:A Surreptitious Relationship: Chapter Thirty-Six

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My nose wrinkled up in disgust as I entered the hospital, the putrid smell stinking up the air. All that medical cleanliness mixed together really left an unmistakable scent in the air. It was almost as bad as nursing homes. To make it worse, it was pouring rain outside, so that scent mingled into it as well.

“If you don’t like it, why are we here?” Chris demanded moodily, doing his best to ignore the receptionist that was definitely checking him out.

“I told you, Chris,” I responded, rounding on him with a frown and my hands on my hips. “Aaron’s practically helpless in that bed. Even if it’s in a public place like a hospital, Shawn could somehow get to him.”

Chris turned his nose up at me. “It’s not our business.”

“Stop being a brat.”

“Coming from someone five years younger than me.”

“Four and some months,” I corrected stubbornly. “And just so you know, you saying that makes you sound like an old man.”

He scowled, slowly advancing on me. “You little…”

Laughing, I ducked under his outstretched arms and jogged over to the receptionist, who gave me the impression she’d realized Chris wasn’t free. “We’re here to see Aaron Lemaiy,” I told her, pointing back at Chris. “Holly Evers and Chris Heywood.”

“Okay, I’ll just need you to sign in,” she responded, pushing a clipboard toward me. “Please remember visiting hours close at four today.”

“Really?” I said brightly. That meant we only had to be here for two hours before it was safe to leave!

Grumbling under his breath, Chris signed the paper before handing me the pen he was using. Carelessly, I scribbled down my name. It was barely readable, but I could care less. They never checked the papers anyway. After we received the O.K to head up to his room, I grabbed Chris’s hand and led the way.

“Now be nice,” I ordered in a scolding tone, holding my finger to his face.

He rolled his eyes, pushing my hand away. “Stop treating me like a child.”

“I’m doing it so you don’t act like one.”

“You know why I do it, Holly.”

My hard expression softened and I gave his hand a squeeze. “I know, but you can’t keep a grudge forever.”

“It won’t be for forever,” he replied, shaking his head. “Just until I feel like he’s made everything up to you. Although it will take awhile. There’s nothing he can do to make up for the words those… girls said to you,” he finished, obviously omitting a vulgar word and using girls instead.

I stood on my tiptoes so I could give him a quick kiss on the lips. “Thank you, Chris.”

He waved his hand in dismissal, immediately turning his head away from me. “You don’t need to thank me.”

Brushing my bangs out of my face, I turned back to Aaron’s room and knocked before opening the door. “Hello!” I chirped cheerfully.

“Holly! Hi!”

I blinked, my eyes snapping to Aaron. He just stared blankly at me. His expression didn’t match the sound of his voice…

“Over here!”

I turned my head, my gaze now landing on Lexi. She grinned and waved. “What are you doing here?” I inquired, furrowing my eyebrows. “I thought you were going on a date with Lance today…?”

“I am,” she told me, gesturing toward her outfit. Even though it was just a simple light blue tunic and black leggings, she made it look stunning. Of course. “I just came to see Aaron for a little bit. It’s lonely at home by myself.”

I frowned now. Lance had texted me an hour ago saying he was leaving for his date with her. “When were you two supposed to meet?”

She cocked her head to the side. “Hmm, around one.”

“Lexi! It’s two now!”

“So?”

I gaped at her. “So? What do you mean so?”

“If he really cares about me, he’ll wait.”

Was she being serious? By the expression on her face I could tell she was. I turned around to give a look of disbelief to Chris, only to see he wasn’t there. Confusion swirled in my mind and I returned my attention to Lexi, who was smiling at me again. “Wait, wait,” I started, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. “Where were you supposed to meet him?”

“The park.”

“Lexi!”

“What?” she asked, her eyes widening in surprise at my tone.

“It’s raining!” I told her angrily. “You’re making him wait out in the rain?

Aaron smirked from his bed. “I told you, Holly—”

“Shut up, Aaron,” I snapped, my eyes flickering to him for a moment before narrowing at Lexi. “What are you thinking, Lexi? If you told him you were going to meet him an hour ago, you should be there! Not here!”

“I don’t see the problem,” she responded, crossing her arms. “I’m just seeing how long he’ll wait for me.”

“That’s not right!” I cried. She would not get away with doing that to my best friend! “Lance is my best friend! He really cares about you and I’ve been supporting him all along! I thought you were better than that!”

She gazed at me thoughtfully. “He told you he cares about me?”

“You have no idea how excited he was about this date,” I informed her, clenching my fists. “He has literally been talking about it all week! And now you’re making him wait in the rain for you? I can’t believe you! He doesn’t deserve that! Call him and tell him you’re not coming!”

“I hardly doubt he’s there,” she said in an offhand voice.

I narrowed my eyes. “He’s there.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I was the one who he came to when he wanted to talk about you!” I retorted, clenching my jaw. “He’s definitely there. Waiting for you to come. How do you feel, Lexi? Does it make you feel better to know a poor guy is twisted around your finger so much as to the point he’ll wait in the rain for you? Tell him you’re not coming. Right now.”

“But—”

“No buts! You can play around with any other guy you want, but not my best friend!” I interjected, doing my best to control my anger before I slapped her across the face. My shoulders were shaking with angry breaths. Lance didn’t deserve this! He really cared about her!

“I told you she was a whore,” Aaron commented tauntingly in the background.

I didn’t disagree this time. It was different when it came to my best friend. I couldn’t overlook this. It wasn’t right! He was so excited! A lump formed in my throat, but I forcefully swallowed it back.

Slowly, Lexi took out her phone. To me, it looked like she was on the verge of tears. I watched as she dialed on the keypad before putting it to her ear. After a few seconds of silence an incoherent voice was heard on the other end. “Lance?” she started, her voice scratchy.

 I held my breath, trying to listen. Unfortunately I couldn’t hear what was being said on the other side of the phone. However, it seemed to shock Lexi. Her eyes were as round as saucers.

“N-no, I’m okay,” she told him quietly, her eyes dropping to the floor. “Yeah, I’m fine. Nothing happened. Where are you?”

Another moment of silence.

Lexi took a sharp inhale of breath. “In the rain?” she cried. “Why? Why didn’t you leave? Or go back inside?”

Feeling a little smug, I lifted up my head. I mean, it was a bad thing Lance waited the whole time, but at least I knew my best friend.

“No! No! I’m coming,” Lexi notified him, shuffling from her spot in the corner of the room over to the chair by me where her jacket was. “Yeah, I’m on my way.”

“Lexi,” I started in a disapproving voice. She was supposed to be telling him she wasn’t going. Not that she was.

Her eyes met mine and she sent me an apologetic look. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, her eyes smoldering. After a moment she broke her gaze away from mine. “I’m really sorry, Lance. I’m leaving now. Yeah, no. Don’t worry about it. It’s my fault. I’m sorry. Dinner’s on me. I’ll see you soon.”

I shifted uncomfortably, watching as she hung up her phone. “What are you doing?” I demanded.

“I’m sorry, Holly, I didn’t expect him to wait for me,” she began, shaking her head. “In the rain too! And you know what he asked me when I called? If I was okay! Me! When he’s the one standing in the rain waiting for me!”

“Yeah, that’s just the type of person Lance is,” I responded irritatedly. “He’s also the type to be stupid enough to not care about this matter and will overlook it if you do it again too.”

She shook her head vigorously. “It won’t happen again!”

“Can I trust you?”

“Please,” she begged. “You’re the only one who’s ever stood up for me, Holly. I get it. I get it now. I don’t like being called a whore. I’ll stop! I won’t do it again!”

“She’ll do it again,” Aaron cut in.

“I won’t!” she cried in denial. “I won’t! Please don’t think of me that way, Holly.”

For a few moments I was silent. “Lance likes Reese’s cups,” I finally stated.

She blinked at me. “What?”

“Lance. He likes Reese’s cups. A lot.”

“I…”

“One time I accidentally got gum in his hair,” I told her, smiling at the memory. “You know what I got him in order to get him to forgive me?”

She frowned. “Reese’s cups.”

I nodded. “Yeah.”

“Oh!” she gasped in realization. “Okay! Reese’s cups? Thanks!” Without warning, she tackled me into a hug, squeezing me roughly. “I’ll make this up to you, I promise!”

“Make it up to Lance,” I wheezed. “I can’t breathe.”

Grinning sheepishly, she let me go. “Sorry! I’ve gotta go now! See you guys later! Bye Aaron!”

“Later,” he grunted.

As soon as she was out of the room and the door was closed, I let out a sigh. “She’s a handful.”

“Where’s your trusty steed?” Aaron questioned. “Doesn’t he follow you everywhere?”

“Are you talking about Chris?” I responded, cocking an eyebrow. “Trusty steed? What?”

He gave me a flat look. “Yes, Mr. Heywood. Where is he?”

“He was here before,” I told him, frowning. “Maybe he went to the vending machines to get M&Ms or something.”

As if on cue the door opened and in waltzed Chris, a package of M&Ms in hand. Both Aaron and I exchanged startled glances before I started laughing and he smirked. Chris eyed us warily. “What?”

“Where’d you go?”

“Well Lexi was in here and I thought it’d be a bad idea…” he trailed off, shooting a brief look at Aaron. “She might get the wrong idea,” he finished carefully.

Aaron rolled his eyes. “She’s stupider than me. If I know nothing is going on, she’ll think that too.”

At that moment I kind of felt bad for the poor bloke. He didn’t know it, but he’d basically just insulted himself. While I managed to contain any thing that would make me look amused, Chris smirked. This didn’t go unnoticed by Aaron.

“What?” he demanded.

Chris shrugged. “Nothing.”

“It’s obviously something!”

“You just look good in white.”

I gaped at Chris before turning back to Aaron, who was giving him the death glare. Did he know? There was no way he could know! I shot a look at Aaron, trying to silently tell him I didn’t tell Chris. Aaron didn’t seem to notice. “Don’t make fun of me!”

“I’m not,” he responded nonchalantly.

“Chris,” I started in a warning tone.

He smirked again.

I sighed. “Sorry, Aaron. Just ignore him. Sometimes he gets his kicks by acting like a five year old.”

“Yeah, really shows his true age,” Aaron agreed sharply.

“At least I’m past the point of hitting girls.”

I ran a hand over my face. Maybe having these two in the same room wasn’t such a great idea.

“You’re so annoying!” Aaron snapped, sitting up in his bed. “Ow! Damn it!

Chris chuckled evilly. “Don’t disrespect your elders.”

“I’ll do what I want! And tell Mr. Ross to stop coming by! He’s as annoying as hell! He never shuts up!”

“We’re just trying to help,” I told him, frowning. “I know Jeremy is as little… out there, but you’ll have to put up with him.”

“Out there?” he repeated skeptically. “He’s from planet Idiot!”

Chris nodded. “I have to agree with you there.”

“He’s not that bad,” I protested, but a smile was slipping onto my face anyway. “He did tell me you gave him a pretty convincing apology.”

“That’s because he threatened to… Never mind.”

Now I was interested. “Wait, tell us. What did he threaten?”

“Nothing!” Aaron said, looking away from me. “Shut up. You’re annoying. Go away.”

“I’ll be here for the next two hours,” I informed him, dragging the chair that was behind me closer to his bed. “You can tell me when you feel like it.”

He jutted his chin. “I won’t tell.”

“So have you gotten any text messages or anything?” I asked, deciding to change the topic. “Or have you heard from Shawn at all?”

“No,” he replied in a hard voice. “I don’t care either.”

I frowned a little bit. Aaron still felt hurt? A week had already passed…Well, I guess without being apologized too the feelings would linger. “Aside from Mikey, do you know anyone else that’s out of jail?”

“There’s this one other guy, Ronnie, but I don’t think you know him—”

“I know him,” Chris interjected, crossing his arms. “I haven’t heard that name in awhile though. I thought he moved to Europe.”

“How do you know him?”

Inside, I panicked a little. That was right. Aaron didn’t know about Chris being in a gang. “H-he knows him from—”

“I used to be in the same gang,” Chris said, frowning. “Shawn must have told you I was a part of the gang.”

“He didn’t.”

“He didn’t?” I repeated in surprise.

Aaron clenched his fists. “Apparently he didn’t tell me a lot. How long were you in the gang for?”

“Long enough,” Chris told him vaguely. “Shawn’s always hated me.”

“I thought you two were just rivals in high school or something,” he admitted. Suddenly his eyes widened in realization. “Don’t tell me…”

“Gang leader, yep,” Chris cut in nonchalantly, checking out his fingernails. “Now that I told you that, tell me something.”

“What?”

“I saw myself that Mikey was in jail,” he started. “Holly saw it too. It was in the newspapers. Remember, Holly?”

My jaw nearly dropped. “Wait! You’re right! How is that possible if he was the one who attacked Aaron?”

“If you’re trying to say I lied—”

Chris shook his head. “No, I believe you. I’m just saying something’s wrong here. How did Mikey avoid going to jail?”

“Well there was no picture,” I pointed out.

“You still need to show identification.”

Aaron sunk into his bed with a harsh exhale. “Shawn’s somehow abnormal.”

“Everything about him is abnormal,” I corrected, feeling uncomfortable. “We have to be really careful. Maybe Mikey has a brother… Oh. Oh no.”

“Oh no?” the boys echoed.

“Let’s just say Mikey does have a brother and that’s who went to jail,” I began, swallowing nervously. “That shows that Shawn doesn’t care if he uses the family of those people involved…”

Realization dawned in Aaron’s eyes. He shot up immediately, clenching his fists. “Ow! Come on!”

Chris snorted.

“Be serious, Chris,” I scolded. “Think about it.”

“He’d go after Lexi,” Aaron stated angrily.

It made me happy that he sounded upset. That just proved that even if he acted like he didn’t care about his sister, he secretly did.

“But why would he go after he?”

“I’m not saying he will,” I responded, scratching my neck. “I’m just thinking. If he has some reason to, that just means he won’t hesitate in going after her…” Unsettled, I glanced out the window, where the rain was pouring. Lance had been shot on a day like this.

Without warning, a hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped, turning my head up to see Chris gazing down at me with a small smile. “Don’t look so worried. Nothing will happen.

Remembering Aaron was still in the room, all I could do was nod my head. “I’m not,” I lied.

“You can’t lie to me,” he said with a grin.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve heard that one,” I commented with a laugh.

He ruffled my hair. “I know.”

Aaron cleared his throat. “I’m still here.”

“Wow, you and Lance are a lot alike,” I remarked, amused.

Chris removed his hand from my shoulder, much to my disappointment. “I agree.”

“Can…” Aaron suddenly spoke up, his voice low.

“Huh?”

“Can,” he tried again, obviously having difficulty in speaking. It looked like he was trying to force the words out. “Do me a favor,” he finally burst.

Chris straightened up. “It depends.”

“It’s not for me.”

“Who then?”

“Lexi,” he muttered. “Will you keep an eye on her?”

It took all I had not to aw at him. “Of course,” I told him professionally, nodding my head. “Since you obviously care about her so much!”

He flushed a bright red. “S-shut up!”

“Look! You’re blushing! It’s so cute!”

“I said shut up!”

“Chris! Chris! See?”

He smirked, cocking an eyebrow at Aaron. “How interesting…”

“You guys are so irritating!” he cried, blushing darker. “S-stop treating me like a puppy!”

“Puppy?” I repeated blankly.

“Yeah!”

I nodded my head, impressed. “That’s a good way to describe you! Thanks, Aaron!”

“That wasn’t— ugh! Don’t thank me!”

I laughed. He was surprisingly fun to tease. When I went to grin evilly at Chris, I found him with his devil look, his eyes locked to Aaron. Immediately chills went through my body. That was the way he used to look at me when he teased me. Back when he was a lying, devil of a teacher.

Giving Aaron a pitying look, I patted his knee. “You’ll be fine.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he demanded. “Holly?”

“It’s better if you don’t know.”

“Holly!”

______________________________________________ 

Yay! An update. Finally... Aha... I am really sorry you guys. My uploads are so spontaneous now! It annoys me too because I like being punctual. Summer has me all thrown off! 

Anyway, I started a new story, so go check it out! It's called Waist-Deep in Walmart. It's about toilet paper... Kidding, it's about being trapped in Walmart with a cute guy, but yanoo. Same difference. ;) 

Welp! I'm off to watch Ghost Adventures. I've almost watched every episode. A few more to go! They're having a contest where you can be locked down with them but, OF COURSE, you have to be eighteen and I still have six months to go e.e 

Oh! And a lot of people have been asking for my twitter, so it's... er... my profile is in the external link. Otherwise it's @ Jordannx33

Under A Paper Moon - All Time Low

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