Chapter Eighteen
The following Saturday, I was interrupted as I was making grilled cheese for dinner by the shrill sound of my ringtone. I wasn't expecting to hear from anyone for a while, mainly because Harlow and Mason were both forced to see their grandparents again. Harlow rarely called while she was there because the service was extremely horrible at their house. Plus, her grandparents hated cell phones. Seriously, they despised cell phones.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Hey, how is she?" Harlow asked excitedly.
I laughed at her random question. "Uh, am I supposed to know who you're talking about?"
"What do you mean? Stop joking around, I want to hear how she looks and everything," she replied seriously.
"Harlow, what the heck are you talking about?"
"Gage's mom!"
I paused, still confused. "What about Gage's mom?"
"She's awake."
I froze, barely noticing my grilled cheese sandwich was burning. "What?" I said, moving the pan off the burner before turning the stove off.
"Gage called Mason really late last night saying that she woke up from her coma. Our grandmother heard the phone ring and took it away until just now, so I assumed Gage was going to tell you himself," she explained.
"What?" I repeated automatically.
Ignoring my repeated question, Harlow continued, "So he didn't tell you? No missed texts or calls from him?"
I quickly grabbed my sister's car keys from the counter and ran out the door. I didn't care that it was raining and that I didn't even grab a jacket, I just wanted to see how Gage's mom was.
"No, he didn't tell me. I'm on my way there now. I'll call you later, alright?"
"Yeah, sure. Tell Mrs. Jenson that Mason and I said hello."
"Will do," I said, hanging up my phone right after. I sped through the empty streets even though it wasn't the safest thing to do in the pouring rain.
Once I was in the hospital, I made my way toward her room, stopping when I saw two members of the Jenson family: Will and Gage. Luckily they were the only two there because I was going to tear Gage up for not telling me his mother woke up. I mean, who doesn't send a simple text to let me know their mother isn't in a coma anymore? After all, I did visit her almost every day since I had that little talk with Mr. Shultz on Tuesday.
"You!" I shouted, pointing angrily at Gage. His head turned toward me in surprise, while Will's expression looked more amused. I stomped over to them, close to being completely soaked from the rain, and pointed my finger directly in front of Gage's face. It was times like this that I wished I was taller so I could seem at least a little more intimidating to him.
"Why did I just hear that your mother woke up when she's been awake for almost a whole 24 hours?" I demanded. Will took a few steps back from us, though he still remained close. Probably because it looked like I might attack Gage for being so inconsiderate.
"I thought Harlow would've told you," he said defensively.
"Did you really think Harlow or Mason could've told me while they're at their grandparents' house? That's exactly why I just found out!"
Gage rubbed the back of his neck. "Well you know now..." he said, trailing off toward the end.
"That's not the point, Jenson! The point is that I was really worried about you and your family so you should've called right away! I wouldn't have cared what time it was either, so don't use that excuse."
He gaped at me for a second before replying. "You were worried about me?"
I hesitated, taken aback by his question. "What? No, I was worried about your family."
He shook his head slowly as a smirk formed on his face. "No, you said you were really worried about 'you and your family'," he added.
"No...you...I didn't—"
'You heard her, didn't you, Will?" Gage asked his brother-in-law.
"I think you might've heard wrong, Gage," Will answered as I looked at him with wide eyes. When Gage wasn't looking, he sent me a playful wink, knowing I definitely slipped up before.
"Whatever, my mom's been asking about you, so you better go see her," Gage stated.
I rolled my eyes and started walking toward her hospital room. "She asked about me and you still didn't call!" I exclaimed over my shoulder.
I took a deep breath before entering Mrs. Jenson's room. Just as I entered, Mr. Jenson, Hannah, and Hannah's kids were leaving.
"Oh, hey Kody. We're heading to the cafeteria, would you like anything?" Hannah asked me.
I remembered I didn't eat dinner, but I was more thirsty and cold than hungry. "Maybe a coffee, I guess." At least a cup of coffee might fill my stomach, considering I skipped dinner in my rush to get to the hospital.
"Sure, I'll bring that back."
"Thanks," I said before sitting next to Mrs. Jenson's bed. She was sitting up, looking very healthy and happy—almost too happy to be a patient at a hospital. Then again, she always did have a bright attitude, unlike her awful son.
"Oh Dakota, it's so good to see you, dear!"
"It's really great to see you too, Mrs. Jenson," I replied, smiling at her.
"Now, just because I was in a serious accident doesn't mean I want to be called Mrs. Jenson," she joked, reminding me to call her Pam. Her smile faltered as she noticed my soggy appearance. "Oh dear, did you walk here in the rain?"
I laughed. "No, I drove. I just forgot an umbrella and jacket in my hurry to get here."
She shook her head, smiling in a caring way as Gage walked in with two coffees in his hands.
"Here," he said, handing me a cup.
"Thanks," I muttered.
"Honey, will you give her your jacket? She's obviously freezing in her soaked clothes," Mrs. Jenson said.
"I'm fine, Mrs. J—Pam. I should be worrying about you, not the other way around," I replied, though Gage didn't listen. He draped his jacket across my shoulders anyway, probably because he didn't want to argue with his recovering mother.
"I'm a mother, it's my job to worry about my children and their friends. Besides, from what I've heard you've definitely spent enough time here worrying about me," Gage's mom stated.
"What? Who told you that?" She didn't answer, but instead glanced between Gage and me with a smile on her face.
"Other than what I overheard earlier, I know you've been visiting me quite often. Thank you for that," she answered.
I smiled sheepishly when she mentioned overhearing my shouting earlier. "Yeah, sorry about yelling earlier. Well, I'm not really sorry for yelling at your son, just that it happened in the middle of the hospital hallway."
"I understand, Gage should've called you. Why didn't you? Aren't you two together by now?" she asked, looking over at Gage who was a few feet away from me.
"Together? Of course not! Why would you think that?" Gage replied, laughing at the idea. Mrs. Jenson clearly looked disappointed; she didn't even try to hide her disappointment, unlike me. Yes, I was a little disappointed that he would answer her like that, but I knew deep down he was absolutely right. It was a ridiculous idea.
"I thought you two were...when I walked in on you...you're telling me you aren't together?" Mrs. Jenson asked, confused.
Gage laughed again while I forced a tight smile. "Mom, are you sure you didn't hurt your head worse than the doctors said? Come on, this is Dakota and me."
Mrs. Jenson smiled slightly to hide her disappointment. She faced me, so I kept forcing my fake smile. "Right, we'd never work together. Besides, we are so far from liking each other," I said to her.
Looking into Mrs. Jenson's eyes, I felt like she didn't believe me. It seemed like she knew more than I was letting on, so I decided to leave before she could decipher any feelings I was trying to hide.
"Anyway, I have to get back home. I promise I'll visit tomorrow though," I said, getting up. I started taking off Gage's jacket to give it back to him until he stopped me by putting his hand on my shoulder.
"Keep it until tomorrow. It's still raining," he said, nodding toward the sight of pouring rain from the window.
I nodded. "Uh, thanks. See you tomorrow, Pam."
"Goodbye, Dakota." I waved at them and smiled before making my way to the elevator. Once I was safely alone in the elevator, I let out a breath. I was glad Mrs. Jenson was awake and feeling much better, but when one bad thing ends, another arises. This time, the new 'bad thing' was realizing that no matter how much I cared about Gage and his family, he would never care about me in return.
You know, I mentioned before that I rarely cry unless I'm angry. Well, the only other time I cry is in the rain, when nobody can notice. So that's exactly what I did the second I stepped outside. I held my head up high as I walked to my car, while nobody but me realized I was letting out my pent up emotions through my own tears.
*****
"Hi," I greeted as I entered Mrs. Jenson's hospital room the next afternoon. Her entire family was already there, each person gathered around or near her bed.
"Dakota, it's great to see you again," Mrs. Jenson replied.
"Kody! Uncle Gage is taking me and Kevin to get ice cream!" Deliah exclaimed, jumping up and down happily.
"Really?" I replied enthusiastically as I bent down to her much shorter height.
She nodded before tugging on Gage's jacket. "Uncle Gage, can Kody come with us?"
"Deliah, she came here to see Grandma," he answered.
"No, Dakota can go with you if she wants. How about you meet us back at the house," Mrs. Jenson interjected.
I stood up and faced her. "Are you getting released today?"
"Yes, I am. You can see me later in my own comfortable house rather than miss out on getting ice cream to stay in this stuffy room."
"So you're coming with us?" Deliah asked hopefully.
I glanced at Mrs. Jenson and she nodded encouragingly. I quickly looked at Gage, who seemed rather indifferent toward the invitation. He didn't seem to completely hate the idea, so I smiled at Deliah. "Sure, I'll go with you."
"Remember to call if you need something or if anything happens," Hannah told Gage, who simply rolled his eyes and agreed. I sensed that Hannah had told him that quite a few times already.
"You're not going?" I asked her.
She shook her head. "No, my lovely brother offered to take them out while Will and I help Mom get situated back home."
"Oh, I see," I said, while Gage took Kevin from Will's arms.
"Let's go!" Deliah chimed, practically skipping out of the room.
As we approached an older model of a station wagon, I quietly laughed at the thought of Gage driving it. Of course my mental thoughts made Gage look over at me curiously.
"What are you laughing at?" he asked as we started strapping Kevin in his car seat.
"I was just picturing you driving this thing," I commented. I shut Deliah's car door after she was in and got into the passenger seat.
"You were thinking about me, huh?" he smirked, getting into the car.
"Not like that! I meant that you look weird driving this thing. I've only seen you drive your Mustang or motorbike."
"Yeah, well Hannah doesn't let me drive the Mustang with her kids, so we trade for a little while. Plus, Will loves my car almost as much as I do," he replied. "Besides," he added after a moment of silence, "I still look pretty cool driving this thing."
I glanced away from the window to look at him, only to see him smiling. For once he was actually joking around without smirking at me! I laughed and shook my head. "Sure you do, Jenson," I said sarcastically.
The ride to the ice cream shop wasn't long. The second Gage parked the car, Deliah ran out of the car and up to the open window of the small building. I chuckled at her excitement and followed her quickly before she could get kidnapped or something.
Once the four of us received the ice cream we ordered, we sat at a picnic table and ate outside. Deliah talked nonstop, though I loved hearing her describe anything and everything. She was a very talkative person and quite intelligent for her age. Of course she was still a young little girl who just wanted to have fun, and she certainly was fun to be around.
We were just finishing up when I noticed Kevin had chocolate ice cream all over his face. Gage didn't notice, probably because Kevin was on his lap and wasn't facing him. Smiling at the sight of the adorable toddler, I got up and bent down in front of him, cleaning his face with a napkin.
"You're a messy boy," I joked. Kevin started giggling while I was trying to clean his face, making it a rather difficult task. I was just starting to crumple up the dirty napkin when Kevin decided to smear the rest of his ice cream on my shirt.
As Kevin laughed and clapped his hands, I looked up at Gage. His eyes—which were only inches from mine at that point—were widened with surprise, though he tried to control his laughter. "Thanks so much for the help," I said to him. After he started laughing with his nephew and niece, I started laughing just as hard as them.
"Yeah, uh, sorry about that," Gage said once he controlled his laughter. He set Kevin on the table before handing me several napkins.
"It's fine, these things happen," I replied, cleaning as much ice cream off my shirt as I could. Gage cleaned his nephew while he told him that he wasn't supposed to put ice cream on people.
"You eat it, not waste it, buddy," he said with a grin.
After cleaning up, we drove back to Gage's house. Deliah chatted away from the back seat, keeping my thoughts occupied on her rather than her uncle. Honestly, I couldn't stop thinking about yesterday. The conversation with his mom made me realize that Gage really didn't have any positive feelings toward me, only negative. I think at this point I'd be able to ignore my change of feelings toward him if I focused on other things, like his cute niece and nephew. Then I could use school and dancing to keep my mind off of him all the other times.
"How was the ice cream?" Hannah asked as we entered the living room. Mrs. Jenson was resting on the couch, while her husband, Will, and Hannah were in chairs.
"Yummy," Kevin said. Gage handed him to Will and Deliah sat on the floor near Mrs. Jenson.
"Apparently he thought Dakota's shirt would enjoy it as much as him," Gage said in an amused tone.
"He did that?" Hannah gasped. "I'm so sorry!"
I laughed and shrugged it off. "It's alright. I never like this shirt anyway."
"Then why did you wear it?" Deliah wondered, causing a few adults to laugh.
"That's a good question," I grinned. "And my answer would be that it was the first one I grabbed to put on."
"Oh," she said before focusing her attention on something else.
"Gage, why don't you get an old shirt of yours for Dakota to change into," his mom suggested.
He nodded and started walking upstairs while I followed him. I looked at various band posters he had on his wall while he sifted through his drawer for t-shirt for me to change into.
"This is the smallest one I could find," he said.
I turned around and took a few steps toward him, only to trip on something—the edge of his bed, I think. However, I was close enough to Gage to grab onto his shoulders to stop me from falling. He also put his hands on my waist to steady me. As soon as that happened, I probably should've shrugged him off and made some idiotic joke or something. I should've pushed aside any thoughts I had about him. I should've done anything but pause and gaze into his eyes.
"Thanks," I whispered, still not moving away from him. He didn't move either, but instead chose to look right back into my eyes.
After what seemed like an eternity of just breathing and studying each other's eyes, we seemed to gradually move closer to each other until our lips touched. In the briefest possible time we kissed, I instantly knew my feelings toward Gage had changed. Unfortunately, I had no idea what he thought, which is why I broke the kiss. After what he said to his mom yesterday, I figured he was just caught in the moment and went along with the kiss.
"I'm sorry, I didn't meant to do that," I blurted, obviously lying. Lucky for me, Gage didn't seem to notice that I was lying.
"Dakota—"
"I'm going to go," I interjected, leaving quickly. I definitely didn't want to hear what he had to say to me. It was probably some insult or snarky remark about the kiss.
I jogged through the hallway and down the stairs, earning a few confused looks from everyone in the living room. I put on a fake smile and paused at the front door. "My mom called and wants me home. It was great seeing you all again and I hope you get well soon, Mrs. Jenson," I said quickly.
"Oh, well Gage can drive you home—" Mrs. Jenson started.
"That's not necessary," I interrupted, "I'll see you later." I barely heard their goodbyes as I rushed outside and shut the door behind me.
I kept replaying what happened as I ran away from Gage's house. I waited until I was safely around the corner and onto the next street to stop and take a breather. I knew I screwed up big time and the only person I could talk to was Harlow. So that's exactly where I headed, mentally bracing myself for whatever reaction she might have to what just happened.