Betting on You

38

t h i r t y e i g h t

"Madeline?"

"Hm?" I rose my head from the hospital pillow, turning towards the door and seeing my father peeking his head through its opening. There was a sad smile on his face as he looked me over.

"You have a visitor."

"Oh," I sat up slowly, letting out a sigh, "Is it Jaime? She said she'd try and come by after lunch with her family."

My dad shook his head lightly, opening the door further and revealing the mystery guest, "No, but this young man says he's a friend of yours."

A second before my father opened the door my heart palpitated, my entire being filling with dread at the thought of my blonde next-door neighbour coming to see me when it's the last thing I wanted.

Thankfully it wasn't him, which allowed me to breathe a bit easier. But I was still not at all excited to see Calum Hood in the doorway to my hospital room.

"Calum...?" my voice was soft, almost a whisper and my father made space for him to enter the room before he gave me a fleeting glance and closed the door, leaving Calum and me alone together.

"Hi, Maddy."

It had been only a day since I had been admitted, making it Saturday afternoon. No one but Jaime and...him, knew about me being here. And Harmony, too. But, she hadn't come by to see me when Aunt Marge did earlier this morning, nor did Aunt Marge really mention why. She said Harm had something to do today and might come by later this evening when my dad would come and see me again after dinner. I wasn't holding her to it, though.

Mother, at least, had come to see me this morning when Dad did, and she was less harsh than she had been last night. Granted, she wasn't doing a lot of talking, but the fact that she showed up, sat by my bed, and even held my hand while my father and I conversed was enough for me.

After I had called Jaime last night, she said she would come and see me as soon as she could. I had told her pretty much everything: When I first started cutting and why, what happened to get me into the hospital, and the who behind it as well. She was furious -- even more so at the possibility that Michael, Calum, and Ashton were in on it too.

Which is why I wasn't the most excited at being faced with Calum right now.

"What.. what are you doing here?" I furrowed my brows into a frown, shifting so that the extra blanket that I had draped over my shoulders was covering my bandaged arms, "How do you even know that I'm... actually, I'm not at all surprised."

At the harsh insinuation, Calum shifted his weight between his feet. He was wearing black sweatpants and a black hoodie, looking out of place and like it wasn't even his idea to be here. It probably wasn't.

When he didn't say anything for a moment, I looked away, scoffing, "He just seems to tell you everything, doesn't he."

"Maddy.."

I whipped my head back around to face him, feeling ire burn in my blood, "What have I ever done to you?" I rhetorically asked, "I thought that at least you and I were friends or something but... what did I ever do to you?"

Calum took a step forward, sadness swimming in his eyes, "I didn't know-"

"That I'm some depressed freak?" I spat at him, "Why is knowing about my mental state supposed to affect how you treat me? I'm a human being all the same, aren't I?"

"I didn't know about the bet," he rushed instead, shaking his head, "I didn't know about this bet."

I narrowed my glare, "I don't believe you."