Butterfly Wishes

13 - Jade - Fighting Reason

Chapter 13: Fighting Reason

[Jade]

For once, I am absolutely grateful that every now and then, Mom gives in so easily when it comes to me. Whenever I play the "sick daughter" card, I can get away with a lot of things. But, as she came upstairs to tell me the boy from the sweater was at our door, I thought I would never be able to convince her not to let him in.

Caleb.

He had come to see me, probably to yell at me for ignoring him, treating him like he had the plague. For what it is worth, every passing day, I hope and pray that he doesn't suffer as much as I do. The aftermath of my decision is a nightmare.

A knock sounds at my door and I really want my mom to get the message, and leave me alone.

No, I don't need soup.

No, I am not hungry.

No, I do not want to join her and watch one of her stupid series that she follows on television.

No. No. No. No.

Mom knocks again, and I refuse to acknowledge her presence. She has to tire of trying to fix me up at some point, and I am eagerly awaiting that time.

Instead of hearing the sound of her foot steps retreat to the staircase, light from the hallway spills into my otherwise dark as the door opens - without my permission, no less. If ignoring her doesn't stop my mom from entering my room, I have to go for the second best thing.

Keeping my eyes closed and making sure I don't move, I pretend to be fast asleep.

Mom's footsteps slowly approach the bed, so slow that it almost seems like she is hesitant. I sense a presence at my bedside, past my feet but not quite near my head. The rustle of clothes tells me she is crouching down, which she rarely ever does. And then, there is a whisper...

"Jade?"

That whispered tone does not belong to my mother, not even remotely close. My eyes snap open, momentarily forgotten that I was pretending to be fast asleep.

"Caleb?"

My voice is hoarse from not using it very often during the past few days. I sound like a stranger, even to myself. But the surprise at hearing my weird voice is completely overshadowed by the sight of Caleb in my room. He was just about the last person I expected to see in my room.

Caleb's eyes don't leave mine, and I hope, I really do, that he turns out to be completely oblivious to the pajamas that I have been wearing since Sunday, my unkempt hair - basically, I want him not to notice the complete and utter mess that is me.

"Hey," he says softly, in that particular way one speaks to a startled, wounded animal.

"How did you-" I start to ask, but the answer is quite obvious. "My mom. Did she let you in after all?"

Something close to pain flashes through Caleb's eyes, but it disappears as quick as it made its appearance.

"She, uh... Yes, she did let me in."

"Does she know who you are?"

Caleb nods. "She put two and two together."

While I promised myself to go for a clean break when it came to Caleb, I can't help that I feel such a relief at seeing him in my house, my room. After running out on him last Sunday, I wouldn't have blamed him for not wanting to have anything to do with me anymore. Who wouldn't think me to be a complete freak, a nutcase?