London Fog | school hiatus

Ch. 6

He nodded. “But if you married the right person...”

“I don’t know if I would,” I told him.

I was almost done with my nap when I heard Jen scream bloody-murder and a clattering sound downstairs. I sprung out of my nest of blankets and ran to her. She was a mess. Her carefully applied mascara was leaking down her face and her nose was red.

“Jen, what’s wrong?” I ask.

“It’s Oli! He’s, he-- we have to go to the hospital! Now!” she screamed. I nodded, dialing a cab while Jen was still screaming. It arrived in record time, perhaps thinking that Jen was having contractions. I need a car. But gas prices.

We pull up to the curb of the hospital and I pay while Jen runs inside. She pulls herself together long enough to ask what Oli’s room number is. He was on the third floor.

“Oliver!” Jen screeched upon seeing him.

“Hey,” he said, flashing her a smile.

“Don’t worry me like that! What happened?” she inquired, throwing her arms around him and kissing him all over his face.

“Car wreck, drunk driver, you know. Broke my leg, but I’m fine,” he assured.

As if seeing it for the first time, Jen gasped and beheld the cast Oli’s leg was in. She made a small noise, but nothing else. “Vic,” she asked. “Can we be alone? I’ll be home later,” she promised.

I agreed to leaving them and hailed a cab outside. It looked like it was going to rain. The cab pulled up and I told him the address, preoccupied by thoughts of laundry to be done and dinner to be made. I wanted to fix up the spare bedroom, too, or maybe turn it into a lounge. Maybe I could look at furniture online later.

My phone rang when I was about ten minutes from home. I answered it, saying hello to Jay. He was having no pleasantries today.

“Where are you? It’s raining,” he told me.

“Is that so?” I asked. “I’m on my way home. Where are you?”

“I’m at your house. That’s why I asked you where you were. Duh,” he condescended.

I laughed, “Bye Jay, I’ll be there in a while.” I ended the phone call before he could ask anymore stupid questions.

When we pulled up, he was indeed sitting on the steps to my house, soaking wet. I ran through the rain, wanting to avoid as much rain as possible. He shot me a dirty look as if it was my fault he was at my house. Oh, wait. Maybe it was. Game night, I completely forgot.

I shot him an apologetic smile, opening the door. “Where’s Jen?”

“The hospital,” I told him.

“What? What happened to her?”

“She’s visiting Oli, relax. Oli broke his leg, by the way. Do you want to go visit him?”

“Uh, no. Not right now. Do you have any clothes?”

“Uh, I have big t-shirts, maybe some of my sweat pants would fit you but I don’t have male underwear.”

“Can I wear the sweatpants?”

“Yeah, I’ll go get them and the shirt. Oh, and when you’re done with the sweatpants, you can keep them. Or burn them. It’s whatever.”

I heard him laughing as I went and when I came back down he wasn’t where I had left him. “Jay?” I call. I started walking toward the bathroom, thinking maybe that would make sense.