THE SCEPTICAL BOND

Juliet's pov

He chuckled." I carry over seventy kilos at the gym. Your weight was like that of a basin of water."

We were both quiet for a few more seconds.He was a person of the gym, I thought, it means that he has the type of body most girls would kill for. He broke the silence." How are you feeling now?"

I let out a heavy sigh." I am scared. It's not right for me to be sick, when my mother needs medication too."

" I want you to forget about everything else now. One step at a time"

" For now, let us concentrate on treating you and getting you back to good health. The rest will come in later."

He squinted his eyes, keenly studying me before I could say anything. I smirked. If I could, I would have hidden my face away from his sharp stares. My eyes widened." You are scaring me."
" Why are you looking at me that way?"

He chuckled, looking at the IV tube. It had drained to quarter." The doctor told me that you have ulcers, yet you have not been eating well."

" Why are you punishing yourself like this?"

I smirked. How could I tell him all my problems. He was a friend I met only a few days back. He was already concerned about my well being. Even more than Mary had ever been. One part of me told me to open up to him, that he was a good person.the other one told me that he would take advantage of my vulnerability. I pushed aside the proud one.

I fumbled for the right words to use." I didn't do it on purpose." I said, almost in a whisper.

" I ran out of pocket money two weeks back. I had no choice, but to study on an empty stomach."

I keenly studied his face for any emotions. His jaws tightened, but he did not want me to see how tense he was. He let out a heavy sigh, instantly relaxing his jaws " I think you should have trusted me enough to tell me so I could help "

A tear trickled down my cheeks." My mum never taught me to depend on people."

" She has only accepted help once."

I held my breathe back for a few minutes, only sniffing back my tears as he lent the listening ear I badly needed." That was a time when I nearly died from ulcers."

His eyes sharply pierced through mine. He held them into his for as long as he could. My heart pounded wildly against my chest. A boy had never looked at me like that before. It was as if the world around me stopped moving. Then he broke the silence. He extended closer to me. His hands were still in mine." I want to help you, Juliet."

He counted six fifty thousand notes from his wallet. He extended them to me. I was reluctant to take them" And don't you dare to play your mother's game on me because I won't take no for an answer."

I smiled cheekily." And if I say no. Will you be mad at me?

He smiled, almost to himself. I got a bit impatient. I quickly decided to change the topic before he could press any farther." So tell me, I am your friend but it seems that I don't know anything about you."

"How can we be good friends without getting to know each other?"

He chuckled as if he had read my mind. He held his chin, lightly brushing it as he licked his lower lips." Stop trying to change the topic." He said, dropping the money on my laps.

" If you don't want it you can as well leave it for the nurses to enjoy."

Butterflies turned in my stomach. My heart beat was almost palpable. How was I to go against my mother's long years of counselling. She had taught us the hurdles of teenage adolescence, cautioning us to be careful around boys- never to let any take advantage of us by offering us petty things like money. And here I was, about to defy one of her arduous teachings. I was about to take money from a boy I barely knew. I blankly stated at the money lying on my laps. Instantly I knew that I could not let it go to the nurses. I picked it, tucking it under my pillow.