Anna went inside the nurse's office and was immediately cooled by the blasting ACs on the wall. She could spot the nurse's head bobbing up and down behind the high desk and she made her way over to her.
She rapped her knuckles on the top of the desk, drawing the nurse's attention. The nurse looked up at her with a blink and a smile spread over her face. "Oh, hello," she greeted warmly. "How are you?"
"Fine," Anna answered blandly. She couldn't bother to entertain the nurse's niceness today so she cut straight to the point. "Is Jessi here?"
"Jessi?" The nurse blinked again, bemused. Her smile transformed in a suggestive one. "Aw, you came to look for Jessi."
Anna almost – almost – contemplated saying no and making up some excuse as to why she was here. Her mouth even opened, ready to say that she had been sent here by his Spanish teacher but then she stopped herself. Why do I care enough to bother?
"Yes," Anna replied. She looked around the room, avoiding the allusive eyes of the nurse. The back of her neck burned hotly at the implication she knew the nurse was making. "I came to see him. Where is he?"
A sudden glint popped up in the nurse's eye. Anna looked away, oddly uncomfortable. "He's resting one of the beds," the nurse said. She shuffled papers on her desk, pulling her lips back as if trying to hold back a smile. "Don't worry, take your time. I'll be out of your hair."
"There's no need to do that."
"Oh, don't worry! I'll give you two some private time." She was quick to get to her feet, the roll of her chair drowning out Anna's protest. She was by the door in a flash. She paused and looked back at Anna. Anna stared after her, bewildered. The nurse giggled behind her hand and left the room.
That's odd, was Anna's only thought as she made her way to the beds. Only one curtain was drawn and she pulled it aside.
Jessi laid on his side, his legs curled up beneath him. This morning, Anna had watched him sleep in that same position, moaning and groaning all night. She could tell that the position comforted him, that it hurt less when he was curled up on his side. She drew the curtain back behind her and sat in the chair beside the bed.
Anna stared into Jessi's face. It was an ugly colour, almost completely purple. The swelling had gone down and there was a Band-Aid across his cheek, covering the cut she knew was hidden beneath. He breathed silently, manageable. It was peaceful, she could tell, even while his body looked as if it was dragged by a raging bull. Anna leaned forward bringing her face closer to his.
His eyelashes shadowed his cheek delicately. They were long, well-spaced and thin. She was suddenly tempted to touch them, to see how they would feel under her finger. It would be prickly, she thought musingly. Or maybe they're softer than they looked.
Anna raised her hand, the temptation taking her over. She was just a mere inch away from brushing them and satisfying her weird curiousity when they fluttered. She froze. Jessi's eyelashes fluttered again and then gently parted. His deep brown eyes were cloudy, unseeing. They shifted once, twice, before coming to rest on her.
Anna still hadn't moved. It was as if her muscles had turned to stone, and her blood began to run cold. She got caught. She got caught and yet she continued to stare at him like a deer caught in headlights. They gawked at each other, brown eyes meeting brown eyes. One was wide with embarrassment, the other filled with confusion. Then Jessi smirked.
"Like what you see?"
Anna pulled back immediately. She instantly crossed her arms, tucking the traitorous finger into her hand. It was as if Jessi's words had picked her and plunged her into a steamy sauna. Heat exploded on her face and she looked away, refusing to meet his amused eyes.
Anna's eyes darted to Jessi then away before she said, "I was just coming to check on you."
"You take your job very easily I see," Jessi murmured with a chuckle. He rolled over onto his back slowly. Spreading his hands out on the bed, he pushed himself into position, hissing.
Anna watched his face contort. "You don't know the half of it," she murmured.
Some of the heat in her face faded when she saw the pain in his. Her arms remained folded, although they itched to reach out and help him. She wasn't sure what she would do if she ever got so close to him again and she didn't trust herself at the moment to chance it. Still, after a while of watching him struggle, Anna got up to help him sit up. She picked up the pillow and pushed it behind his back.
"Glad to see I'm finally receiving the care of Nurse Anna," Jessi grinned at her.
Anna pointedly ignored his smile. "Yeah, well I only take severe cases," she said as she fluffed the pillow. "This looks pretty severe to me."
"Looks?" He barked a laugh. "It feels that way too. I feel like crap."
"Then, aren't you glad I'm here to help?"
"Fluffing my pillow won't help me."
"Oh yeah?"
"I need human contact." His voice grew serious and Anna paused, her eyes shifting to him. He was looking at her, serious as a judge. Suddenly, he broke out into a wide smile. Anna felt the breath leave her in a silent whoosh. "Come on, Anna. I'm joking."
She sat in the chair, eager to get away. "You're sitting in the nurse's office black and blue and yet you feel like joking? I can bet you can't even walk."
"We don't need to walk. We don't even need to leave this room."
"Yeah, well I have a life." Not one you could ever imagine though.
Jessi sighed, but his face was still alive. "Anna."
"What?"
"What do you think happened to me?"
Anna blinked at the blunt question. Her brain worked fast. "Looks like someone jumped you. Sounds logical seeing that you walk around like you're worth a million bucks."
"I am worth a million bucks," he joked. Then he grew serious again. "But that's not what happened."
Anna felt trepidation churn her stomach. She kept her face still, even while she mentally questioned herself on why she was reacting this way. "What happened then?"
"I got kidnapped."
"You give them anything?"
Jessi frowned, as if he wasn't expecting that reaction. "You don't sound surprised."
Crap. Anna shrugged. "I told you. You walk around like you're worth a million bucks. People are bound to kidnap you if they'll get something out of it."
He continued to stare at her but she wouldn't – or rather couldn't – meet his eyes. She stared down at the bedside, waiting anxiously for him to say something. "Ah, right ... well, they wanted something from me alright. Except it wasn't money."
"Oh?"
"I don't know what it is, though. They kept beating me up, as if that would get something out of me." He laughed bitterly.
"That sucks." Anna needed to get out from under his stare. She got up and made her way over to the water cooler beside the farthest bed. She sipped slowly from the paper cone, trying hard not to fidget with Jessi's eyes boring into her back.
You're slipping, Anna! Get back on track. Remember why you're here.
She crushed the paper cone and threw it away. Anna returned to her seat. "You sure you don't know what they wanted?" she asked as soon as she seated.
Jessi shook his head. "No clue."
"That's bad," she admitted. "They might come back after you."
"I don't think that's going to be a problem."
"Yeah?"
Jessi grinned again, excitedly. "I met a spy," he told her.
Anna almost laughed. Instead, she just raised her eyebrows in surprise. "A what?"
"A spy!" Jessi was practically bouncing now, his excitement all over the place. Anna found it sort of ... cute. "It was a girl and she kicked some ass."
Anna was enjoying this immensely. She crossed her arms, frowning on the outside while she gloated on the inside. Damn right, I kicked some ass.
Jessi caught her frown and elaborated. "She came bursting through the door, throwing knives and killing people. She had on this black face mask so I couldn't really see her face but I knew it was a girl because of the hair and, well, that body was killer."
Killer body? She flushed. Anna's eyes darted away from Jessi.
Jessi didn't notice. "Then she was all like 'Ah, I surrender' but then she turned around and grabbed the gun from the guy's hand bam! Shot him. She was super badass, Anna. I'm telling you. I was so scared I was going to pee myself but she was badass."
Anna laughed, raucously. She surprised both herself and Jessi, who blinked at her before his own smile pulled on his lips. "That's rich," she chuckled. "But, come on, I'm sure she wasn't that cool."
"Hey, you don't know, you weren't there. She was like this smoking hot, badass spy that kicked some major ass, I'm telling you."
She chuckled again. "Okay, okay. I believe you. So what did Dan say?"
"Dan? Psh, he didn't believe me. He thinks I hit my head when the guys were beating me up."
"I don't blame him," Anna said with a smile. It was easier for her to smile now, especially around him. She didn't mind. "I'm probably the only one who believes you."
"Oh, Angela believes me too. She said it doesn't sound like the weirdest thing to happen."
Anna resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her blunt nails were suddenly digging into her skin. "She's your girlfriend," she pushed out. "Of course she would believe anything you say."
Jessi's head whipped around to her and he frowned. "Huh?"
"That reminds me. I should probably tell her you're here. I know you probably didn't tell anyone so that they wouldn't worry over you, but she's your girlfriend after all. She had a right." Anna rose to her feet, brushing nonexistent lint of her skirt so as to avoid Jessi's eyes. She knew he was frowning at her, his mouth agape.
"I've got to head back to Spanish," she said before could get a word in. "I'll tell her where you are when I see her. You coming to chemistry, right?"
"Y-yeah, but Anna –"
"Okay, cool. See you there." Anna swiveled on her heels, raising her hand in the air as farewell. She drew the curtain on his next words.
Anna half stormed out of the office and made her way to the nearest bathroom where she could splash her face and hopefully bring herself back to normal.
--
Hey guys! How do you feel about Anna's reactions to Jessi? Doesn't she look like she's changing a bit? What do you think is going to happen when Jessi finds out that she was the badass spy? And what do you think they were after Jessi for?
As you guys can see, I entered this book in the Watty awards. If you like this book (which I hope you do since you came this far) please share and vote. Spread the word. Share to twitter and other social media. AND DON'T FORGET TO COMMENT. I LOVE ALL YOUR COMMENTS :)
Thank you. Love you xoxo
-Marissa