I Spun the Bottle: Chapter Twenty
Song for this chapter: “Everybody Talks” by Neon Trees
Deep breath, Lyn. It’s just a door. Just press the darn button already! I mentally commanded myself to reach my hand forward and press the tiny button next to the dark, wooden door. My body ignored the order from my brain. I had been standing there for about five minutes staring idiotically at the door.
I couldn’t do this! I didn’t know what I was doing here. It made no sense to me. Why wouldn’t I have just told Penny the truth? And why was it suddenly becoming really easy to lie? Shifting my weight from one foot to the other, I thought about what I should do.
You could go home. A small, but very convincing voice echoed inside me. I could. I mean, it’s not like Penny or Cam would know if I left. Even as I weighed the positives over the negatives, I knew that I wasn’t going to do that to them. I may have lied to them, but I was going to at least do this.
I took one more deep breath before reaching out to the doorbell, this time my arm moved. But before I could actually press the doorbell the wooden door clicked. My heart jumped from the sudden movement.
The door opened and behind it revealed a little girl, probably around the age of six or seven. Her dark green eyes were wide with curiosity as she stared at me. Long strands of dark brunette hair covered her shoulders and traveled down her petite body, reaching down to her mid-back. She was wearing a light pink dress that had a white floral pattern covering it.
When she opened her mouth to speak, I noticed that one of her front teeth was missing. “Who’re you?”
I smiled and bent down a little so I was at her height. “I’m Lyn. Umm, didn’t your parents ever tell you it’s not smart for a little girl to open a door to strangers?”
“Ya, but my big brother’s sick and I’m protecting him,” she replied defensively. I could see a pout forming on her thin lips.
“I see,” I said, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “What’s your name?”
A twinkle seemed to light in her eyes as I asked the question. “Hali, spelled with a I. H-A-L-I, that’s how you spell it.”
I grinned at her, she was so adorable. Jace had never told me that he had a little sister before. Suddenly I realized that I honestly didn’t know much about Jace in general. I should probably fix that dilemma.
“That’s a cute name. Hali, do you know if you’re brother is awake?” I questioned her, taking a cursory glimpse into the house.
“Why? Are you my big brother’s girlfriend?” she inquired with a tone I couldn’t quite decipher. It sounded somewhere between bored and curious at the same time.
Even though it was a little girl that asked me, I couldn’t help the warm feeling from spreading across my cheeks. My voice sounded sturdier than I felt. “No, I’m not his girlfriend. I’m just here to deliver some homework that’s all.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I assured her, tightening the corners of my lips into a smile.
“He’s awake. You can come in.” She stepped aside, widening the door as she did so.
I stepped into the house, taking a peek around the place. The first and most obvious thing I noticed was a model mannequin, ones that you would see at the mall. I soon realized that there wasn’t just one mannequin, but about half a dozen, scattered around the living room. All of them wore different outfits. The one in front of me had a dress on similar to Hali’s.
Hali probably noticed me staring questioningly at them because she stated, “My mommy is a clothes maker.”
My eyes snapped down to hers. “Your mom is a clothes designer?”
She grinned, her toothless smile, proudly. “Yeah, she made me this dress.” When she said this, she twirled, fanning out her outfit.
"Oh,” I returned her smile with one of my own. “It’s very pretty.”
“Hey, Hali? Who’re you talking t— Lyn?” Jace appeared from the hall, just from his posture, I could tell he wasn’t feeling well. His hair was sticking out at different angles, most likely bed hair. His face looked pale, paler than usual, and he had dark circles filling the space underneath his eyes.
He had on a thin white tank-top, it was almost see through. And even though he was sick, I could see a faint outline of his muscles that were under it (I had a hard time not staring at his shirt). His arms were muscular, but not overly bulky. Jace also had on a pair of black sweat pants except they were cut and made into shorts.
Pulling my gaze from my body, I looked up at him. “Hey, Jace,” I gave him a faint smile, but then frowned when I saw him grimace. “You shouldn’t be up. Go back to your room.”
“I was just thirsty,” he explained, another pained expression crossing his features.
I felt so bad for him. I didn’t realize he was this badly ill.
“Go back to your room,” I ordered, feeling my motherly instincts kicking in. “I’ll get you some water.”
“No, I’m fine. I can get it myself, really,” Jace replied, in an almost childish manner.
“Listen to her,” Hali suddenly spoke up, and both Jace and I looked at her. “Or I’ll tell Mommy on you.”
Jace stared at his baby sister for a moment before finally backing down. “Okay.” He nodded for a moment and then turned, heading back down the hall.
I stifled a giggle. Jace wouldn’t listen to me when I told him to go back into his room, but when his little sister ordered him; he listened as if his life depended on it. I just thought it was so cute and adorable.
“Do you mind if I use your kitchen, Hali?” I inquired, turning my attention back to her.
She nodded.
I padded my way through the house, locating the kitchen. After searching a few different cabinets, I finally found the cups. Pulling out a clear, glass cup, I opened the refrigerator. As I filled Jace’s glass with water, I said to Hali, “So how old are you?”
“I am six. My birthday was last week,” she explained, placing her hands behind her back.
“Oh yeah? Happy birthday,” I said, amused. “What did you do for your birthday?” I placed the gallon of water back inside the fridge as I listened to her.
“I went to Chuck E. Cheese! I got a crown with tokens, and I had pizza. Cheese pizza, I don’t like anything except cheese on my pizza. And then I played with my bestfriend Rachel. She came with me to play games. We had a lot of fun. And I saw Chuck E! I was scared of him at first, but then I found out he’s really nice.” Hali’s eyes brightened, flashing back to the memories she made from last week. She explained in detail how her party went, and what games she played. Her favorite was the ski balls because she liked rolling the balls.
I listened to her as we started our way to Jace’s room. It was the last door at the end of the hallway. I rapped gently on his door and waited for a response.
“It’s open,” a low voice reverberated through the white painted door.
I pushed the door open, and quickly scanned the room. I noticed his room was just as average as my brothers’. There was a desktop with a half-closed laptop and scattered papers atop it. There was a decently large cabinet in the right corner of the room. And Jace was about five or six feet directly in front of me.
He was on his bed, his covers were kicked off of him, and I instantly wanted to grab it and pull it over him. When you were sick it was best to be under the covers. But I managed to keep my actions under control. “Here’s your water,” I handed him the glass, keeping an eye on the sloshing water, so it wouldn’t spill.
He took it from me, and I could tell his grip was weak because I could see him shakily taking it to his lips. As he pressed the glass to his lips, I examined him. He was in terrible condition. I haven’t seen anyone so sick in years.
In a matter of seconds, Jace had gulped down the water; some of it trickled in a small stream down his chin. I wanted to wipe it off, but I restrained my actions once again.
Pulling the cup away from his mouth, Jace used the back of his hand to wipe the water away. “Thanks,” he mumbled in a strained, but quenched tone.
“No problem,” I smiled.
He was about to set the cup on the small table next to his bed when Hali walked up and took it from him. “I got it. I’ll put it in the sink, okay? You can talk to Lyn. She says she came here for you.” Before either Jace or I could say a word, Hali turned on her heel and walked out the door. Her dressed lightly bounced and up and down as she exited the room.
“She’s adorable,” I stated, turning my attention back to Jace. “I didn’t know you had a little sister. You never told me.”
A tired smile crept across his face as he shifted into a comfortable laying position on his bed. “I must’ve forgotten. But to be fair you never asked.” The sound of his voice sounded raspy and dry, even though he just drank a glass of water.
“That’s true, I guess,” I shrugged. My eyes began to wander down from his face to shirt, but I quickly snapped them back up when I realized what I was doing. Staring at Jace was becoming a strange addiction to me.
“So, did you need som—“
His question was interrupted by a few coughs. They were short, but they sounded absolutely terrible. I really wished I could help him feel better, but I didn’t know how to. I watched him helplessly until his coughing subsided.
“Sorry,” he apologized.
“Don’t say sorry. It’s not your fault.”
He just nodded. “I was saying ‘did you need something?’”
“Hmm? Me? Oh, no, I’m good,” I told him. I didn't want him to get me anything, especially when he was in this kind of condition.
The corners of his lips tilted upward into a small smile. “That’s not what I meant. I meant why’re you here.”
“Oh!” I felt my cheeks heat up. I couldn’t believe that I was dumb enough to not know what he meant. “Cam, told me to bring you your homework. Here—“ I quickly took off my forgotten backpack. “—I have them in my backpack.”
As I unzipped the worn backpack, Jace said quietly, under his breath. “Great. Leave it up to Cam to remember to get my homework. He must want to kill me when I’m sick.”
“I heard that,” I pulled out his papers and set it on his desktop, adding to the piled bulk to papers. I also moved his computer chair next to his bed, so I could sit. “Cam’s not trying to kill you. He’s just being nice.”
“How’s that being nice, exactly?” Jace inquired, giving me what I assumed to be a flat look, but I was a little distracted by the bags under his eyes.
I shrugged, trying to be indifferent. The truth was that Cam only told me to get Jace’s homework so I could go to his house with a reason. And I knew I couldn’t tell that to him.
Leaning my backpack against the chair, I could feel an awkward silence settling in. I picked at a little white fuzzy thing on my shirt as I listened to Jace’s breathing.
“So,” I cleared my throat. “How’re you feeling?”
“Like shit.”
I cringed at the word, but hoped he couldn’t see it. Then, I looked back up at him. He really was in terrible condition. I could see a thin layer of sweating glistening against his forehead. I swear it wasn’t there a few minutes ago.
He must be getting a fever. Without knowing what I was doing, my right hand suddenly reached out to Jace’s forehead. I then pressed my left hand against my own forehead to see if I could feel the difference of temperature. Jace jumped and then shivered from the sudden touch, and I suddenly felt very embarrassed.
I quickly removed my hand from him. “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to touch you. I-I just thought you might have a fever,” I quickly explained in a noticeable stammer. At the same time, I could feel my cheeks getting warmer with every word.
Jace chuckled, and for a moment he sounded as if he was perfectly healthy. “You’re cute, Lyn.”
“Don’t say that,” I mumbled, turning my head away from him, so he couldn’t see the effect he had on me.
“Why not?”
“…Because it’s embarrassing.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. I was just voicing my thoughts,” he explained.
All of a sudden I felt something warm clasp onto my hand. I jerked my hand back a little before I noticed it was just Jace’s hand. He held my hand in his, and I stared up at him, my face ablaze. “Uhmm…” I trailed off, not sure what to say.
A quick, almost teasing smile trailed loosely along Jace’s lips. That smile reminded me of someone. And for a moment, I mused over who it was. David. It was the smile I normally saw David wearing. Immediately, I pushed him out of my thoughts.
I was here with Jace. Not David. So stop thinking about that jerk! I ordered myself.
As I mentally reprimanded myself, I suddenly felt the back of my hand being pressed against Jace’s forehead again. I then pulled myself out of my thoughts, focusing on the guy in front of me.
“Your hand feels cool,” Jace said, closing his eyes. He held my hand in place on his forehead, but at the same time intertwining our fingers.
If I didn’t notice the blazing temperature of Jace’s body heat, I would have probably fainted, but instead, I pressed my left land back against my forehead and felt the major difference of temperature.
“You’re burning up, Jace,” I said, worry creeping into my voice. “Are you taking any medicine?”
“Yeah, Tylenol Cold and Flu…I think.”
“Where is it?” I asked him, starting to pull my hand away from his.
“It’s in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom—wait,” he suddenly ordered.
Pausing for a moment, I glanced back down at him. “What is it?”
“Don’t go.” The grip on my hand tightened a fraction of an inch, and I noticed Jace’s blue eyes piercing mine with a look I’ve never seen him wear before. I didn’t know why though. It wasn’t like I was going to leave him permanently. “I’ll have Hali get it for me,” he added only after a second’s hesitation.
“It’s fine Jace, I’ll go get it. There’s no need to get Hali.” When his hand didn’t loosen, I said, “I’ll be back in two minutes. Don’t worry Jace, I’m not leaving.”
I smiled at him warmly before taking my hand out of his, this time with no objection. I wondered why he acted like that. He looked desperate…hurt. It was like he thought I was never coming back. As I took the medicine out of the medicine cabinet, I still didn’t understand.
I shook the large bottle in my hand, hearing the blue contents slosh around. The bottle was only about a quarter full. He’d have to get a new one, soon.
For the moment, I pushed Jace’s unusual behavior out of my mind. “I’m back,” I said, entering the room. I was reading the directions when I realized the cup that usually came with the medicine was missing.
Almost as if he read my mind, Jace said, “I lost the cup thing awhile ago. I might’ve thrown it away.”
I smiled, noticing that his strange behavior had disappeared. “Then how to you take it?”
“Uhmm, guestimate?”
“Oh,” I said, handing him the bottle.
He opened it himself and took a swig from the bottle. His face contorted for a moment before he downed it.
“Do you want me to get you some more water?” I asked, pointing to the door.
He shook his head. “It’s okay. Thanks though.”
I didn’t want to argue with him, so I just mouthed an okay and then sat back down in my seat. I smiled sympathetically at Jace.
“What’s that look for?” he inquired, taking my hand in his again. This time I didn’t hesitate or jump from his touch.
“I just feel bad that you’re sick. I wish I could help you feel better.”
A fleeting smile appeared on his lips as he told me, “Lyn, just you being here, makes me feel so much better.”
====================
An update! :) And this time you didn't have to wait for like a month. lol (:
Haha, so how did you like this chapter? Good? Bad? I know alot of people have been missing Jace...lol...so he's back! Yayy!
And I just want to say that you, the people that are pro Lyn+Jace are seriously making me think of so many alternative endings for this story! I don't know if that's a good or bad thing yet lol.
Do you like the new cover?! Thank @IsaSecret for it! She's such a talented cover maker! :) Thanks so much!!
Thanks for reading, and I would love it if you voted, commented, and fanned! (: