16|| Concussions, Confessions and Confusing Conversations

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Chapter 16: Concussions, Confessions and Confusing Conversations


Don't tell me to let my mind wander. It has already wandered, and it just hasn't come back to me yet.


~Starlight24


"How are you feeling, Sweetie?" cooed Mom from next to me, leaning onto the bed next to a guilty pair of boys- Jase and Max.


"Like living hell," I replied, genuinely meaning it. My head was throbbing and I'd budded a beautiful bruise on my forehead.


"Well on the bright side, at least she's talking now!" Max said, trying to cheer Mom up from her protective state. Mom gave him a nasty look before fawning over me again. Any hope that I'd had about them getting along had suddenly disappeared.


Jase remained silent, with a more stubborn look lining his jaw.


I stared up at the fan, dizzying myself further. The thin, white hospital sheets lay on my body like a second layer of skin and the area smelt of Purell and air freshener. There was a hamper of chocolates and goodies from my friends on a small coffee table by the bedside, who'd visited in the morning when I was still conked out.


"My head hurts," I groaned, rubbing my forehead, feeling the bluish lump on my head.


"Well you shouldn't have gotten in the middle of something that clearly didn't need your barging in. And I mean the literal barging in, Day." I could see the hardness in Jase's eyes, and I didn't know why but it squeezed my heart like nothing else. He was mad at me. He always was, and it was really irritating.


With that, he got up from his seat and walked out, slamming the door as he went.
"And that's exactly how you have to treat someone after slamming them into a lamppost." Max's dry words comforted me a tad bit.


"I'm fine," I lied, trying to get up but failing as I fell back onto the bed, feeling the blinding pain that shot through my temples push me back.


"Max, maybe you should leave," Mom told him kindly, ushering him towards the door. "Day's already going through a lot, and with you around she's just exerting herself even more, Sweetie. Thanks for dropping by, though." I'm sure Mom didn't mean it, but it came out ruder than it should have.


Max smiled. "I wouldn't have left Day there bleeding even if the world was ending. She is and always will be my number one priority, Mrs. Winters." With that, he strutted out of the room like a peacock, leaving Mom looking at me with her eyebrows raised.


"Aw," she told me after Max had left. "Look who has an admirer!" Mom teased. Although she didn't like me going to parties and was pretty strict when it came to rule-breaking and drinking or even watching movies that everyone watched, she was pretty cool when it came to subjects like this.


I blushed. "No," I informed her, trying to look appalled but failing epically. "Just no. That's disgusting and sick and totally not true and—" I began a ranting session when Mom- knowing me too well to encourage it- cut me off.


"And look who has an itty-bitty-tiny crush on Max Edmonds!" she squealed like a teenage girl. "It's okay, Day. He's a smart boy and I like his mother. So when is the marriage? What are the plans? What is the future baby's name going to be?" she asked, and I face-palmed. The sad thing is, I forgot that I had a concussion and ended up wailing in pain. This was so embarrassing.


The nurse decided to save me from the awkward conversation about my boyfriend. "You have visitors, Miss. Winters. Would you like me to send them in, or are you in no condition to exert yourself?" she asked politely.


"No, she's in no condition to—" began Mom, anxious to get back to our conversation.


"Send them in," I smirked, knowing I'd wriggled my way out of this. Mom mouthed, 'This isn't over, young lady,' before I saw my newest visitors swarm in.


"DAY, OH MY GOODNESS YOU STUPID GIRL!" yelled Deeds, before flinging her arms around me. "You clumsy little pig-head, I love you so much! Why do you go around doing this to yourself?" she asked, concern swimming in her eyes.


"Jase told us what happened, you idiot," Hailey grinned, hugging me after Deeds decided to let go (I had to push her off, by the way). "Don't go around blabbering the fact that you and Max are a thing in front of Jase, who is obviously jealous of it and took it for granted that you'd like him." She decided to blurt this in front of my Mom. Way to go, Hails! I totally needed to get back at you for this.


Mom's jaw dropped. I'm not even kidding. I think the hinges broke and left it hanging in midair.


Did they stop, though? No, my wonderful friends decided to continue on the same topic, getting steamier and steamier. They were the walking dead. Once I got better, someone had better plan out their funerals.


"So, you and Max are an item, huh?" asked Marie, looking at me with disappointment. "I told you Jase was more your type, and yet you had to go all lust-eyed over Max when he's such a weird-ass geek kid who creeps the hell out of me." She clicked her tongue in disbelief, but I was too shocked to be angry, and my gaze was solely on Mom, who was trying to grasp this flood of information.


"Guys, I'm not dating Max," I lied evasively, biting my tongue in embarrassment and absently picking at a stray lock of hair and avoiding Mom's intense look of shock.


"Don't bullshit us, Day," Deeds said, winking at me. I groaned and hid my face under the covers. They thought I was afraid to admit it to them. Couldn't those blind dumbos look around for a moment and see my Mom sitting right across me with a distorted expression on her face? "We all know the truth."


"Not all of us, evidently," Mom said, and the three of them froze and turned to face my mom who had her hands on her hips. "Thanks for informing me though, girls." She glared at me for a minute, and then she burst out laughing.


"Uh..." Hailey looked around awkwardly and then ran out of the room.


"Sorry, she just can't handle awkward situations!" Marie apologized, before dashing after her.


"Thanks for ditching me and leaving me with the Winters!" Deeds yelled, and Mom actually laughed as well. She seemed happier than she was to begin with.


"I'm so proud of you!" Mom exclaimed, hugging me. Huh!? Well, this worked too, I guess...
"I was wondering when you'd both realize how doe-eyed you were around each other."


I gasped loudly, and Deeds looked like she'd been hit on the bridge of her nose by a sledgehammer. "So you're not mad, then? Wow! My mom didn't talk to me for a week when she found out Dylan and I were dating!" she exclaimed, and my mom actually laughed again. This was getting mildly ridiculous now.


Then Deeds pursed her lips at the mention of Dylan, and I didn't blame her.


Hailey walked back in with Marie holding her by the ear, and I resisted the urge to burst out laughing as she stared at us dolefully and tried to yank herself out of Marie's grasp.


"Hey again!" Marie screeched because she was battling Hailey. Except it came out more effusively than she'd intended it to be, but I knew it wasn't on purpose because Marie couldn't be effusive to save her life. "Sorry. Hailey. Is. Being. A. Nuisance." She managed to say as she pulled Hailey into the room forcefully, sounding more like she was going through an asthma attack.


"Hailey it's okay, dearie," Mom coaxed. "I'm not going to eat you, I swear." Life would've been simpler if Hailey wasn't acting like a two year old.


"But I don't even care about Day's stupid relationship!" she muttered plaintively. "I also don't wanna get busted by her for accidently blurting out these secrets in front of her mom!"


I face palmed. Only my friends were capable of being so stupid. And then I hit my bruised area when I face palmed. This was why I was friends with stupid people; because I was just as stupid.


"Hey!" came a sudden voice, snapping us all out of our weird small-talk daze. "Marie, Deirdre and Hails, I don't have all day." I laughed because whoever this uninvited guest was, he'd said all of our names including my own without meaning to. "So get your lazy butts here."


I craned my neck to see the boy, and he took my breath away. Literally, because I was connected to these pipes because I'd been conked out and not breathing. So these pipes had some oxygen supply and one of them snapped, so I was gasping for air like a retarded guppy.


He had brown, floppy hair. I have a weird thing for floppy hair. His eyes were sparkly olive and his hair was light and streaked, probably because of sunlight. He had an easy, lazy smile and a strong jawline, partnered with a defined set of cheekbones.


He held the door open making Marie and Deeds blush, avoiding eye contact with him. It was funny how they did that, considering the fact that they were two of the most confident people I knew. He was wearing a tight shirt, and as he stretched to keep the door open I got a full view of his abs. He had an athletic build and wore a red shirt and black shorts, along with a pair of spikes. Who wore spikes to a hospital? The world would always be a mystery to me.


Hails was the only one who didn't seem to be melting under this boy's looks. "Thanks a lot, Damon," she groaned, giving him the stink eye. "You just ruined our quality time with Day. She's gotten badly hurt." She pointed to my head. I'd not seen how my head looked, but judging by the way Damon whistled with his eyes open wide I was guessing it wasn't good.


"Who's that?" I asked politely, realizing my voice was husky. Damon must've realized that he had me tongue-tied as well, and he gave me a flirty smirk which I dismissed. I was in a relationship with Max. I should really stop gawking at strangers.


"Hi, nice to meet you," he replied, pulling his right hand out of his shorts and walking towards me for a hand-shake, leaving a grumbling Hailey at the door. "I'm Hailey's..." he paused, glancing at her. Something weird flickered between them— a look of fear and awkwardness. "I'm Hailey's brother, Damon."


Insert my weird intake of breath.
They looked as similar as a dinosaur and a block of cheddar cheese. And that's putting it lightly.


"Oh, cool," I said, not knowing what else to say to that.


Something was up, and I could feel the tension in the air like a shroud of fog. "So we'll be going, then," Hailey told me, and I nodded. I knew her well enough to know she was indirectly telling me that we'd talk about the weird exchange later. Well, she'd better be saying that, because I'd pester her to death if she wasn't indicating that.


Mom left the room too ("Honey, I'm gonna go get some water, okay?"), and I was left to the buzzing of my phone, which I picked up and decided to look at.


I'd gotten 50 messages from the same Popcorned fellow. Why was I not surprised?


Popcorned: Omg, did THE STARLIGHT24 just reply to me? I must be having freaking hallucinations.


After 49 more random messages...


Popcorned: Hey, I think I'm being creepy. So I might as well just say hi like a normal, civilized person. I'm sorry, I'm usually more mature but this is kinda exciting. Now I'm being creepy again.


I smiled. It was nice to know I was so loved.


Starlight24: It's okay, you're not being creepy. Okay, you kinda are. I'm sorry but I was taught to not lie xD but I guess we could just be friends without you hyperventilating like a penguin who's just tasted an ice cream, okay?


I guess that would make his day (haha, see what I did there?).


Suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts was a bang on the door and a startled Jase falling in. He looked embarrassed, and his black hair was curling around his temples and behind his left ear. His shocking blue eyes were sprinkled with... concern? Was he... embarrassed about how he'd acted?


"Hi," I said, breaking the ice a bit. I got up, feeling a bit better. I was still wearing the clothes I had been wearing when a got hurt- a tight striped black and white V-neck tee along with navy blue skinny jeans. My cartoon converse had been thrown across the room and was against the white walls of the hospital.


I walked towards the bathroom, hearing Jase awkwardly shuffle behind me. I smirked lightly to myself, knowing how rare it was for someone like Jase to be thrown off his usual swagger and confident air.


I gasped as I saw the bruise shining back at me. It made my forehead spear out like an arrow with a purplish-blue bruise brewing and spilling out the crusty, dried up maroon blood.


Okay, I think that was a bit too graphic. Forget I mentioned that and erase the scarring image.


Jase coughed behind me to get my attention, and I quickly covered the screaming wound with my blonde bangs. On second thoughts, I'll leave the gaping wounds open just so he could see what he'd done; to give him something to cringe about. Yep, I was an evil sadist like that.


"So look who decided to show up after storming out for no apparent reason?" I said, my voice carrying a heavy note of condescendingness (yes I know that isn't a word but I invented it, okay?). It was hard to look at someone like they were insignificant dirt when they were ten feet taller than you.


Jase grimaced and rubbed the nape of his neck awkwardly. It was a huge habit of his. Don't ask why I'd noticed this.


"Sorry," he said, his voice deeper than usual. "I... I didn't mean to overreact like that. I was being a huge asshole. I- I guess I didn't think you'd date Max because he kinda pisses the shit out of me, y'know?" he said, looking genuinely apologetic.


"And why'd I take your opinion into consideration?" I asked sardonically.


"Shut your cynical face up and listen for a minute." Jase looked at me with an annoyed expression. He was pretty good at deadpanning, I'd noticed. "So basically, I'm sorry. I know you probably won't talk to me again and stuff but please don't... uh... don't let anything happen to us as friends and stuff. Okay I sound like a soppy wimp, so I'm gonna take that back. Forgive me if you want to, and if not, that's fine by me." He was rambling. I'd never known Jase to ramble. It was kind of funny, really.


"You don't even know Max. Why does he piss you off?" I countered, avoiding his apology.


"I... We have a history. It's weird and I don't want to bore you with it." He sighed, and took a rugged intake of breath before running his fingers through his black hair.


"Okay," I said perkily, smiling wide at him. "I'm okay!"


"That's it I needed to do?" he asked, groaning. "You're an easy person to sway, doll."


It had been a while since he'd called me doll. I almost missed it. I didn't like being called a pushover, though. "Oh, thanks for telling me that," I grumbled. "Now I'm expecting more." I put my hands on my hips and he grinned impishly.


"Thank god," he said, grinning and he held out a huge bar of Ghirardelli sea salt caramel from a pocket in his denim jeans. I gasped and grabbed it like an excited urchin who'd never seen food.


"Ohmigosh! Thanks so much!" I shrieked, and Jase covered his ears because of my overenthusiastic response, but I could see his usual smirk playing its way up his lips.


"I was afraid you wouldn't like chocolate," he shrugged, ruffling his hair and rubbing the nape of his neck. He did that a lot when he was feeling awkward.


"I'm not the biggest fan of chocolate, but I am the biggest fan of sea salted caramel," I informed him, nibbling a bit of the edge and allowing the sticky, gooey goodness to coat my tongue. This was heaven.


"Okay, I'll get going now. I need to pick up my cousins from the airport and stuff," he said, sauntering towards the door and turning back to leave his intense and heavy gaze on me. It lingered there for a moment, and I was taken aback by the emotions laced in them that I couldn't quite understand. There was confusion, hurt and adoration. It was weird.


"Okay," I sad, my voice muffled because the caramel had clamped my mouth down a bit. I felt like Pooh Bear when he ate all of Rabbit's honey. Ah, we could relate.


I watched as he disappeared, his lanky yet athletic stature disappearing behind the door. I wonder if Max would've ever done something like that for me. I wonder if creepy Jase wasn't that creepy after all.


A/N:



Pic of Day again! That's the sad black and white shirt that died xD


Hey ya'll,


I know I said I wouldn't update, but I decided to be nice. YOU'RE WELCOME!


Best comment gets a dedication!


Song of the Day: Like I Would by Zayn Malik


Teaser: Sometimes, touchy topics are best left un-talked about, don't you think?


Any thoughts on this chapter? How'd you like it? Day's mom? Jase's weirdness?


600th vote gets a dedication!


Thanks so much for your constant support, guys! Again, anyone wants a shoutout? Feel free to ask!


Love you all,


~Lexi



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