A/N: Hi pretty readers! Sorry this chapter is unedited. Life has been stressful and I've spent three days on it without any development, making excuses after the next. I'll come back and edit when I have my shit in order. For now, thanks for reading and enjoy! <3
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"'hat 'o you hean I'h shushended?" I asked, permeating the room with a gasp.
Mum placed her hands on her hips, trying her darnedest to hold her composure. Considering the minor detail that her threshold was reasonably low when it came to me, she was doing pretty well. Without a doubt, I had my beaten-up face to thank for that.
We were in the hospital. Aubrey, his parents, the Hansen twins and their parents. They had a full fiasco going on in their room, but Mum managed to get out of work to visit me. I sat up on the bed, waiting to be seen by the doctor for over an hour and forty-five minutes ago. I could almost be sure that if I did have a concussion, I'd either be completely recovered by now or dead already. The stale hospital smell seemed to putrefy the longer I sat helplessly under Mum's bewilderment and scrutiny.
It was fortunate the door was closed otherwise the entire hospital would be able to hear us going at it, squawking like strangled turkeys or forlorn banshees. She made a daft sound and slumped down onto the visitor's chair, rubbing her face before looking at me incredulously.
"For God's sake, Charlie, are you daft?" she asked, knowing the answer full well already. "You attacked a student!"
"You shee what he did to 'e," I protested, pointing at my royally black and blue face with lips that could inspire the next Kylie Jenner challenge.
"But you attacked him!" Mum argued. "In front of a crowd! Teachers and the school counselor, to top it all off. My God, Charlie, what were you thinking?"
Never mind the fact that the nitwit well and truly deserved it. He hurt Aubrey, I hurt him. Clear and simple, as it should be. "Hut shushention?" I whined.
Knowing full well that my sook was every bit as childish as she and everybody else in my family saw me, I couldn't help it. I was about to be beaten up. He right hooked a deaf guy in the ear. He could have killed Aubrey Keats and the minute I lose my shit, suddenly I'm the bad guy? I whimpered. "That'sh too 'uch."
"There's nothing I can do about it, Charlie. You made your bed now lie in it. It's only for three days so you'll be fine."
"Th'ee daysh? But-" The aquarium day trip... "I 'ish out."
"Miss out on what?" Mum asked, not yet having been made aware of our change in schedule. I opened my mouth to answer, but she didn't give me a chance to answer. "Anyway, Aubrey's going to be off school on Doctor's orders, so I've organized with his mother for you to study together. She emphasized his need to catch up on English so that's what you'll be doing. Consider it punishment."
Three days with Aubrey? Punishment indeed.
"I hum'ly acce't hy hunish'ent," I said, withdrawing immediately. How was my luck this good that our Mum's even worked together? This was perfect. "I ha'e h'een 'ery h'ad."
Arms crossed, she raised her brow, looking at me with suspicion. "Is there something going on with that boy?" Mum asked.
"Whate'er do you 'ean?" I asked, unable to prevent my grin.
Mum mirrored my expression, exhaling through her nostrils in a botched attempt to hide a laugh. "Alright, alright," she conceded, face turning stern again. "But I do mean it, Charlie. You will study. None of your usual shenanigans, alright? Or the real punishment will be staying home alone."
"H'oger that," I said with salutation. "What a'out Horse-'ace Hughes?"
"The student you fought?" Mum asked, looking at me with confusion. "They've given him leniency because of his circumstances. He isn't allowed back till exams, but from what I understand, they're having him study from home."
"Good h'iddansh, I say,"
"You're an absolute clown, Charlie," she chuckled, shaking her head. "But I'm glad you're alright. And I'm proud you managed to hold your own. I'd been wondering for some time now-"
I glared at her. "Jusht 'hat are you trying to shay?"
She widened her eyes a little, maybe wondering if she'd gotten too carried away. "Well, it's just I-"
Somebody knocked on the door, and it slowly wedged open to reveal a very flustered looking Ikeisha Hansen. She saw Mum and her eyes widened, breaking into a nervous smile. "Mrs. Rascal," she said quickly, clearly embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude-"
"Nonsense, nonsense," Mum cooed, grasping Ikeisha's hands in hers. "You go see, Charlie. I finally get a break from that little troublemaker. A cuppa tea will do it, yeah? Bye, now."
Ikeisha chuckled as we watched Mum race out of the room. It might've looked suspiciously like a clever ruse to give us some alone time, but Mum figured out my orientation before I did when I kept saying I wanted Russell Crowe to be my new daddy at the age of eight. It was of course entirely innocent back then, but less so now. Ikeisha turned to face me when the door clicked shut behind Mum, popping her glossed lips in a cheerful little greeting. Was she always this adorable? I almost wanted to squeeze her cheeks.
"You're looking terrible," she said, more cheerfully than when I'd seen her back at school. She plonked down on the chair Mum had been on and pulled it closer beside the bed.
"Ish that any uaay to talk to a 'atient?" I said with a gasp, holding my hand to my chest. "Ih 'ery delicate in ti'esh like thish, y'know. Tell 'e Ih 'eautiful."
She giggled a bit. "I'm sorry," she said with playful sincerity. "You're beautiful."
That last bit was playful but less so than before. My gob smacked shut, unsure of what to say. People usually insulted me when I played that card, so I found it a little disconcerting to the point of being stunned into silence. Ikeisha Hansen was without a doubt the most beautiful teen in existence. Anybody, gay or straight, could see. But was she the smartest?
Did she honestly believe that I was the type to buy into compliments?
"You ha'e terrific judg'ent," I agreed, then froze when Aubrey sprung to mind. "Uh, how'sh Au'rey?"
"He's fine," she said, fiddling with her fingers. "He's been worried, asking how you are, and umm..."
She paused, looking up at me contemplatively, searching my eyes like she'd find answers in them. She had yet to realize I was pretty stupid in all areas but English, particularly poetry.
"I never quite knew what to make of you," she said, still fidgeting. "At first, I thought you were just an empty-headed clown. But lately, I keep seeing new sides to you. You're always taking me by surprise."
I stared at her. Why was she being so nice? It was awkward. "Ahaha," I said, scratching my head sheepishly. Just what was I supposed to say? "You caught 'e. Ih a 'ox h'ull of 'yshteriesh."
That might have botched since I didn't know how easily she understood my poor attempt at speech. She chuckled, shaking her head. How could a human being look so suave? Why was she in here with me rather than being out shooting magazine covers or something? Or more than that, sticking with Aubrey.
"Anyway," she continued, "I just came to say... thanks, I guess. For caring about Aubrey."
Which part was she talking about? How much did she know? I only caught those guys by bad luck. None of it appeared to have anything to do with Aubrey, per se. I didn't have any reason to believe they even knew he was in there. "Ah, yeah," was all I could utter as she stood up and returned the chair to its place.
"I'll see you back at school on Friday then," she said, suddenly getting awkward. I was so completely confused right now. "Take good care of yourself, okay? Get better quickly."
"Thanksh," I said, curious when she suddenly looked down and started pulling a piece of paper out from her pocket. "...I h'ill."
"Aubrey's Mum told me you'll be helping him with poetry over the next few days," she said, slipping it into my hand. I took it and peeled it open, finding the name of my favorite poet, John Keats, and the title On Seeing the Elgin Marbles. She stopped in front of the door, turning briefly, she said, "Thought I'd just show you his favorite."
She stepped out of the room but stopped just outside, leaving the door slightly ajar while she greeted Mum out there. They stayed that way for a few minutes, though I couldn't hear much of what was being said. Soon, Mum stepped in with two machine cups of teas. Handing mine over to me, she said, "What a sweet little girl, Charlie. She has a brother, too, right? What's he like?"
"A god," I sighed, thinking about that hunk sitting in usual IDGAF manspread that just oozed with sex appeal. Trey Hansen, the fit and muscular, dark, sex mogul of the current day regime. "Jush ash you'd i'hagine, only 'etter."
Mum chuckled. "I remember their parents are unbearably young and attractive. Takes me back to my prime days when I met your father-"
"Ugh, no," I said, throwing my hands up. "Too 'uch in'o ish loaded into 'hatever'sh gonna h'ollow. 'ait till you let 'e shtart d'inking, at leasht."
She frowned but started chatting away with intermittent pauses to sip her tea. To be honest, I forgot about my tea. I forgot about her chattering. I looked down at the piece of paper in my hand, the words scribbled across the paper. An image of Mr. Hardy popped into my head. It was during out talk inside the teacher's office when he first approached me to tutor Charlie from the start.
Aubrey has his reasons for not taking this seriously... I think you'd be great for him if I'm perfectly honest with you.
And the moment we'd sat down to chat at the end of class. After I'd exposed Aubrey's secret in front of everybody. After the initial shock and devastating of having been demonized in the school forums, as well as learning I'd judged Aubrey all on my own. The words Mr. Hardy'd said just as I was making my way to the door.
I think you should wipe any preconceived ideas about him... He isn't at all like what you think.
Aubrey... likes poetry?
-
Time went to slowly at that hospital, but somewhere after five PM, I was finally seen to and released. Man, I was starving. I slumped down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I could hear the blender in the kitchen. Mum was making me a fruit and vegetable shake since my lips were too swollen and banged up to chew. I pulled up my shirt, looking at the two big bruises forming and molding into one angry looking one. If I played my cards right, then maybe I could score some sympathy from Aubrey tomorrow when I got to his.
Maybe a cuddle.
I heard the front door open, and Jake's voice call out, "Yoo-hoo!" Mum answered him from the kitchen. He's here! He must've come to see me after Mum let him know what happened! I couldn't believe it. I should get beat up more often. I scrambled off the bed, wincing at the sharp ache in my stomach as I sat up. It hurt more than I gave it credit for, so I sat at the edge of my bed taking a breath before getting up and heading to him in the kitchen.
He stood beside Mum while she cut more vegetables to throw into my smoothie.
"Some things just came up in this last audit that I'm struggling to figure out," he said, leaning against the bench with his back turned to me. "Is he not in yet?"
"No, he said he'll be in late. Probably around eight or nine, so drop by around then if you get a chance."
"Oh. Nah it's fine," he said, smiling politely. "I'll probably just call."
He didn't notice me standing here. He'd been here all of thirty seconds and hadn't once asked about his little brother who'd gotten into a fight and been beaten up. My heart spiked, aching a little. Still, if he saw me like this, maybe he'd feel a little more stirred. A little more moved. Maybe his protective brotherly instinct would suddenly come out. Since Mum and Dad sheltered me so much, maybe he just didn't get the chance to.
"Hsh'ake," I tried to say his name, grimacing as the pain medication started to wear off. He shot around when he heard my voice, eyes widening as soon as they set on my appearance. Yes, that's the reaction I wanted. One that looked like he cared. What I didn't expect was for it to be followed by a smile.
"Whoa, buddy, what've we been getting up to, huh?" he asked, walking over to me. There was a mixed look of concern and intrigue etched on his face. He had the same empathic capacity as Dad, which sometimes showed, which was particularly evident in times like this.
"I got into a h'ight," I said, rolling up my shirt to show him the bruising. His brows furrowed, mirroring the worry Mum had expressed when she first saw the state of me. He put his hand on my chin, tilting my head up to inspect the damage, creating a wincing little 'ooh' with his mouth.
"Looks rough, Char," he said, rubbing my hair. "Did you at least win?"
I wanted to grin and share an adult comedy moment with him, but he looked down at his watch before briefly turning back to Mum. "Alright, I'll head home now then. I told Sadie I won't be out long."
Mum giggled. "She really hates doing dinner duty alone, doesn't she?"
"Comes with being a terrible cook," Jake grinned. He turned back to me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Get an early night's sleep, I reckon. I'm keen to hear the story sometime, but don't go giving Mum a hard time till then. Gotta get home to the missus now so I'll pester you with questions later. Glad to see you're fine, though, kiddo."
He went back to Mum and kissed her head before heading to the door. "Bye, feel better quickly, Charlie. Talk soon!"
The door clicked shut behind him. Mum switched the blender back on, loud enough to drown my thoughts, but not mask the sinking feeling in my stomach. I went back to my room, feeling teary and despondent. Even like this, I wasn't important enough for my brother to care. But on the plus side, Aubrey did. He'd asked about me. Asked if I was okay. He wanted to know. And more than that, it turned out he liked poetry, too.
Maybe more than I realized.
Tomorrow, I'd try to find out as much as I could.