Kane
It's been three days since Hannah fell down the stairs and managed to confine me to pain and agony with her . Sometimes I felt like limping on my foot upon seeing her doing so , as if she and I could experience the same things together because our bodies are connected by some sort of invisible thread.
She hasn't left her room much , only because I insisted on it .
Her mother is too lenient with her , that's why Hannah lacks discipline . But I made sure she does as I said in order to avoid getting her foot worse . Thankfully Donna welcomed my help taking care of her little beast and I couldn't be more delighted to spend my time here doing something useful .
Or maybe I am just over the moon to be around Hannah .
I have no clue wether she recalls our small talk the night of her fall , but I guess not since she was under the effect of painkillers , and also because she didn't mention it at all and kept ignoring me but surprisingly complying to whatever I tell her .
I don't really care if she knows though , I have been sneaking to her room at night carefully to check up on her , otherwise I won't be able to rest assured .
I feel like babysitting her , Donna has been busy working a lot lately . Always on online meetings and rarely coming out , when she does it's to check on Hannah . Which is why I have been around her a lot . Beth is helping too , cooking her all kinds of soups and nutritive food to help Hannah heal faster .
Today she managed to go downstairs , with my help of course . Beth is busy with house duties and Donna is in her room again . So it's only me who could help her . Although it wasn't the best idea I had since it required some ... touching . The girl had to hold on to my arm and the railing for support obviously .
« I'm going to let go now , are you sure you can stand on your own ? »
She nods without looking at me and immediately lets go of my arm . I raise an eyebrow , she is not usually fond of me but now she is trying to ignore my entire existence . She steadies herself then takes a step and manages not to fall but winced a bit .
I never knew how much seeing her in pain pains me as well . But she walks towards the living room limping slowly on her foot , fisting her hands at her sides and never once glancing back at me . Beth meets her halfway to the living room and gasps in joy .
« My little dove ! You got better , but you are still eating the salmon soup I prepared for you . » The woman said as she rushed to her side to try and support her but Hannah kindly declined her help and kept marching towards the living room .
She settles down on the couch with a groan , I walk there as well and take a seat on the other end , far away from her . She turns on the TV and focuses on it instead . I hate this new treatment , no more fighting or arguing or challenging , as if she is trying to avoid any sort of interaction between us . If only I knew why !
I clear my throat and decide to break the silence . « You'll still need to see a doctor after the storm ends.»
She nods , her eyes focused on the TV showing some monkey eating from a car tire . The Hannah I am starting to know would have at least tried to defy me giving her instructions about what to do . Something changed , I just need to know what .
« Look away . » She grits through her teeth . Here she is , the girl who sat on my lap and managed to occupy my mind for longer than anyone had .
« What ? »
« Look . Away . » She says still flipping through the programs on TV , then her eyes meet mine in a deadly stare . « You're making me uncomfortable . » She turns her focus back to the screen in front of us.
I chuckle still looking at her , enjoying her irritation from my demeanor .
Staring at her isn't my choice anymore , it's a need . It's a natural instinct too . Whenever she's around my eyes keep drifting to her , memorizing her expressions and features , saving her image in my head to look back at it later . But she doesn't know how much she's permeated my life .
It's wrong and I really am aware it is , but it's hard to stick to morals when all I want to do whenever I see her is hide her from the world and keep her for myself .
« ... therefore it will be safe to go back to our regular lives starting from tomorrow ... »
My head snaps to the TV , the woman's words hit me hard .
We will go back to normal tomorrow since the snow storm will be over by then . I cast a quick glance at the girl beside me , but her expression is well guarded and concealed .
She's good at it , very good even , but I will become even better at reading her .
« Is this true ? Is the snow storm over ? » Donna appears next to me , her face tired and her eyes puffed, she looks between me and Hannah and we both nod at once .
Donna goes to Hannah's side . « If that's true then ... I will have to go to New York tomorrow , Hannah . »
Hannah's brows furrow as she looks up at her mother . My phone rings and I leave them alone to go talk to my uncle .
« You heard the news . » I say in a neutral tone answering the phone , although I should be happy to be finally able to leave .
« Everyone heard the news , it's a small town , Kane and you seem to forget that . »
How can I forget ? Tolom is the town of the rich , yes , but it is still one where every minor event reaches the ears in no time , no matter how false or true it is .
In winter , Tolom is quiet and serene , no visitors come around because of the bad weather in this time of the year , but in summer it flourishes , it gets full of people coming around for visiting the cheap miniature of Las Vegas . There are clubs and bars here and amazing hotels for that purpose and many festivals are held too . But it never managed to amaze me , which is why I avoid staying in town during summer .
« Of course , uncle . How are you doing ? You don't need anything , do you ? » I ask as though I could get him anything while I am stuck here .
« I'm fine , but you must not be delighted about being stuck in someone else's house . »
I shake my head and look back at the living room . I could see that Donna had settled down next to Hannah , talking about something that seemed pretty important .
« You heard about that too , apparently . But there is no need to worry anymore , tomorrow everything will be back to normal . »
« Indeed , come visit me as soon as you can , son . You're always welcome here . »
« I will . Take care . »
When I hang up , I start walking upstairs but Donna calls for me so I turn to face her .
« Thank you for being here for Hannah , Kane ... I am sorry I put that burden on you ... »
« No , I'm glad to be useful . »
She smiles tightly then looks away , rubbing her arm . « So I was ... thinking about Hannah's ... punishment ... »
I raise my eyebrows . I completely forgot about that part , principal Reid will be waiting for a decision once we go back to school . I really still don't know what to do about that , but I am certain I won't be giving her any suspension .
« I will come up with something that wouldn't affect her record . »
Donna's shoulders sag in relief , her eyes gleam with happiness . Sometimes I wonder how could such a soft human give birth to the little ball of fire sitting in the living room now , uncaring about this conversation .
« I don't know how to thank you anymore , Kane . »
I just nod and walk up the stairs .
I skip dinner and just stay in the room . I won't be eating much if Hannah is going to sit across from me yet choose to ignore me .
I would rather have her sarcasm and bold statements than her silence .
I just keep staring at the ceiling , sometimes looking out the window . It is not snowing that much anymore , soon it will stop but the weather will still be frozen and frosty . If only I had a book with me to keep me company . If only I could go out there and take my bag from the car .
If only I could get my mind to function properly and forget about her ...
Someone knocks on my door . I stand up and open it to find Hannah carrying a tray of food . To my surprise I just stand there staring at her .
« Beth insisted on sending you some food ... » Her voice is low and her eyes won't meet mine . Then suddenly she pushed the tray against my chest , a little too forcefully .
I let out a chuckle , taking the tray from her then look at her again . « Thank you for thinking of me . »
Her head snaps to mine . « I wasn't ... » She stops talking when I grin at her .
Torturing her might be my new favorite hobby .
« Anyway , I wanted to ... thank you ... for helping me during this few days ... »
Oh my , Hannah Floris thanking me ?
I must write that down as soon as possible to remember this moment .
« You're welcome , Hannah . »
She swallows hard then nods , however she doesn't leave .
Instead , she stands there staring up at me with those big brown eyes hidden behind a curtain of black lashes , she seems hesitant about saying something and I am too lost in her chocolate brown pools to care about anything else .
We stand there staring at one another for too long , until she inhales a deep breath and looks away .
« Good night , Mr Oliver . »
She limps away and I keep looking at her as she disappears inside her room , my jaw flexed and eyes narrowed .
I could give my life to hear her calling me by my first name again , but this time maybe in a softer tone .
But knowing Hannah , I realise this small thing might be just a fantasy I can't make real no matter what .
****************
School didn't start until a day after the town was allowed to go back to usual . The roads still needed to be cleared from the snow , along with houses' roofs and some trees . I left Hannah's house yesterday , Donna was very grateful and kept thanking me for taking care of Hannah , while the later didn't leave her room or come to say anything to me .
Not that we won't meet at school but still ... I hoped that after her little gesture the night before something might have changed between us .
Today , once I came to school as I expected , principal Reid was awaiting me . I informed him of my decision regarding Hannah and it didn't please him very much since I didn't ask for her suspension as he had hoped , instead I demanded she helps correcting some papers with me on Saturday at school .
Usually Saturday is meant to be a weekend day but not for those who need discipline .
I sip from my warm coffee as I stare down at the school entrance , it is crowded and noisy as usual , car honks and girls' giggles fill the place . But I am only awaiting her arrival .
A car comes into view , then soon later I see James coming out of his seat , but he was a little too late since Hannah already opened her door and got out before he could manage to assist her . She is still injured , her ankle will need about two to three months to fully heal , but she is doing well coping with it. She carries her backpack as she smiles at James and limps towards the school amid everyone's stares at her , she is good at ignoring them though , I smile at that .
« Hannah ! »
Iker calls out for her and runs to her side , this managed to wipe away my smile . He seems worried as he holds her arm and helps her walk . She glares at him and pushes him away , probably refusing his help . But it still doesn't alleviate the anger rising within me right now at the scene before me .
It gets worse though .
The asshole lifts her up on his shoulder like a lightweight cat . I can see her eyes widen as she struggles against his hold and shouts something at him , but then amid her wave of rage , she lifts her head up and her eyes meet mine , her lips part and her struggle stops .
I squeeze the mug of coffee in my hand so tight I can feel it crack .
I wait for her to start kicking and fighting against the boy but she goes still , her eyes never leaving mine , an unreadable look on them as Iker carries her inside between cheers and laughters and gasps of the students around them .
I don't look way until she disappears inside the school , what did I expect anyway ?
The boy is her age , he obviously is into her and he cares about her enough to not bear seeing her limping and carrying her inside himself to spare her the trouble .
Way to make myself angrier .