Icon of the Indecisive #3 of 3 (COMPLETE)

Chapter 20

Justin and I each got our own clinic bed, and we lay there alone together for a few minutes, when Ms. Farrah and the nurse excused themselves to discuss what they would do next.

I knew as soon as I saw him brought in that what happened to him was what had happened to me—except it happened to me a few hours before.

"Who was it, Justin?" I asked, without even introducing myself. We didn't have time for small talk.

"Jessica's brother," he said, groaning into a pillow, much like I did last night. "I don't know why... He said she's pregnant..."

"She is," I said.

"Shit."

"Exactly. Do you know her brother?"

"What? No. I don't—never even met him. But I know he's a politician." He twisted with difficulty so he could look at me. "I'm dead, right? He'll kill me."

The question directed at me was full of fear, and guilt. But it had love underneath it, and that was how he let me in.

* * *

He liked her first, was how he rationalized it.

Jessica was the stunning one, and he did approach them at the wine society party that first time because he wanted to get to know her. But when one conversation turned to two, and three, and more talking, he discovered that he couldn't take how loud she was. And how unsophisticated some of her opinions were, despite the money and education she grew up with. He was glad that he had never said anything that first time, because he at least got to meet Marlee too; she was always with Jessica.

Marlee. So witty, and soft-spoken, and loving of her friend without being submissive to her in any way. Justin and Marlee bonded over long phone conversations, or just keeping a chat window open as they studied and killed time online. He preferred being with Marlee and was smart enough to choose her.

But he was still attracted to Jessica.

She sensed it, early on. He was sure that he would have never had a chance with her, except Marlee finding him interesting actually made Jessica want him. Marlee never talked about it but there was some history between them he didn't understand.

They first kissed on Marlee's birthday. There was a small dinner with her family and friends, but she didn't want her parents to know just yet that they were together. It was one of Marlee's quirks, she just asked him to trust her on it, so he enjoyed the dinner sitting across from her, not being able to hold her hand even. Jessica sat to his right and was extremely touchy, to the point that Mrs. Manansala, Marlee's mother, figured that they were together. It was awkward.

He drove Jessica home. She claimed to be tipsy but she started being touchy way before the wine. He was feeling frustrated over being a non-boyfriend on such an important day, or maybe he just needed to vent, but she kissed him and he let her.

It got worse from there.

Oh god Marlee shit oh god Marlee

* * *

"What happened to you?" Justin asked.

"I fell," I said.

The nurse peeked into our little room and said that they were going to take Justin to the hospital now. He wondered aloud if I should be brought along, but upon checking my bruises, he noticed that they weren't the same shade as earlier.

"This is weird," he said. "Did you notice that they're fading?"

"I think I just bruise easily," I said, but my voice shook a little. It was getting harder to act like this was normal. "It goes away really quickly."