Fragile Bones

Chapter Nineteen

God, I really need to stop with this fainting bullshit.

I swung my legs out of uncomfortable bed, and looked at a clock. It was somewhere around where my second period should be, so I hadn't been unconscious for too long. Placing a hand on my head, I sighed when I remembered Asher. There was no way for me to know where he was right now, although if I had to guess I would say the principals office. I really hoped that he wouldn't get in too much trouble for what he did. A thought dawned on me: would he tell them what Spencer had done to me? He didn't really seem like the kind of person to share secrets around, but he might if it would get him in less trouble. As much as I wanted to expose Spencer for the kind of person he was, I knew the chances of them actually believing me was slim. Spencer was a golden boy in their eyes. It was only now that I noticed who was laying on the bed next to me, holding about a dozen tissues up to his nose.

He glared at me, and the sight of the blood on his face sickened me. "You and Asher are psychos," Spencer muttered, turning his gaze away from me to gather more tissues. "I'm pretty sure he broke my nose."

"It's what you deserve," I whispered back to him, confident because I know he couldn't do anything to hurt me in this position. He gave me a look out of his peripheral vision, but didn't say anything in reply to my statement. He dabbed a tissue in a bowl of water next to him and started scrubbing the blood off his face. I lifted my legs up and laid back down on the bed, not particularly having a reason to get up.

"Fucking seriously?" I heard him groan. He had used up the box of tissues on the little table next to the bed. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall behind him and let out a long sigh. Looking at him in this position, I almost felt bad. All of the shit he's put me through over the years, and I actually felt bad when he finally received his karma. Imagine that.

I grabbed the box of tissues that was on my little table and held it out to him, still keeping my face pointed away from his. After a couple of painfully long seconds, I felt the box get lifted from my hand and the sound of tissues being pulled out of it. He didn't say anything, but I never expected him to.

"Oh good, you're awake," came a cheery voice. I looked up to see one of the nurses walk into the room. It was a different one than the one I had encountered last time I fainted, which I was thankful for. "I'm Anne. If you don't remember, you passed out in the middle of a classroom. One of the security guards carried you back here to rest. I'm guessing the fainting was probably from feeling anxiety watching that fight." She turned her attention towards Spencer. "Speaking of, how are you holding up honey?"

"As well as I can be," he replied with a grin. The smile kind of lost its effect because of the bloody teeth, but he tried. He went back to the vigorous scrubbing of his face.

"That must have been wild. What exactly happened?" Anne asked, sitting on the end of my bed looking way too invested in hearing details about what happened. I shrugged, not wanting to relate specific facts. Spencer also avoided her quizzical gaze, which made her disappointed. "Well anyway, your father should be here in a couple minutes to take you to a hospital Spencer, so you should get your things." She glanced around at the empty room before leaning in and whispering, "do you think you're going to press charges?"

Spencer stood up and stretched, then gingerly touched his nose. "You know, it's very possible I might." He left the room, leaving a pile of bloody tissues on his bed for Anne to clean up.

"If you're feeling better..." she paused, so I helped her out and told her my name. "Oh yes, Madeline. If you're feeling better you can go to class or do you want me to call your parents to pick you up?"

"I think I'll go to class," I answered, smiling to signify that I was indeed feeling better. She nodded and walked out of the room, kitten heels clicking as she moved. I grabbed my bag and ran out of the room, eager to find the principals office and see if Asher was still in there. I rushed into the office area and found it almost deserted. The receptionist wasn't at her desk like usual, so I crept around the corner and hovered in front of the principals office. Leaning in, I listened for voices, and was greeted with muffled voices, one of which I could definitely tell was Ashers. I considered for a second bursting into the room like you'd see someone do in a TV show and yelling 'I object' before remembering that my social anxiety would certainly not permit that.