Innocent Culprits (Completed/Unedited)

Chapter 29 (Innocent Culprits)

"I am good. Well, the pain rises once in a while but I can tolerate that." I chuckle and try to act cool.

She nods. She scans me with her emerald eyes and then looks at her pillow. I know she is full of fear and suspicion but she is not letting the layers of calmness peel off.

"I was expecting that you would come to the hospital to see me." I complain with a super innocent face that melts hearts. I give off the vibes that her visit was the most anticipated one and that her not showing up has hurt me.

"Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry. I wanted to come but I have got a bundle of work to do. I was so trapped in my work that I could hardly get time to come to see you. I badly wanted to come, though." She sighs. "Plus, I was writing your speech for finale." She smiles.

But I show no response. I keep acting like a sad kid whose Halloween candies have been eaten by his parents.

Miss Jane sits beside me and circles her arm around my shoulders. "How do I make it up to you, huh?" She asks in a whisper and squeezes my shoulder.

"Um, coffee would do but I want the coffee that you make." I grin at her, showing off my bright teeth.

"Okay." She smiles and gets up. She heats the water in the electric kettle, adds the instant coffee in it and then serves it to me in her coffee mug.

"Thank you so much. You are the best." I show my gratitude with the same grin. I can feel the knots tightening in my stomach.

She smiles and unrolls the towel but then her phone bands. She almost runs towards it and picks it up with chaos on her face. Her frowns tell me that something is wrong.

"Really?!" Miss Jane almost screeches at the top of her voice. The tension on her face is replaced by relief. Her eyes are gleaming with joy. This news must be great.

"Oh, my God, I cannot believe this." She places her hand on her chest and lets out a sigh of relief. "And you know what? Lisa is with me!" She exclaims. I stop sipping my coffee. "Oh, yeah, I can bring her. Ah!" Now she is showing off her bright teeth.

"What happened?" I want to quench my thirst of curiosity.

"Come on, get ready. A surprise is waiting for you!" She claps like an excited little girl and then takes out her makeup kit. She blows dry her hair. She removes her glasses and inserts the contact lenses in her eyes; she applies a glittery, red lipstick and adds a pinch of highlighter on her face. She looks pretty. She looks breathtaking.

I do not want to add makeup on my face but upon Miss Jane's insisting I only apply red glitter-free lipstick. I untie my pony tail, brush my hair.

"Just keep your hair like this. Don't tie it again." Miss Jane instructs me and then coats my eyelashes with mascara. "There you go. You look amazing, Lisa." She pinches my left cheek.

I take a look in the mirror and wow I do look amazing!

We settle in the car and Miss Jane begins to drive. She asks me about Zach and I tell her the whole story, well, I skip that letter part. When she hears that Zach and I have patched up, the car almost comes to a halt and her eyes spring out of their sockets.

"Wow!" She exclaims. "I am so happy for you people." She smiles at me and then resumes the driving.

"You know, I should have given him a chance. He wanted to say so much and just acted like a deaf person." I say while looking out of the window. The street lights are turned on now and the weather is clear.

"Yeah, he tried to approach you but he failed. I mean, you did not give him a chance." She chuckles.

"I wish I could smell some people's intentions, life would be much easier." I breathe out a tired breath.