Waking up the next morning, I felt a lot of things. I was still scared and emotionally taxed from the events of the last two days, I was physically sore from the whiplash and gunshot wound, I was nervous about beginning my new life, I missed my dad and friends, and surprisingly, I was excited to see Jax again.
I looked over to Hannah's lofted bed, noting she was still sleeping. I pulled my phone out from under my pillow and lit up my screen. God, my body hurt so bad. I felt like I got hit by a truck. I didn't know how easily I'd be able to get down from my bed when I could barely even move my arm. I figured it would probably loosen up throughout the day like it did yesterday, but as of now I felt absolutely terrible.
Just then, before I could send anything, my phone lit up with a text from Jax:
Mason: what's your plan for today?
Well good morning to you too, I thought.
Skyler: I think Hannah wanted to show me around campus- she mentioned last night maybe going to a coffee shop?
I heard Hannah come in from work last night. We talked briefly before both falling asleep and she had mentioned a few different places she wanted to show me today. First stop on the list, a coffee shop called "The Coffee Bean." I actually was pretty excited about it. I loved coffee and discovering new coffee shops, and it also felt normal- like something I would have done before all of this happened.
Mason: See if Blake and I can come with.
Skyler: okay- I'll ask her when she wakes up. Where did you put the bottle of ibuprofen?
Jax was the one who unpacked most of my stuff yesterday- looking around the room I didn't see it, and my body hurt too bad to get up and search.
Mason: I think I put it on your desk. Are you alright? Need me to come help you with anything?
Skyler: I don't know. My body hurts really bad- I can barely move my arm. Getting down from my bed might be hard but once I get my ibuprofen I'll be okay.
Mason: I'm coming to help you- hold on.
My heart jumped. I didn't want him to do that; I was sure I could handle it by myself. Making him come help me out of bed made me feel helpless- not that I haven't been helpless since we've met. This just seemed too simple of a task to bother him with.
I was about to text him back when I heard the door knob wiggling. I didn't know how he was gonna get in. Our door was locked, but that didn't appear to be an issue as he strolled in only seconds later.
He was so handsome- he looked like he had been up for a while as his hair was damp from a shower and he was already dressed in jeans and a white t shirt. I was almost embarrassed by my messy, slept-in pony tail, oversized sweatshirt, and cotton shorts.
I sat up slowly on my bed, smothering a groan of pain as to not wake up Hannah. Jaxon walked over to the ladder of my bed, gesturing for me to scoot closer to him.
I moved slowly and painfully toward the end of my bed, keeping my sore arm still and tucked close to my body. When I got to the edge, Jaxon had his arms reached up to me, placing his hands on either side of my waist.
"You ready?" He whispered. I was nervous that he was gonna drop me, surprised by the sudden weight the second I leave the bed; or that the process of being lifted would hurt even without being dropped. But, I also knew that climbing down myself would have been nearly impossible and I was supposed to trust Jax.
Realizing I hesitated too long, I finally nodded, placing my good arm on his broad shoulder.
I leaned forward, sliding off the bed as Jax lifted me by my hips, he pressed me to the front of his body and backed away from the ladder to set me down. He made it look so effortless as he set me down gently onto my feet.
I felt like I was going to fall over as my body stretched out; my bones and muscles ached all over. Jax kept a strong hold on my body as I tried to stand up straight, and I kept a hand on his warm shoulder to keep balanced.
"You good?" He whispered.
"No- I need to sit down," I whispered back. He nodded, helping me to walk towards the futon.
Once I was seated, he left to get the ibuprofen. He poured out 3 into his hand, grabbing a water bottle and handing both over to me.
"I only take two-" I started, taking two pills from him.
"With the amount of pain you're in, you should really take 3," he said, dumping the contents into my hand.
"Okay, thank you," I whispered, taking the pills. I was just excited to stretch out and let these pills take away my pain. After all, I had a lot I wanted to do today. A walking tour of the campus wasn't going to be fun if I felt like this.
"Can you come with me to the hallway? I have a question and don't want to wake Hannah," I whispered.
He nodded, reaching down to help me back up off the couch before following me out into the hallway. I was careful to close the door quietly.
"Thank you for helping me this morning," I started once we were alone in the hall.
"No problem," he responded. He didn't say anything after this so I just continued on with my question.
"What should I tell Hannah about my injury? She hasn't asked yet but I'm a bad liar and I can't come up with anything that would make sense..."
He thought for a second- "tell her you just had shoulder surgery to repair an old sports injury."
"Oh... yeah good one. I'll tell her that,"
"Okay. Anything else?" He asked.
"How'd you get into my room this morning?"
He smirked, leaning closer to me "I'm your bodyguard. I have a key to your room."
I felt dumb for asking- I probably should have assumed this from the beginning.
"Oh..."
He stood up, heading across the hall to his room. "Let me know your plan today when Hannah wakes up."
I didn't even get to respond before he disappeared into his room. When I entered my room, I saw Hannah sitting up on her bed.
"Good morning," I greeted.
"Morning roomie!" She replied, stretching out her arms. "Was someone else in here? I thought I heard whispering."
"Oh um... yeah. Mason came over for a second to bring me some ibuprofen."
She nodded in understanding. "Well that was nice of him; Is it for your arm?"
I just nodded, contemplating offering up information, but I chose not to unless she asked.
"Can I ask what happened?" She pressed.
I was so grateful to have asked Jaxon what to tell her. "Old sports injury. I just had surgery to correct it but I'm feeling super sore today." I made my way over to the futon, sitting down since I couldn't get back up on my bed.
"Oh gottcha. Are you still up to seeing the campus today? I can show you where your classes are and the coffee shop- nothing too crazy today since you don't feel well."
"That sounds great! Would you mind if Mason and his roommate Blake tag along? He's new here too and mentioned wanting to come with us this morning."
"Oh my god of course not!" She climbed down from her bed, grabbing her shower caddy. "I'm gonna go shower and get ready, and as soon as you're feeling better we can go. Just let me know when."
I nodded in response as she headed out the door.
I sat on the futon for another 10 minutes until I felt good enough to stand up on my own and get ready. I went to my closet, putting on a pair of black leggings, a white crop t-shirt, and oversized jean jacket. I wasn't sure what the weather was like this time of year in California, or if I'd be needing the jacket or not. Maybe I'd leave it behind if Hannah wasn't gonna bring one.
Hannah returned after her shower, comparing our schedules while she got ready. Turns out we had two classes together, psychology and calculus. I mentally cursed at the WPP for making me take calculus again. I barely passed the first time.
Hannah had changed into a cropped blue t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. She didn't bother bringing a jacket, and I felt overdressed, so I ditched mine before we headed across the hall to Jaxon's room. I was feeling nervous for some reason about knocking, but Hannah was super outgoing and actually beat me to the punch.
To my surprise, a different man opened the door. He was tall and good looking. He had darker skin, short black hair, and big brown eyes. He blinked his long lashes while he looked down at us, cocking an eyebrow in confusion as if wondering why we were at his door.
"Hi," I greeted, "I'm Skyler, Mason's friend from across the hall. Are you Blake?"
He smiled, revealing perfect white teeth. "I am," he responded. "Mason went to the bathroom. He should be back in a sec if you two want to come in."
We were about to take him up on the offer when I saw Jaxon heading towards us in the hallway. "It's okay, he's right here. Oh... and this is my roommate Hannah," I introduced.
"It's nice to meet you both," he responded. His voice was deep and velvety smooth.
"Are you coming with us too?" Hannah asked.
"Yeah, why not," Blake answered, stepping into the hallway and closing the door behind him.
"I thought you didn't want to come?" Jax questioned, cocking an eyebrow at Blake.
"Well, now I do," he responded. "You didn't tell me you had such a hot friend."
I immediately felt a blush spread over my cheeks. I was not one to accept compliments and honestly I had no idea how to respond. Blake on the other hand seemed to be very comfortable and confident so when I didn't reply he nudged me lightly with his elbow. "Relax, I don't bite."
I wasn't sure what to say again, so I gave him a smile, "alright—sooo is everyone ready then?"
"Yes! Let's go get coffee first and go from there." Hannah replied.
"Sounds good to me," I replied, heading away from the group to the elevators.
In the elevators, Hannah and Blake made small talk while Jax and I kept quiet. I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment and I had no idea what to say to anyone. Normally, I'd just be myself in novel situations... which was kind of the opposite of what I needed to do now. The whole situation was just hard to grasp and I was struggling to adjust. Once we got outside, however, it was better as our attention was turned to the campus.
Even though I didn't choose to go here, I had to admit that this campus was stunning. I loved the scattered palm trees, the green grass, and the large buildings. The weather was also beautiful; not too hot and not too cold. The sun was shining down but a cool breeze kept it from getting too hot. I would have been fine with my jacket, but I was also okay without one.
Hannah continued to point out certain buildings and hangout areas where she spent a lot of time as we made our way to "the coffee bean." I was so busy looking at the campus that I hadn't noticed Jaxon came to a stop in front of me. By the time I noticed it was too late, and I had stepped onto the back of his heel, sending me tripping forward. I shot my arms out to try and steady myself against his body, but intense pain shot through my right arm immediately.
"Woah," Jax said, stabilizing me. He had one of his hands placed on my good arm and the other wrapped firmly around my lower back. "Are you alright?" He asked when I didn't say anything. I had my eyes squeezed together in pain as I took a deep breath.
"She okay?" Blake chimed in when I still didn't respond.
I slowly exhaled a shaky breath, trying to recover from that movement. It freaking hurt. "Yeah," I finally responded, "I just hurt my arm trying to catch myself. Sorry for stepping on you, Mason— I wasn't paying attention."
"It's fine... you sure you're alright?" Jax asked, finally letting his hand slip from my waist.
"I'm good now," I reassured. "So... is this it?" I asked Hannah, trying to shift their attention away from me.
"Yes," she replied with enthusiasm. "It doesn't look like much, but it has the best coffee on campus."
Hannah held the door open as the 3 of us shuffled inside. The interior was really cute. It resembled a small town cafe more than an upscale coffee shop, which was surprising to me since we were in California.
"What are you gonna get?" Blake asked me.
"Hmm...." I said, scanning the menu. "I think I'm gonna do one of the vanilla cold brews."
"That sounds good," he responded, "I think I'm gonna get the same."
I gave him a smile, about to step up to order when Blake stepped in front of me. At first I thought it was rude for him to just cut me off like that, but then I heard him order 2 vanilla cold brews. When he was finished, he turned to face me. "I got yours."
My eyes widened in shock. That was a very nice gesture; he didn't even know me so I didn't understand why he wanted to buy me my coffee. After all, it wasn't like we were on a date. "Oh..." I started, "um, thank you Blake but you really didn't have to do that..."
"It's not a big deal, Skyler. I wanted to," he responded.
I thanked him again, moving out of the way so that Jax and Hannah could order their coffees. Hannah was next, ordering her latte with a smile and chatting briefly with one of the baristas. They must have been friends judging by the way they were interacting. For a moment, standing here in the coffee shop I felt normal. I felt that I'd be okay here... especially with people like Hannah and Blake by my side.
But then, my mood changed when I saw the expression on Jaxon's face. He did not look happy, and I was sure this was about to be an interesting day.
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Hi hi!
Not gonna lie, I'm having fun writing this story! I hope you're enjoying it as well!
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-Haley