I'm Smiling At Everything - TO BE UPDATED NOV 13TH

I'm Smiling At Everything - Chapter Eight

Chapter 8

Jack’s P.O.V

I stretched my arms as I yawned. I absently rubbed my eyes in an attempt to keep myself awake. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually had a good night’s sleep. My dreams were plagued with nightmares of falling, which would jolt me awake before I hit the rocks at the bottom. They were made worse by the information Cass had told me that I’d spend all night trying to process.

Cass shifted slightly beside me in her sleep. It felt weird sleeping in the same bed as her, like something was not quite right about it. A few pillows were stuffed between our legs so that she wouldn’t knock them if she rolled over in the night. She claimed that I loved her, but I didn’t know if I did. I did know it would kill her if I told her my feelings had changed, so I pretended to keep her happy. Having a physically disabled boyfriend was hard enough for her, and I didn’t want to add to the burdens I’d already caused.

I couldn’t imagine how the accident would have messed her up or how she would have felt seeing me lying in a coma. Did she feel relief when I’d woken up and still remembered her? I wondered how she felt about becoming my full time carer. I relied on Cass more than I admitted. She really was all I had left.

I found a secret comfort in thinking about Valarie. Until this afternoon, she had been a nameless mystery. Now, she was supposed to be my enemy. I felt nauseous and the thought of her jumping off the cliff, allegedly taking me with her. I still didn’t understand why she would do that, but Cass wouldn’t explain any more. She told me it caused her too much pain thinking about the fact that Valarie almost took me away from her.

I shivered as the breeze coming through the window made the hairs on my arms stand on end. I tried to reclaim the blanket’s Cass had hogged. Even though it was spring, the nights were cold enough to be winter. Cass shifted closer to me in an attempt to get arm. I felt her head lie on my chest and an arm wrap around my torso.

I woke up the next morning with a dry mouth in a puddle of my own saliva. I could smell bacon and hear the sizzle of eggs coming from the kitchen. I patted the bed beside me to find it empty. After a few moments, Cass pushed through the door with two plates and sat them down on the bedside table before helping me sit up in the bed.

I couldn’t help letting my eyes wander. She wore a pair of short pyjama shorts with a singlet that didn’t match. Her skin was pale and covered in freckles, and her mess of red hair hung loose over her shoulders. She was thin, but her curves weren’t hard to notice. Cass noticed me looking, so I quickly averted my eyes. She sat one of the plates on my lap before climbing under the covers beside me.

“It might be a bit hot,” Cass murmured.

I stabbed as much food as I could onto the fork and shovelled it into my mouth. The taste of bacon was fortunately something I didn’t forget after the fall. I grunted in approval as I cleaned off the plate. From the corner of my eye I could see Cass smiling.

“At least your appetite has improved,” She mocked.

I scoffed with my mouth full.

“How are you, anyway?”