The Cheerleader And The Nerd

Chapter 22

        Dedicated to TimFooter, for just being awesome! His comments were just so encouraging and overall nice to hear! Thank you so much! Much love! x)

I bolted upright and the sudden movement caused me to trip and end up on the floor. I stood up quickly, brushing off my jeans as I looked at Nurse Jackie who gave me a small smile. I returned it timidly.

She was smiling, that had to mean good news right?

‘’Shouldn’t you be in classes, Riley?’’ she asked me, crossing her arms over her chest.

‘’Yes.’’ I only gave a one syllable answer, itching to go inside and see how Jayden was. Couldn’t she see I was in no mood for her small talk?

‘’Well, why aren’t you?’’ she inquired. My eyes that had been trained on the infirmary door turned to her, my face showing the incredulity I felt.

‘’Are you seriously asking me that?’’ I cried, watching her eyes narrow on me. ‘’Jayden is in there,’’ I said, jabbing a finger in the door’s direction and shook my head. ‘’ He’s in there battered and bruised and you expect me to sit idly in class? I don’t think so.’’

‘’Why would you care so much for Mr. Andrews?’’ she said, her tone and eyes softening.

‘’I don’t have to answer you anything,’’ I said, hardening my voice as irritation laced my tone.

‘’Very well then,’’ she said, accepting my reply as an answer – she probably knew how stubborn I can be – and turned around and opened the door, as I let out a deep breath. ‘’I have called Mrs. Andrew’s, Jayden’s mother, letting her know of what had happened and she should be on her way over.’’

I nodded, letting her know I understood and brushed past her inside. I was eager to see him. Was he okay? Was there any serious damage? I wanted to know the answers to these questions. She followed behind me and closed the door with a small ‘ping’.

I looked over at the bed in which Jayden lay, and covered my mouth to not make any noise. He was his jeans, but the nurse had taken his shirt off and his broken glasses lay on the side table. He had a bandage wrapped around his torso and waist in white gauze. His forehead too, was wrapped in a band of white bandage. He had a few other bandages on his arms and an ice pack on his eye.

He looked absolutely trashed.

‘’He had two cracked ribs-’’ she said, making my eyes swing to hers in panic.

‘’What?’’ I cried, cutting her off.

‘’Not to worry, darling, it’s nothing serious, I made sure of that. He just needs to take things easy for the next month or two,’’ She assured me, before continuing. ‘’He probably has a concussion though I’m not entirely sure, probably if he fell on his head, but I’ll have to wait till he’s awake to be certain. He also has a black eye and a few bruises on his arms.’’

When she was done, I couldn’t help the few tears that sprung to my eyes, and blurred my vision. I took a few small and cautious steps towards his bed. I heard some gasping and talking outside before I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see Nurse Jackie giving me a firm look.

‘’I’ll be right outside; I have to tend to another student. Just call me if anything, alright?’’ she instructed, already halfway out the door. I nodded, turning my eyes back to Jayden’s unconscious form.

Jayden was alright.

My Jayden was alright.

A miniscule smile spread across my face as I took a plastic chair from the other side and dragged it across the room and placed it to the side of the bed. Sitting down, I grabbed Jayden’s cool hand in both of mine and ran circles with my thumb.