Authors: T.J. Sin
Her emotions were set on overload; verging on the edge of a meltdown. She just needed some space to get herself together and figure out what her next move was going to be because the scene that occurred in the cafeteria earlier today, she wouldn’t ever allow to happen again. Never again!
Cathy may have gotten her kicks in today by trying to degrade her. Erica may think that she had brought her to heel by opening her big mouth and telling everyone her secrets but neither of them have had a chance to meet the real Chloe. The same girl that has been to hell and back; and still found a way to survive. But they would, come tomorrow they would know what it was like to meet the survivor, the real Chloe Miller. They would meet her face to face and they would remember her; she would make damn sure of it.
Justin saw her stick her finger up at him and had to laugh. Even after her blatant dismissal of him, he still wanted to go after her. “I must be a masochist,” he muttered to himself, watching Chloe get in her car. He knew exactly what he was going to do. He struggled to pull himself up to his feet and glanced once back at the school before turning around and taking the same path to the parking lot that Chloe had just taken.
He was going to follow her. The walls that Chloe had built around her were thick as granite but he was determined to break them down somehow, someway. No one should have to shoulder whatever it was that she was harboring inside of her. What small glimpses of her passion, her sheer determination that he’d seen, simply awed him. He wanted to get to know her; he wanted to know what it was that made her tick. Strangely enough, he wanted her to know him too. And if that wasn’t the damndest thing, then he didn’t know what was because he had never wanted anything like this with any other person in his life. Not even Cathy.
Only Chloe.
Reaching his car, he opened the door and slid in. Justin hurriedly put his key in the ignition and started the car when he noticed Chloe already pulling out of the parking lot. Slamming the gear shifter into reverse, he backed out of the parking space and sped to catch up with her. “You can run Chloe,” he mumbled under his breath, “but you can’t hide; not from me anyway. Not anymore.”
*********
Chloe wasn’t sure where she was going; she just drove and then drove some more, thinking about nothing and yet, thinking about everything. About an hour later she found herself parked in the hospital parking lot.
For the longest time, she just sat there in the car, staring blankly at the red and white emergency sign. At first she didn’t realize why she was here, but the longer she sat there, the clearer that reason seemed to be. She needed to talk to John. She wanted to make sure that he understood she was sorry, truly sorry. She didn’t expect his forgiveness, but she needed him to know that she regretted what she had done and if she could have done anything to change what had happened- she would have.
Getting out of the car, she slowly made her way inside the enormous square shaped building. It was like deja vu when she walked in. The sights, the sounds, the smells- they were all exactly the same.
She turned the corner and walked into the waiting room. The nurse’s station was centered in the middle of the room with one nurse manning it. Feeling a little less sure of herself, she headed in that direction. She remembered how hard it had been for her to get to him the last time. If John was still in intensive care, they probably wouldn’t let her see him now. She frowned at that. Now that she made up her mind, and she was here, she really wanted to at least see him.
“Miss, do you need help with something?”
Chloe glanced up and an older lady with a gentle smile was watching her. She hadn’t realized that she had stopped in the middle of the room and got lost in her thoughts until the nurse spoke to her. “Umm,” she started, nervously wringing her hands. “I wanted to see a friend.”
“Do you know what room he is in?”
Chloe shook her head no and tugged at her tomato sauce stained shirt.
The nurse only smiled warmly at her and patted the counter with her hand. “Well come on over here child; whom would you like to see?” She sat down at her computer and started to type out a few things. “We’ll see if I can get a room number for you.”
Chloe stumbled forward, grateful for the woman’s warmth. “John,” she whispered. “John Rhodes,” she said again, a little louder this time.
Just a few minutes ago, she was so sure of what she was going to do and now that she was standing here, she was finding that she wasn’t all too sure anymore. What if John didn’t want to see her? What if he screamed at her? Or worse, what if he had her thrown out of his room? Frankly, she couldn’t blame him if he did any of those things. After what she did to him, she didn’t deserve his attention much less his welcome.
“Room 304,” the nurse spoke up, bringing Chloe back to the present. “If you go up that elevator and take a left,” she pointed with her hand, “his room will be the last one on the right.”
Chloe nodded and took a deep breath. “Thank you, ma’am.”
“Your very welcome, child.” The older nurse smiled at her once more, reminding her of a sweet loving grandmother. She had never met either of hers because both of them passed away before she was born. But this lady was everything she imagined a grandmother to be and with her smile, Chloe felt a sort of calm come over her. It relaxed her and readied her to go and see John.
Stepping back, she turned to the elevators and strode forward, moving one foot in front of the other. He was obviously out of ICU since she was able to go straight up to his room; and that was a good thing she told herself. A very good thing that meant he was on the mend and would hopefully be back at school soon.
Chloe pressed the button that would take her up. Standing back, she watched the numbers light up as the elevator descended. She pressed her hand to her stomach, hoping to settle the butterflies that were dancing around in her belly.
Finally, the door opened on a stretched groan and she stepped inside. Turning around she pressed the small button that would now take her up to the third floor and to John. The door slowly closed, and she felt her breath hitch. She didn’t know why she was suddenly so nervous. Only one of two things would happen. He would either accept her apology or curse her out of the room. Either way, once she left here, she could at least absolve herself that she had done all she could, considering the circumstances.
Shifting nervously, she ran her hand through her hair and scrunched up her nose when she felt the stiffness of it from the food and drink that had been dumped on her earlier. As soon as she left this place, her next stop was to find Erica. It was high time that the two of them had a tit-for-tat conversation. Erica had started it and now Chloe was ready to finish it.
The elevator doors opened and once again, Chloe found herself lost in her own thoughts. With her head still down, Chloe wasn’t paying any attention to where she was going and abruptly ran head-on into something- or rather someone.
Stumbling backwards, she scrambled for the wall and steadied herself.
The very feminine ‘oomph’ that she heard told Chloe that it was a girl she ran into. “I’m so, so sorry,” she apologized, turning around and holding out her hand to help her unsuspecting victim stand back up.
The second that Chloe’s eyes locked with the girl, she knew that she had made a grave mistake in coming up here. The angry orbs that stared back at her radiated nothing but pure, unadulterated fury.
With Chloe’s hand left hanging in midair and her mouth gaped open, she couldn’t seem to fathom a single word. How could she have so easily forgotten about her of all people?
But John’s younger sister didn’t seem to have that problem. After what she learned Chloe had done to her brother and then being suspended because of her, she had lots of things that she wanted to say- starting with the backs of her fists.
Alana pulled herself up into a standing position and her mouth twisted in a wicked scowl. “You are so dead!”
Chapter 23
“You are so dead!”
Chloe heard the words spill from Alana’s mouth and for a minute, her feet were glued to the ground. She wasn’t sure what to say or what she should do. This was the last place that she wanted to cause a scene. And she really didn’t want to fight Alana again, because this time she wouldn’t just take it. This time, she would fight back.
She heard the groan of the elevator door as it closed behind her and that spurred her into action. “I’m sorry,” she exclaimed suddenly and the rest of the words started to run out of her mouth like verbal diarrhea. “I’m sorry for everything, okay. I never imagined anything like this happening and if I could take it back, I would,” she implored to the younger girl who was glaring at her. “But the fact is…I can’t. All I can do is apologize to you, to John, to your family and everyone else that was adversely affected.”
Chloe held up her hand to Alana. “I don’t deserve nor do I expect your forgiveness, but a measly apology is all that I have to offer you. Take it or leave it.”
“Take it or leave it?” Alana took a step forward purposefully crowding into Chloe’s personal space. “Is that all you have to say to me after you nearly killed my brother.” Alana started to feel the rage build up all over again. How dare she show her face around here after what she has done? She shoved Chloe up against the wall and stepped up to her face. “You have a lot of nerve, coming here like nothing ever happened. I should kick your ass every day just for the hell of it.”
Chloe bit down hard on the inside of her cheek, so hard that the bitter coppery taste of her own blood filled her mouth. She had to admire the kid though, she had a boat load of spunk in her and she was having a hard time faulting her for wanting to be protective over her brother. With that being said, she wasn’t going to stand here and take her harassment either.
“Look,” Chloe hissed, “I get that you're mad and I get that you're upset so I’m going to give you what I like to consider a fair warning.” She paused a moment, locked in a direct stare off with the girl who was just scant inches from her face and let the drama add to the effect before she continued. “You can take your hands off of me right now, or I’m going to break them.”
Alana laughed. She grabbed the collar of Chloe’s shirt, balled it up in her fist, threw her head back and laughed. “You’re kidding right?” She had stopped laughing, her expression was now more of a smirk. “You forget, I’ve already seen how you fight, it’s pitiful. I’m not worried about a little slut like you.”
“One,” Chloe started, her eyes glinting hard. She really was giving the girl every opportunity she could to just walk away from her, but the girl really was starting to push the limits.
“Two,” Alana raised a sarcastic brow and counted out loud for her, which only further pissed Chloe off.
“And three-”
“Alana Marie, What in the hell do you think you are doing?” John’s angry voice cut through the taught tension that stretched between the girls and Alana instantly shut up. She immediately let go of Chloe’s shirt, not before shooting her a feral sneer first, and took a step back.
Chloe turned in John’s direction and was taken aback. Despite standing in the hallway wearing one of those ridiculous hospital gowns, and his hand being connected to a roll-around IV, he looked a hundreds time better that when she last saw him. Rosy red color was back in his cheeks, his eyes seemed to almost shine with a renewed vitality and he looked just like John, the old John that picked her up and drove her to the school just hours before the big game.
“What’s going on?”
Chloe spun around at the sound of the new voice and spotted Justin standing at the opposite end of the hallway, his hands shoved in his pockets. His gaze touched on Alana’s and then moved to Chloe’s before returning to John’s.
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out?” John piped up, slowly moving closer to the girls.
Justin also took several large steps, bringing him closer to the two girls that seemed ready to spring and attack each other at any moment. The energy bouncing off of both of them was so electric; it almost sizzled in the air. “Chloe?” he asked, maneuvering himself so that he was looking only at her, “Is there something going on here?”