Alexis POV
"No! I'm not going... I'm sorry, but I can't do this. Just go please, Sam will take care of you," Daisy stressed out with a raspy voice. She's been absent-minded for days, ever since the night of the assault.
On Tuesday afternoon, I've been cleared out of the hospital and taken back home. The school has been informed of our situation and allowed us to take a break. Sammy forced himself but finally told me about what happened that night, how Daisy found me lying lifeless on the ground, and how she lost her mind beating Jack to the point where he was still being hospitalized. To our favour, he didn't seem to know it was Daisy who done that.
Daisy when asked about her messed-up knuckles and dislocated finger confessed to hitting the wall after learning about what happened, which wasn't difficult to believe, since it wouldn't be the first time.
Even though she managed to escape the consequences, mostly thanks to Isabel, she hasn't been herself. She's been refusing to eat and talk, spending most of her days on her sofa chair snuggled into her grey blanket. We tried to feed her bits by bits, but it wasn't enough - and to believe Sammy was the one with the eating disorder...
Mark told us her memories have been triggered and she will need some time to recover. He assured us not to worry and promised to keep her functioning, which he has done many times before. If we wanted to look at the bright side of things this was nothing compared to our first years at this place.
God, why everything must have been so complicated...
It was currently Monday, and I headed downstairs for breakfast, with Sammy and Mason already being there at their usual spots.
"She's not going is she?" Mason muttered sadly.
I shook my head 'no' and took a deep breath. That night messed us all up, I still couldn't speak, not even to my friends or after smoking weed - Nothing worked. It has happened before so I knew it was going to take some time. I just hoped it wasn't going to be months.
"She will get there... We can't push, not yet," Sam's voice cracked, I knew he was fighting back the tears.
We ate in silence, Mason was allowed to skip his studies and promised to look after Daisy while we were at school. It took some weight out of my shoulders, knowing one of us was with her, she was never suicidal, but she had tendencies to beat herself up to a very dangerous point.
Sammy drove us to school, Mark has already spoken with the principal about the situation, filling him in with all the details necessary.
I also pressed the charges, as recommended by the police, because fuck that guy. Isabel has been a huge help with the entire process as well as providing some supporting evidence behind Jack's disgusting behaviours. I was looking forward to seeing her at school, as it's been a week since we've seen each other, only keeping in touch through the phone.
Surprisingly, she kept asking about Daisy, and so I kept her updated about her current state. I was still a bit sceptical about why she cared that much but decided it wasn't any of my business.
The second my foot stood inside of the school, a familiar feeling of butterflies filled my stomach, I couldn't wait to see Ms. Jones. It was odd to miss someone you didn't know - creepy even - yet I couldn't help but miss her for the entire week. Truthfully speaking I craved the comfort her presence brought me.
"Sam, Alexis!" Isabel called us from the end of the hallway.
I smiled at the chipper cheerleader, she excused her friends and ran towards us, embracing us in a hug.
"How are you guys?" She asked quietly with furrowed eyebrows.
I shrugged not really knowing how to react.
"It's tough, but we are extremely grateful for your help... We don't know what we would do if Daisy got arrested," Sammy thanked the tall blonde. I cringed at the word 'arrested', hearing it suddenly made everything real. What she did was far from self-defense and since we aren't minors anymore... I didn't want to imagine.
"Do you think... I could come to see her?" Isabel snapped me out of my thoughts, I stared at her wide-eyed. "Is that a no?" she chuckled nervously at my reaction.
I scratched the back of my neck and exchanged funny glares with Sammy. Couldn't make it worse, right?
I gave him a tiny nod.
"Okay, why the hell not, but she really isn't well, I don't think she will even talk to you..." he said truthfully with an apologetic smile, however, Isabel already beamed like a ray of sunshine.
"Great! I will see you around," she gave us a quick wave and walked away happily.
The first few classes went by relatively quickly, including lunch. Sammy hasn't finished his which caused a spark of concern to raise within my heart, but I didn't want to overthink one simple lunch. What mattered was that he ate.
We were slowly approaching our advanced English class - My heart was pounding against my chest. What was wrong with me?
I raised my head and saw the world's most stunning woman greeting her students at the classroom door. I shifted from one leg to another, hoping she wouldn't notice the bruises displayed on my face. Even after a week some of them remained visible. I used makeup to cover it up, but I would have to look like a clown in order to hide it well enough.
The fact that she most likely already knew about what happened from the principal, was enough. I didn't want her to look at me with pity. I'm used to people looking at me like I'm a lost puppy, due to my speech deficiency, but she never did, and always treated me with equality. It was something that I liked about her.
"Hello," her smoky deep voice greeted Sammy, he nodded and walked away towards our desk, leaving me behind.
I decided to stop staring at the ground and slowly raised my eyes towards her face, unintentionally checking her outfit in the process. She was wearing black heels, smart skinny black trousers, a simple silky white shirt, and a thin black blazer. Jesus, I forgot how good she can dress...
Once my eyes reached hers, she had a questioning look on her face. Did she see me checking her out? It wasn't my intention – I think.
"Good to see you back Miss Anderson, I missed you at detention," she added with her alluring voice and a gentle smile.
I smiled wildly, not expecting to see her without a mask this soon, but I wasn't complaining.
She titled her head to the side, not removing her eyes from mine, she was trying to read me, but there wasn't much to tell. I believe she was waiting for me to say something, so I simply shook my head to the sides.
"I see..." was all she said, before letting me go inside the classroom.
Was she disappointed in me? The thought itself stung, I wanted to make her proud... Why? I didn't know, but I knew it would burst my heart with happiness.
Sam was oddly quiet during the class, I caught him messaging Mason, I think Daisy's behavior was getting to him. Seeing her not eating had to bring back some of his own memories. I wanted to help, but it wasn't my place. In times like these, the best we could do was to wait, we had to give each other some space to heal.
"Next exercise, attention everyone," Ms. Jones announced. "You have twenty minutes to write something of your own, whether it's going to be a poem, short story, anything works. Let your minds lose."
Something of our own... I took a pen and started to write down a few ideas. I twitched my nose, fully focused on the task, but none of the drafts was good enough, that's until I decided to take out a sentence from the last and third one, finally composing something I was pleased with.
A hand rested on my shoulder, and the butterflies along with a sudden wave of warmness, have already told me who it was.
"Can I see?" her voice was soft but emotionless, some things never change.
Honestly, not sure why she even asked, but I handed her my notebook, feeling nervous and very conscious of having her read it. My thumb was about to pick on my cuticles, when her hand squeezed my shoulder, making me stop.
"Good job Alexis, I really like it. Please keep it up," she placed the notebook back on my desk.
Her prise filled my heart with warmness, to the point where it ached. She didn't smile, but her eyes did it for her - I was grinning like an idiot.
After she walked away Sammy nudged my side, "You are so red Alexis, are you sure it's just a little crush? Cuz damn..." he chuckled and shook his head not believing his own eyes.
At this point I didn't care whether it was at my expense, I was glad to see him laugh even if just for a second. And regarding Ms. Jones, of course, it was just a crush, I didn't even know the woman, for all I knew she could have been a serial killer. Beautiful one, but still...
The school bell rang loudly, and I was the only one who wasn't happy about that fact.
Those two hours always passed too quickly for my liking. Huffing with displeasure I started to pack my things, carefully placing books in the correct order and a pen in its little side pocket of my backpack.
Sam was standing next to our desk waiting for me to finish, he never complained about me taking this long, I just had to make sure everything was in the right place. Once packed we were just about to walk out when I heard her speak.
"And where do you think you're going Miss Anderson?" she didn't sound happy.
I instantly turned back confused.
"I believe we have one more week of detention, for your little stun you pulled out on the second day of school, don't you agree?"
I swear she was enjoying it, but I wasn't, as much as I wanted to spend more time with her Daisy needed me at home.
"Do you want me to wait for you? I will tell Isabel to come another time," Sammy muttered clearly not thrilled about this either.
I took my phone out and typed down in my notes 'Go ahead, I want Isabel to see her, maybe she can help. I will take the bus back, no worries."
He didn't seem convinced, but after a short contemplation and my pleading looks, he agreed and left me behind.
Alone with Ms. Jones, a woman who without knowing was doing something to my heart.