Ella's POV- October 2019
Theo and I were incredibly close growing up, we were twins after all and did everything together, but we could currently not stand each other. Which is why I surprised when he convinced my parents to go back to the hotel to rest for the night. He was going to keep an eye on me while they rested.
"So much for keeping an eye on me," I told the nurse as I looked at Theo who was fast asleep on one of those makeshift bed couches.
She smiled.
"He was awake the last time I came in to check on you"
"Well he did sleep most of the day yesterday," I noted.
I leaned against the pillow and sighed when I could not get comfortable.
"Excuse me" I said to my nurse.
"Yes?"
"How long do I have to wear this brace?" I wondered.
"I was actually going to ask you why you were still wearing the brace. I guess the nurse during the night shift forgot to remove it"
Once she removed the neck brace, I leaned back against the pillow.
"Better?"
"Much better" I replied.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yes," I admitted.
"Are you able to feed yourself?"
She glanced at Theo.
"I can use my other hand," I told her.
I was ambidextrous.
"Okay, let me go get you your breakfast"
"What time is it?" I asked as she went to leave.
It was dark because the curtains were closes, which meant I could not get a good look at the clock on the wall.
"Past 8 AM"
I nodded.
"I'll be right back"
Since I wasn't allowed to even use my phone, I stared up at the ceiling waiting. Yup, that's right. Because of the concussion, I could not catch up on classes, watch TV, read a book or even look at my phone or laptop for the next couple of days as they assessed me.
Fun.
"I'm back, and I bring company with me"
I turned and much to my surprise, behind her...was my ex-boyfriend, James.
"Thank you," I said as she placed my breakfast on the table.
She smiled and excused herself leaving me technically alone with James considering Theo was a heavy sleeper.
"Why are you here?" I asked James.
"I needed to see you"
I rubbed my temple and sighed.
"But I don't want to see you," I told him.
Before he could get another word, the door opened. My sister, Nora raised an eyebrow when she saw James in the room.
"Have you no shame?"
What Nora did next showed that her aim was still impeccable. My sister had been a softball student-athlete for UCLA way back when. Theo groaned as the bear she had thrown in his direction nailed him right on the chest.
"I just want to talk to her"
She frowned.
"But she doesn't, so respect that. If you really care for her like you said you do, you wouldn't make her feel uncomfortable"
Theo sighed as he rubbed his eyes.
"Nora, just let them talk it out"
Nora frowned.
"If Theo knew why you broke up with Ella, do you think he'd want you in this room?"
James slowly shook his head.
"Then I suggest you leave before I tell him"
Once he was gone, Theo spoke up.
"What is it I'm not supposed to know?"
Ugh.
"James broke up with me because I confronted him" I stated.
He raised an eyebrow.
"About?"
"One of his housemates overheard James and one of his frat brothers discussing ways to get me to sleep with him. He also suggested to James that if he recorded it, he'd get paid more" I said.
Thank god Liam told me because if he had not, I would have likely lost my virginity that night and likely been recorded.
"He broke up with me because I refused to give him the memory card of the recording of us"
He cut me off.
"You had sex with him?"
I shook my head.
"No, but I found out that our entire relationship was based on a lie. The only reason he approached me in the dining hall during the first week of class was that his frat brothers paid him to do it" I revealed.
"Why didn't you tell me this?"
"Because it's embarrassing. I'd rather you have me think I was a prude then know what really happened," I told him.
There it is, the guilty eyes.
"Nora, can you cut up my pancakes?" I asked.
"Of course, I can"
Theo stood up.
"Where are you going?"
She grabbed his bicep before he could exit the room.
"Theo"
He looked at her.
"To see if I can get visitor restrictions"
She raised an eyebrow.
"You better not follow him"
He rolled his eyes.
"I won't"
Once it was just us two in the room, she smiled.
"Let's give Gavin a call?"
So she knew.
"Before Josie gets here"
"Where is she?" I asked.
"Cafeteria"
He quickly answered the call, with a muffled,
"Hello"
I glanced up at the clock on the wall to see it was 8:43 meaning it was 5:43 in California right now.
"Hey! Let me Facetime you"
He squinted as his screen lit up on his end.
"I figured you'd want to see Ella"
He nodded as he rubbed his eyes.
"Let me get my glasses"
As he did that, I looked at Nora who reached over and 'fixed' my hair. She then placed her phone on the overbed table and propped it up.
"I'm going to go see when your doctor is dropping by"
She winked at me before making her way out of the room giving us some privacy.
"How are you feeling?"
I looked at the screen.
"A bit sore" I admitted.
He nodded.
"I tried calling you," we both said at the same time.
"You first"
"After my surgery, I was able to get my phone back. I tried calling you, but it went straight to voicemail" I told him.
He sighed as he pushed his hair back.
"Yeah, my phone died and I was too drunk to put it to charge"
I couldn't help but laugh at that statement earning a smile from him.
"I got your text and tried calling you back yesterday afternoon, but it went straight to voicemail"
Yeah...
"I've got a concussion, so I'm restricted to phone usage," I said.
At least until the doctor saw how severe the concussion was.
"So what exactly happened?"
"It was a freak accident" I started.
And went on to explain what occurred.
"How long are you expected to have the cast on for?"
"Doctor said about 6 weeks" I answered.
He nodded, and then went on to nervously scratch his collarbone.
"Would it be okay if I still flew to New York to visit you?"
I smiled.
"Of course, I have a lot of free time now," I told him.
My arm might be broken, but my legs worked just fine.
"Okay, I probably won't be able to visit you for another 2-3 weeks"
"That's fine, I know you're busy," I said.
The door opened and Nora stepped back inside.
"Did you find Theo?" I asked.
She nodded.
"Yeah, I made him go find Josie"
Of course, she did.
"Do you need help eating?"
"The oatmeal, yes. Everything else, no" I answered.
Nora nodded before looking at her phone.
"Gavin, I just saw the time and it is really early over there"
He chuckled.
"It's okay, I'll fall back asleep"
"So I'll text you," I told him.
He nodded.
"But I'll still keep you updated"
He smiled.
"Thanks, Nor"
I opened my mouth as I was fed a spoonful of oatmeal.
"Go back to sleep, I need to feed this one"
Once she ended the call, Nora turned her attention to feeding me.
"So...how did this start?"
Well.
"We followed each other on IG while he was still in New York, and he slid into my DMs to say I was crazy for competing with two fractured ribs," I told her.
She raised an eyebrow.
"He knew about the fractured ribs?"
The only reason he knew was that he was observant.
"We bumped into each other in the elevator, and both ended up at the coffee shop across the street from the hotel," I replied.
Theo and I had driven from Ithica to Queens to spend the weekend watching the Dodgers play the Mets.
"He actually brought my tea and pastry over because I didn't hear my name get called out because I was working on a calculus problem," I said.
She nodded.
"And he noticed the bottle on the table" I stated before she fed me a spoonful of oatmeal.
I thanked him and proceeded to take my medication in front of him with the chamomille tea he had brought over.
"I told him it wasn't nice to stare, and my comment made him laugh" I noted.
His smile and laugh caught my attention, and it was then that I realized that he was really easy on the eyes. The conversation ran smoothly, and I found myself genuinely interested in what he was saying.
"He apologized and asked if he could sit down. I told him it was fine, and he took a seat. We talked while I did my homework, and the conversation felt very natural" I told her.
It was during our conversation that he asked me what the pain medication was for.
"It wasn't until I saw him again for your gender reveal that he asked for my phone number, but we had been messaging each other on IG," I said.
She hummed.
"When did he bring up the idea about visiting you?"
Not that long ago.
"On Monday" I answered.
"Don't get me wrong, I adore Gavin, but don't you think you're rushing into this?"
We were getting to know each other.
"No" I responded.
Hear me out, we both thought the Dodgers would make it further than they did in the postseason.
A/N: how are y'all holding up? Hulu is down so I guess I gotta do some school work. Stay safe and keep your distance!
Meet James
Nora
and Josie