“Take it easy for the next few days,” my doctor, Dr. Lyons, suggested, glancing down at the clipboard in his hand. “The stitches in your back shouldn’t cause too much discomfort, but if they do come back and have it checked out. Also, as of now there are no signs that the wound is infected, but if you feel anything weird, let me know.”
I nodded, trying to keep my back as straight as possible. It was my first time getting stitches. For some reason I imagined them not hurting at all, but I was completely wrong about that. As soon as the good-for-nothing pain reliever went away, the pain hit full throttle. “Do you know if my parents are here yet?”
Dr. Lyons shook his head. “No, not yet. They might not be able to make it though.”
“What? Why?”
“The marsh flooded over. Apparently the whole road lining it is underwater. Isn’t that one you have to take to get to your house?”
My jaw nearly dropped at this news. First I had to be questioned for hours by the police about why I was in Walmart. Second I had to deal with the 24 News station that had came out of nowhere to try to talk to Anthony and myself about our whole Walmart ordeal like Anthony had predicted. And now there was a chance I wouldn’t even be able to get home? Was the world against me today? I didn’t want to be stuck in a hospital after being stuck in Walmart!
“If you’d like, you could call your family back to see if they’re trapped or not,” Dr. Lyons offered, gesturing toward the side table where the landline was. “I think they called on your brother’s phone.”
“That would be great!” I responded eagerly, sliding off of the examination table I was on.
“I’ll give you some privacy this time, just in case it’s a repeat of the first time…”
A sheepish expression crossed my face and I grimaced, feeling a blush threaten my cheeks. He had been in the room during that call. Long story short, it was emotional and I burst out crying in front of him. Not to mention he could probably hear my mother wailing on the other side as well. I wanted to put that behind us and never bring it up again.
As soon as Dr. Lyons left my hospital room, I dialed my brother’s number and on the second ring he picked up. “Ellie?”
“Hey Mason,” I greeted, a smile slipping onto my face. “Where are you? Are you coming?”
“The marshes are flooded,” he responded and I could almost hear the frown in his voice. “Mom says it’s impossible to cross and there’s police there preventing people from doing so anyway, so I can’t come get you.”
My heart sunk a little in my chest. “Oh, okay… Make sure Mom doesn’t do anything crazy.”
Mason chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”
“So, um, I didn’t get to ask earlier because… well, you know, but how’s the house?” I asked the question hesitantly, not sure whether or not I wanted to know the answer.
“Surprisingly, it’s fine. The roof is a little damaged, but Mom thinks it’ll be easy to fix. Oh, and the window in your room broke and it’s pretty wet in there.”
I pursed my lips. Figures. “Any word from Julius yet?”
“No,” my brother responded, lowering his voice. “I went next door too. His parents were there, but they said he was at a friend’s when the hurricane was starting so they told him to stay there.”
“Friend’s where?”
“Dunno,” Mason replied vaguely. “He better call soon though. His parents are worried sick.”
I shifted uncomfortably on my feet. “I’m worried too…”
“I’m sure he’s fine, El.”
“I know. But it is Julius, Mason.”
“Since it’s Julius, you can expect him flapping to your hospital room window with cardboard wings.”
I giggled. “So true.”
“He’ll probably have to stay with us for awhile. His parents are going to stay with friends too.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Tree landed on their house. Roof was completely destroyed.”
My hand shot to my mouth. “Oh no!”
Suddenly I heard the sound of my mom speaking in the background and the scuffling of the phone being passed. “Hi Honey!”
“Hi Mom.”
“I’m so sorry, but—”
“You can’t come get me, I know,” I responded with a sigh. “That’s okay. My car is still at Walmart anyway. I’ll just drive home when I get the chance.”
She sniffled. “Where will you stay?”
“I’ll figure something out. Maybe Ant…” I trailed off, blinking at my thoughts. How could I stay with Anthony? I hadn’t seen him since we left the police station. We were both brought to the hospital, but in separate cars. I didn’t even know what room he was in.
“Ant?”
“Er, I meant I could find a friend to stay with or something. I’ll go through my contacts.”
She exhaled lightly. “Okay, but call me and keep me updated.”
“I will.”
“And I’ll keep you updated about the marshes.”
“Will do.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too,” I said, pulling the phone away from my ear. “Bye, Mom.”
She bid me adieu just before I placed the phone back down onto the side table. Running a hand through my hair, I slipped back on my shoes and headed out of the hospital room. I didn’t know where I was going, but I could start off by trying to find Anthony.
Part of me didn’t want to though.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a tiny bit annoyed with him. He’d lied to me after all— and I knew I was being a hypocrite. I’d lied to him too. But this was different. Totally different. I couldn’t believe he lied about being locked in when there was still a chance I could’ve gotten home and back to my family. If he hadn’t pretended we were trapped, I wouldn’t have had to suffer all the worry.
But then again, if he hadn’t said we were trapped, I wouldn’t have gotten to know him like I did over the last three days. This made me grind my teeth. Why were there always pros and cons to these things?
I decided to let him explain himself. If he had a good reason for lying to me, I’d let it slide. If he didn’t… I figured I’d scold him a little bit, but that was all. I still had to admit my fib. The thought of telling him my real age made my stomach twist uncomfortably. I couldn’t get the thought of him thinking I was some silly high school girl out of my head.
Instead of wandering around for Anthony’s room like and idiot, I went to the front desk and asked the receptionist what room he was placed in. After acquiring the number, 1024, I hastened off to it, suddenly eager to see the handsome young man. I located the room easily and placed my hand on the door handle, pausing for a split-second. Taking a deep breath, I pushed open the door.
Anthony’s head snapped in my direction immediately. His eyes lit up when they landed on me and a grin formed on his face. “Ellie!”
“Anthony,” I returned, smiling reflexively back at him.
“How are you feeling?” he inquired, patting the spot next to him on his bed. “Have a seat.”
I slunk over to the bed, taking a seat next to him. “Well, I got six stitches in my back, so that kind of sucks.”
He winced. “Ouch. I got three on my head.” He pointed to the gauze wrapped around his forehead. “It’s hardly noticeable though, so don’t worry, it won’t ruin my good looks.”
“What good looks?”
Raising an eyebrow, he waved his hand in front of his body. “Hel-lo?”
I laughed, the action feeling refreshing. “How vain.”
“So have you contacted your family?” he asked, changing the subject. “I called my apartment manager a little bit ago. Everything’s okay there.”
“That’s good,” I told him, cupping my elbow with my hand. “I guess the window in my room broke, but that’s about it. Julius’s roof was crushed by a tree though.”
He let out a low whistle. “That sucks.”
“No what sucks is that he’ll be staying with us for awhile,” I muttered. “He’ll like, make me do his laundry.”
Anthony chuckled, but it sounded kind of fake. “That’s like him…”
“Is your apartment on this side of the marsh?”
“Yeah, why?”
I swallowed nervously, trying to form my next question in my mouth. Would it be weird if I asked? There was no one else I could go to. My phone was dead, so I didn’t have any contacts… “Actually, I can’t get home because the marshes flooded so I don’t have anywhere to stay.”
Comprehension dawned on his face at once. “Ahh, so you want to stay at my place?”
“If, um, you know, it’s okay with you,” I mumbled, lowering my gaze to the floor. It couldn’t be too different from spending the last two nights at Walmart together. We would just be in a more enclosed space…
“It’s totally fine with me!” he chirped excitedly. “I was actually just thinking it was kind of sucky how we weren’t able to stay together longer.”
Now I looked back up at him, narrowing my eyes. “Speaking of that, Mr. Quinn…”
He grinned sheepishly. “Yes?”
“Why didn’t you tell me we weren’t trapped!” I demanded at once.
Holding up his hands defensively, he grimaced at my loud tone. “Easy, girl. I thought it was pretty obvious why I didn’t tell you.”
I waited for him to continue.
“It was really dangerous out there. I didn’t want you driving home in that and I heard enough about you to know you would try if you could.”
My annoyance faded instantly. “Really?”
“Really,” he pressed, his green eyes completely serious. “I know I shouldn’t have lied, but—”
“It’s fine!” I interjected quickly. “Yeah, it’s totally cool. You had a good reason, haha…”
He quirked an eyebrow at my fake laughter, but didn’t comment on it. “There was another reason I lied to you too.”
“There was?” I asked, my heart speeding up a little.
“Yeah. To be completely honest, I was kind of excited with the idea that we’d get to spend some time together,” he admitted, scratching the back of his head. “Like, I heard a lot about you, but I didn’t know you in person. I thought it’d be a good time to see if you were like how Julius made me picture you.”
I smiled a little bit. “Was I?”
“You were better,” he told me with a laugh. “I got to know you a lot, Ellie. Probably more than Julius.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. “Probably. Julius is too busy ordering me around and treating me like a dog to pay attention to what I have to say.”
“What a jerk.”
“Has he called you by chance?”
Anthony tilted his head to the side. “Julius?”
“Yeah.”
“No, why?”
I frowned. “Nobody can get in contact with him…”
“I’m sure he’s fine.”
Sighing lightly, I shifted myself further back on Anthony’s hospital bed and pulled my knees up to my chest, setting my chin on my knee caps. “Everyone keeps saying that.”
He lightly slapped me on the back. “No shun-the-world position, Ellie. Julius is fine.”
“I’m worried about him,” I mumbled, staring at the floor. My eyes started to water and I blinked rapidly, trying to force the tears away. Why was I so sentimental today? Was it because I was tired?
Anthony forced my knees back down and pulled me into his side, putting an arm around me. “Ellie, it’s okay.”
“It’s not—”
“No,” he interjected forcefully. “I don’t want to hear any negative thoughts. You’re twenty, Ellie, not some teenager. Think rationally.”
Irritation welled up in me. “What’s wrong with teenagers?”
He blinked at me. “Ah, well…”
“What?” I pressed, narrowing my eyes. I knew it. Anthony had something against teenagers. It was a good thing I’d lied to him. Somewhere in my heart it hurt, but I was too annoyed to be bothered by it. “What’s wrong with teenagers? You were a teenager once, weren’t you? And technically, eighteen year olds are adults and teenagers—”
“Ellie,” he cut me off, putting a hand over my mouth. “That just came out the wrong way.”
Pulling his hand down, I opened my mouth, ready to tell him my secret. However, when I tried to speak, I found I couldn’t find my voice. He gazed at me curiously as I opened and closed my mouth like a fish. I needed to tell him right now that I was only eighteen! I’d be staying with him until the marsh went down. Alone. In his apartment. Who knew what would happen? My cheeks tinged pink at my thoughts, but I knew it was true. He was a college guy.
“Hey Anthony, I—”
My words were suddenly cut off as the door burst open. Immediately I was shoved away from Anthony, almost toppling off his bed. Somehow I managed to stop myself from falling by gripping the metal railings. “What the—”
“Anthony!” the person entering the room shouted loudly.
Looking up, I found myself staring at Julius. The blonde’s blue eyes widened considerably. My jaw dropped. “Julius!” I cried, now throwing myself off the bed and nearly stumbling over my legs in my rush to get to him.
“Ellie!” he said excitedly, pulling me into a bear hug. “Oh my God! I’m so happy you’re okay!”
“I’m so happy you’re okay!” I countered, feeling tears at my eyes again. “My brother said you never contacted him!”
He pulled away slightly to grin at me. “The phone lines were down, silly.”
“Well they’re back up now. You could have called!”
“Sorry, sorry! I was kind of worried about this guy here behind you. His apartment manager has been calling me nonstop, telling me to go check on him in the hospital. The roads are a pain in the ass though. You can hardly get anywhere.”
I turned to face Anthony, who was staring at us with what I thought was a irked expression. It quickly went away and was replaced with a grin when he caught my gaze. “Hey, I needed someone to get me. My car’s still at Walmart.”
“Mine too,” I added. “It’d be grand if you could bring us there to get them.”
Julius nodded. “Sure thing. Oh yeah! Ellie, the marshes are flooded, so you’ll need a place to stay—”
“Yeah, Anthony already said I could stay at his apartment,” I told him brightly. “Right Anthony?”
Julius narrowed his eyes at the man in question. “Is that so?”
Anthony returned his gaze with a challenging one. “What about it? It’s not like I’m going to leave her on the street.”
“I guess you won’t mind me staying at your place too then. I can’t exactly get back to my house with the marshes like that either.”
“Sure,” Anthony responded smoothly. “You’ll probably have to sleep on the couch though.”
I switched my gaze between the two of them, seeing some underlying tension. For what reason, I wasn’t sure of. “Um, so Anthony, when can you leave the hospital?”
“I can leave now,” he told me, jumping off his bed.
Julius knocked on his head. “What’d you do to yourself?”
“A clock fell on me during the earthquake.”
Rudely, Julius burst into a fit of laughter. “Dude! You got wrecked by a clock!”
“Shut up,” Anthony muttered, elbowing his friend in the ribs. “It could’ve been serious.”
“A serious clock to the head. Get it? Get it?” Julius said, slapping his knee and continuing to laugh.
Anthony sent me a wary look. “You two are eerily alike.”
“Please don’t say that.”
Without warning, Julius wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “What’s this, Ellie? You don’t want to be like the almighty Julius?”
I squirmed out of his grasp. “No.”
“Just wait. Once you’re out of hi—”
My hand slapped to his mouth, causing both him and Anthony to jump in surprise. “Once I’m out of what, Julius?” I asked tensely, trying to think of a way to stop him from saying what he was about to say.
“Mmph,” he responded incoherently.
“Out of the hospital? What? Are you going to molest me or something?”
Anthony snorted while Julius just rolled his eyes. I, on the other hand, pummeled myself on the inside. Molest? What the hell was I thinking?
“Let him breathe, Ellie,” Anthony said, shaking his head. “He won’t molest you while I’m around.”
I let go of Julius who huffed. “What? I would never molest Ellie!”
“I disagree. I think you would.”
“I wouldn’t!”
“Don’t you think she’s cute?”
“Yes, but—”
“And you’re a pervert,” Anthony cut him off quickly. “I think it’s plausible.”
Julius glowered at him. “I wouldn’t touch Ellie if she didn’t want me to!”
“Guys,” I interjected, smiling wryly, “can we not talk about this?”
Chuckling, Anthony shrugged. “Whatever you want, Ellie.”
Julius stared at him suspiciously. “You seem awfully comfortable talking to her now… Which reminds me... Why are you two in the same room? And how come you welcomed her to stay at your place? I didn’t even know you talked, let alone were friends that visited each other in the hospital.”
“Julius,” I started slowly, “have you been listening at all?”
“Yes?”
“Where did I say I left my car?”
“Walmart…”
“Where did Anthony leave his?”
He frowned. “Walmart. Why are both your cars at Walmart?”
Antony cocked an eyebrow. “Don’t you watch the news?”
“Er, sometimes…”
“You’re just like Ellie,” he sighed. “Should’ve guessed.”
Julius furrowed his eyebrows. “What am I missing?”
“We’ve been trapped in Walmart for the past three days,” I told him bluntly. “Anthony and I both.”
His jaw dropped to the floor. “What?”
Antony laughed at his expression. “Dude! I have to take a picture of your face right now!”
“Wait, are you kidding me? You two have been stuck in Walmart?” he cried, staring between the two of us. “You’re kidding me!”
I shook my head. “We’re not.”
“How?”
“Toilet paper…”
He stared at me.
“My mom,” I told him.
“Ah,” he responded in a knowing tone. “How did you get stuck though?”
“Those reinforcement walls,” I responded. “They kept us trapped.”
Suddenly his eyes narrowed at Anthony. “Trapped, huh?”
Anthony returned his expression with a sheepish one. “Well…”
“Ellie, did you know there was a door in those walls? That you could have got out of?”
“Well—”
“Anthony, what were you thinking? That was dangerous! Why didn’t you tell her you could leave?”
Straightening his back, Anthony frowned at him. “It was more dangerous outside. It was a hurricane, Julius.”
“So you think being inside Walmart is safer?”
“Then driving around outside in it? Of course I do.”
“You just wanted alone time with Ellie, didn’t you?”
“What if?” Anthony challenged.
I glanced between the two of them, completely confused. Why was Julius acting so defensively? It wasn’t like Anthony was a complete stranger to me. Was he angry that Anthony lied to me about the door?
“You know, lying isn’t exactly the best fundament to build a relationship on,” Julius said harshly.
I winced. His words were very true. How could I lie to Anthony if I wanted to be in a relationship with him? That made me a terrible person. “Julius,” I interposed, gaining his attention. “It’s fine. I really don’t mind.”
“Ellie—”
“Why do you care so much, Julius? Hmm?” Anthony questioned, a smirk spreading across his face.
Julius crossed his arms. “Why wouldn’t I care? Ellie’s my friend.”
“And I kept her safe.”
“Whatever,” he mumbled. “I still can’t believe you guys were in Walmart for three days…”
I sighed lightly. “You will when you see the news reports.”
“New reports?”
“You think something like this would go unconvered?”
Julius laughed. “Oh, yeah. Hey, maybe they’ll play some of the camera recorded by the security cameras.”
My eyes widened. Was that possible? Were they allowed to do that? I glanced at Anthony, who looked as uncomfortable as I did. “Haha, maybe…” I said awkwardly.
Julius raised an eyebrow. “What’s with that look? What? Did you two do something bad?”
“No!” we both denied quickly.
“Hmm,” he hummed suspiciously. “Guess I won’t be keeping you two in the same room tonight.”
My face flamed. “J-Julius! I-It’s not like that!”
“Uh-huh.”
“Really!”
He winked at me. “Don’t think I don’t know, Ellie.”
I glared at him when I realized he was talking about the fact he knew I had a crush on Anthony. I’d kill him if he said anything.
“You’ll be up all night then, Julius. You can’t keep me away from Ellie,” Anthony remarked teasingly.
My heart flip-flopped in my chest. Suddenly I just wanted to go home. How would I be able to stay with Julius and Anthony?
_____________________________________________
Hey guys! I'm back to my four day schedule! Woop! And I'm going to keep it that way. Well, ASR will be a day late because I have sooo much homework. BUT STILL. I'm doing my best! Bare with me! :) So how are we liking Julius?
Funny story. Today in my ecology class my teacher threw a marker at some boys that were talking, and the marker hit the lab table they were at and split down the middle and the ink thing flew out. The whole class was like o.o because this is the second time it's happened. And then I went outside with him and my friends Matt and Avarie to identity some leaves, and he pointed at like the tallest tree and was like, "I want that one." So he grabs the tree and pulls it down so he can grab the leaf he wanted. I was like, you're not human.... It was so funny xD He's so strong.
Join my Facebook page! It's in the external link :)
Anyway! Song of the day is Stereo Hearts by Gym Class Hereos. I love Adam LevineAndd story of the day is Better Than Revenge by TayMonet95! Here's the description!
Ever since Violet first moved into the house next to Brianna's, she had been tortured relentlessly. It seems that Brianna has everything and yet she still doesn't have the one thing she really wants. The thing that Violet loves the most. Blake. Blake and Violet have been dating for a little over a year and Blake is finally growing into his looks. He is starting to get noticed by the school's "barbies". (Or as Violet calls them, the stuck-up-skanks.) After years of letting Brianna tease her, Violet has finally had enough. She is tired of sitting back and watching as Brianna trys to take over every little aspect of her life. Revenge is sweet. Well at least until someone gets hurt. ♥