The Yellow House

Chapter 15: An Endless Road

Jack’s POV

I wake up to find several doctors standing over me, all looking extremely concerned.

“Are you all right, boy?” asks one of them. I recognize him, he’s the doctor overseeing Anna’s case. I sit up, looking down. I gasp to see my uniform shirt, splashed with… blood. My face is in pain, but not as much pain as my heart. Anna- my princess- no longer sees me as a friend. And her best friends are already getting super-protective of her. Why did she save that violent girl, the one who beat me bloody? Looking at my watch, I can see that an hour has passed, my mother should be here soon. I pick myself off the floor, brushing off the concerned doctors. I walk out to the lobby, pulling my jacket so that it covers the bloodstains. I wait in the lobby for my mom to show up, and all I can think is in a sarcastic way… that went well.

My mom pulls up in front of the hospital, but when I climb in, she looks over at me and cries out in surprise.

“Jack David Haven, what happened to your face?” She asks, worriedly.

“I got in a fight.” I say quietly.

“What do you mean, you got in a fight? With who?”

“Mum!” I say harshly. “Stop freaking out! It was just a stupid fight, so stop!”

She looks over at me, hurt, going silent. She finally says. “Are you too hot in that jacket?”

“Yes.” I say, looking out the window. I unzip the jacket, and she sees the stains.

“They stained your shirt?” She asks softly.

“Blood from my face got on my shirt. I know better to mess with them now.” I joke.

“Did you at least see Anna?” She asks.

“Yes. Until she kicked me out of her hospital room.” I sigh. “Look, can you wash my shirt when we get home?”

“Yes. Look, Jack. Allison and Dana are waiting at the house for you and so is Will.”

“Why are they there?” I ask, annoyed. “I don’t want to see anyone right now.”

“Jack.” My mother admonishes. “You have a life to live, and there is nothing you can do if Anna doesn’t want to be a part of it. Forget about her, if it’s going to cause you pain- literally.” She glances over at me. “Anyway, Will wanted to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk to him. I have to keep trying, I have to get my friendship with Anna back.” I say stubbornly. “I have to figure out how to do it.”

“Pushing her will only make it worse.” My mother says as we pull into the driveway. “Now, they’re waiting in the basement to talk to you, so run upstairs and change your shirt, then head downstairs.”

“Mum.” I groan. “I don’t want to talk to any of them. I’ll go change my shirt, while you get rid of them.”

She rolls her eyes. “Go change.”

I walk inside and upstairs, unbuttoning my bloody shirt as I walk up the stairs. Walking into my room, I throw the shirt onto the bed. I stand in front of my mirror, critically watching my reflection. Yes, I’m just a skinny, pathetic-looking teenage boy with sticking-up brown hair, and no physical attractiveness. But I do believe that Anna could befriend me again. I rummage around in my drawers, before finding a blue shirt to pull on. While I’m pulling it on, there’s a knock on the door. I turn and Will is leaning against the doorframe, smirking at me.

“Well, well, well if it isn’t my favorite troublemaker. My partner-in-crime.”

I turn away from him, staring at myself in the mirror. “I thought I told my mom to get rid of you while I was changing.”