Little Miss Babysitter

-- 31 --

I was chewing a piece of celery when he said it. My mouth hung open, and little bits of green came splurging out the side of my lip.

Jason looked at me with a pained expression, his finger knitted behind his neck.

He can't be serious. He can't be.

The roof of my mouth dried, and I felt as if I was drowning. As if the sheets were strangled around my head, shutting out all noise and sights.

"Ela!"

I shook my head, clearing my mind. Finding Jason at my side with his bright aura wafting over me, I felt myself begin to sweat. I needed to get out.

"Uh..." My voice cracked. I took a shaky sip of water from the cup on my bedside table. "Um."

"I know that you're dating Nate. Don't worry, I perfectly get that. Crystal clear. It's just that... Being with Russell made me realize how utterly boring guys are, and something clicked a while ago. Something... I wish I could be more descriptive. It's beyond words, Ela." He rambled, grasping my hands in his bear claws. Locking sights, he said honestly, "I want you to know that no matter what, I will never leave you. I will never treat you badly, and to top it all off, I want you to know that I lo--"

"What's taking so long?" Rog roared as he pranced inside. He took one glimpse at our compromising position, and stopped mid-stride. "Uh..."

"It's not what it looks like." I blurted, freeing myself from Jasons. Kneading my hands beneath the blanket, I glanced around warily. "I, I..."

"Mrs. Fischer says it's time to go." Rog jerked a thumb over his shoulder, watching as Jason limped out of the room like a wounded puppy. He stopped in his tracks as he reached the door, and glanced over his shoulder. I could see all of the pent up sadness in his eyes, how much he wanted to stick around and vent all of his feelings. But I couldn't give him that satisfaction. Sadly.

He'd have to remain like that. My heart belonged to only one guy, and it wasn't Jason.

"Rog, wait." I called out as Rog neared the door. "How's... How's Taya?"

He swivelled around, and took a hesitant next to my bed. His cold eyes skimmed my face, his eyebrows flicking up. "Never better."

"That's... Nice." I clacked my tongue atop my teeth. He stood. "I know about you two."

He chuckled. "I sort of figured. Girls tell each other everything."

I bit my lip and listened to the clock tick on the wall. After a moment of scrutiny, he walked soundlessly over to the door and clasped the knob between his fingers. Pausing, he said, "Get better, Ela."

And with that, he left.

❀❀❀❀❀❀

I scribbled Ela where the following was given: Name. Under date, I wrote February 6th, 2012.

It was fabulous that the day I get back from the hospital, I have a math test. Words I didn't even know existed on the page, the amount of black intimidating me out of my skin.

I tapped the eraser end of my no. 2 pencil on the sheet, and let my eyes wander across the classroom. Everyone seemed to be focused on their tests, scrawling the first things that came to mind. I suppose.

One of the kids across the room had black circles scribbled on his eyelids as he snorted in his sleep. You couldn't quite tell that his eyes weren't open upon first glance, so it appeared as if he was focusing intently. How smart! I should do that.

Mr. Macafoos typed loudly on his computer, only halting when his train of thought would falter.

I puffed my bangs out of my face, and gently laid my pencil on my desk. Gathering the papers, I brought them up to his desk. Mr. Macafoos averted his attention from his desktop to the contents of my hands, and his eyebrows shot up almost immediately. He shuffled through the noisy papers, and his under eyelid twitched.