Cry Me A River

Blanketed in Batman

It took a good fifteen minutes the next morning to cover up the bruise on my cheekbone, a lovely gift from my mom. Every time I touched it, I flinched.
"Ow-ow-ow" But after a painful time in the bathroom I was able to make my face look relatively untouched.
"Ry are you ready?" I called down the hallway.
"Yeah." He walked out of his room dressed, water droplets still sparkling on his light brown hair."Who's taking care of Jay?" I gave him a smile and kissed him on the head before hurrying down the stairs.
"Me."
"But don't you have school?" I gave him his bag and money for lunch.
"I'll be fine, don't you worry about me. Now," I cupped his cheeks in my hands and gave him a serious look. "Do your best on the math test okay? Don't freakout if you don't know something and check it over before handing it in." With that, we hugged and I practically shoved him out the door so he wouldn't miss his bus.
"Bye!" He turned to glance over his shoulder and waved.
"Bye Charlie!"
I closed the door and watched as Jason came toddling down the stairs in his pajamas, wearing a tired expression on his face. His cough sounded the same, so I gave him a puff of the inhaler.
"Jase, we're going to need to run to my school so I can grab my work okay?" He nodded quietly and I pulled his coat from the hook, along with my scarf.
Glancing at the mirror one last time, I made sure that my face was covered and my outfit wasn't totally embarrassing. (Outfit featured above)

I shut the door of the car and went to the other side and unhooked Jason from his car seat. Instead of letting him walk, I slung him on my hip and locked the car. The normally talkative three-year-old was silent apart from his deep, heart wrenching coughs.
"Lottie?" He whispered as I walked up the steps.
"Yeah?"
"It hurts." I stopped moving and adjusted Jason so that I could kiss his forehead.
"I know mi amor. No te preocupes (Don't worry)." He nodded and I felt him shivering. Shit, his fever was back. Not even thinking, I ran back to the car with my little brother in my arms and grabbed the batman blanket in the backseat. Wrapping it around his tony body, I started back up the stairs and pushed the door, entering a bustling hallway. The bell hadn't rung so the students were mulling around. As I walked in I saw some eyes turn to me, staring at the bundle I was carrying. Without making eye contact, I pushed past the kids and entered the principal's office. His eyes glanced upwards when he saw me and his eye brows scrunched in confusion when he saw Jason coughing, laying his head in the crook of my neck.
"Is everything all right Charlotte?" I mentally cringed at my full name. It wasn't my first choice to be called.
"My brother's really sick and my mom's working so I'm taking care of him. I wanted to get the assignments I would be missing." Mr.Neils gave me a concerned stare before nodding.
"Of course." I smiled at him gratefully before walking out to the teacher's office. All of the adults were in there grabbing a bite to eat before the day. They all saw me and quieted down, giving me their assignments. However, the one teacher that wasn't there was my History teacher, who was in his classroom probably getting ready for class. I thanked the rest of them before rushing out the door to my first period classroom to get the homework, Jason coughing harshly.
"Only a few more minutes mi amor. Yo prometo (I promise)."
"Ok." His tiny voice pushed me into a jog. The first period bell had rang so the hallway was basically cleared except for the few stragglers who gave me weird looks.
I bursted into class and everyone's eyes turned to me in surprise. Mr.Mclaughin's mouth was opened in shock and he focused on my brother who was coughing and shivering under his batman blanket.
"Is everything ok-"
"Yes it is." I interrupted him, anxious to get out. "My brother is sick and I need the work for the next few days." He nodded and shuffled through his papers. The rest of the students were staring at me in confusion. Janie stood up with Maria and the two walked over to me while everyone else bursted into whispers.
"What's going on?" Janie stroked Jason's head and he nuzzled farther into my neck.
"Pneumonia." Maria gasped quietly.
"Goodness. How about me and Jane bring over dinner tonight?" I tried to protest but their minds were set.
"Thanks girls."
"What are friends for amiga?" Maria whispered, giving me a concerned glance. Another voice came into the conversation.
"Mind if I come along?" Logan's eyes drifted to my baby brother. I shrugged.
"He's really sick. But it would help a lot." They all smiled but stopped when Jason coughed again. I stroked his hair, murmuring,
"Estoy aqui miel (I'm here honey)." My teacher came over and handed me some papers, saying quietly that he had to run to his office to get the last and that he would be back in a moment.
"How much longer Lottie?" I felt my brother's hot breath in my ear.
"Not much Jase." His body felt tiny in my arms. Janie and Maria both gave me a comforting glance before making their way back to their seats. Logan stayed at the front of the classroom, staring down at me.
"What happened?"
"He got Pneumonia two nights ago. We took him to the ER." He nodded and put his arm around my shoulders.
"Jason's going to be fi-"
"Whoa what?" I didn't turn as Xavier's confused comment was said behind me. Logan glared and I discreetly put my free hand on his wrist.
"Butterfly what are you-"
"She doesn't exactly want to talk to you." There, ladies and gentleman, is the Logan that I adored. He didn't even know what Xavier did, yet he could read my expressions and knew to tell him to back off. I could practically feel Xavier's anger.
"Look pretty boy, she doesn't need you talking for her." Logan sneered.
"Leave her be newbie." I slowly put more pressure on his wrist and he looked down at me and then at the child in my arms.
"It's not worth it Logan." I muttered, making sure only he could hear. His eyes softened at my tone and he interlocked his hand with mine as he took a calming breath.
"Just leave her alone Xavier." I heard Xavier's cold laugh.
"You're not her boyfriend or brother so you have no say what I can and cannot do." Then, the most unexpected thing happened. Will (remember, the guy I hated) decided to step into the conversation, his voice low as to not disturb Jason. The entire class was staring at this scene like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"Get the fu-" I gave him a look and he corrected himself, "dge out of here Xavier."
I turned slowly, shifting Jason's weight in my arms and saw Xavier roll his eyes.
"You were the one who was bothering her yesterday asshat." I wanted to yell at him and remind him that I was holding a three year old, but Logan did that for me.
"Don't use that language. There's a baby in the room." Xavier glanced at my brother and caught my eye, giving me an apologetic and regretful stare. Will stepped in and him and Logan blocked me and Jase from his view.
"Look newbie," Will said softly, but the edge was evident, "You don't know anything about what happened between me and Charlie and I doubt you care. That's our business, not yours so butt out. Me and Logan are the only two people who can mess with her so don't you even think about coming close." The three boys were in the same position when my teacher got back and handed me the papers. I thanked him, gave Logan a hug, waved to Maria and Janie and then turned to Will. He shook his head slightly.
"Thank you." He ruffled my hair.
"We might not be friends right now, but no one else can mess with my step sister."