of your life and you have no say."
"Aren't you?." She continued with her dramatics the started leaving. "See you when I see you."
I laughed. "Thanks for visiting again."
When she left, I was allowed to bask in the confused mess that was my thoughts, and came to one realization.
It had to be Nate who left me the Shortbread cookies.
- Writer
