end~ Jeremy Zucker
~O V E R W O R K E D~
"WHAT IF?!"
BLAISE SITS in the stands with Saint. They're both watching the boys come in the start practice. Saint was really nervous to go alone, so Blaise volunteered to come with him. She doesn't have anything else to do today so it's not that big a deal for her.
"You don't have to be here if you don't want to, Blaise," Saint mumbles as he plays with his rings.
Blaise rolls her eyes. This is the fifth time he's said something like that. "I'm starting to think that you don't want me here."
Saint shakes his head frantically. "That's not it at all! I just don't want to take up any of your time. You could be hanging out with Spencer or MC and Will."
"MC and Will have judo practice and Spencer is at work. Besides, you need moral support and that's what I'm here for."
Saint gives her a shy smile. "Thanks Blaise."
Blaise frowns. "We need nicknames for each other."
Saint tilts his head to the side. "Why?"
Blaise shrugs. "I give all of my friends nicknames."
"But you call me a bunch of nicknames," Saint reasons, referring to all of the pet names Blaise calls him.
Blaise shakes her head. "Those aren't unique to you. They have no meaning behind them."
Saint thinks for a second. "I have one for you."
Blaise brightens up. "What is it?"
"Ember," he says.
Blaise smirks. "Why not Flame or Fire?"
Saint shrugs. "They're not as unique. You're too interesting to be called something as basic as Flame or Fire."
Blaise blushes. "Thank you, I like it."
She's about to say something, but Jeremiah calls out for Saint. Saint turns over to see him jogging over to them with a large grin on his face.
"Yo Saint! I'm glad you're here man!" Jeremiah says as he walks up the bleachers.
Saint stands to dap him up. "Wanted to see if Americans are as good at basketball as you say you are."
Jeremiah chuckles. "I'll be sure to tell the team to be on their A game."
Saint smirks. "Isn't that why you asked me here?"
Jeremiah smiles. "Let's see what you got, Outback."
Blaise grins as she watches Saint and Jeremiah banter back and forth. She likes that he's slowly getting out of his shy self and is slowly starting to make more and more friends. Saint turns to Blaise and winks at her, causing her to blush. He then jogs down to the court with Jeremiah, who takes him to talk to the coach. Blaise watches as Saint confidently introduces himself to Coach Jackson, an old, white man from Tennessee.
The coach and Saint talk for a bit before Coach blows his whistle. The old man moves to the center of the court and starts yelling out exercises for them to do. Saint stands on the sidelines to get a closer look. His silver eyes are trained on the practices in front of him. Right away, he spots who's a slacker and who's actually trying. Fortunately, the slackers don't look like they could help the team much anyway from their lanky physiques that lack any muscle. They have bad stamina, horrible form, and are lazy with everything they do. Saint wonders if they're just having a bad day or if they were forced to play basketball by their parents because of how tall they are.
He's guessing the latter.
When they start working on some simple dribbling and passes, Coach calls Saint over. He wants him to show him a few of his moves. Saint complies, albeit nervously, and catches the basketball that's tossed over to him by Jeremiah. He starts to dribble, warming himself up, before he shoots a perfect shot. You can tell by the look on both Jeremiah and Coach's face that what he did was absolutely perfect.
"Alright, y'all! Stop that wobblin' around ya call dribblin' and watch Jeremiah and Saint play one on one."
The team stop what they're doing and run over to the side to watch them. Saint looks nervous, but he nods over to Jeremiah and walks to the center of the court. Both nod to each other before Jeremiah starts the check. When Jeremiah got the ball back, he shoots to the left and the game begins.
Blaise watches as the two play, mostly Saint. He's so swift and light on his feet, like a dancer. He's a quick thinker like Jeremiah said, and somehow figures out every move that his opponent is going to make. He's so good, in fact, that Blaise doesn't even notice her phone ringing as she's watching. When it rings for a third time, Blaise plugs her right ear and answers the phone.
"What?" She snaps.
"Are you Blaise Kindle Nightshade?" The unfamiliar voice of a man asks.
"Who the fuck are you and why do you know my full name?" Blaise growls. She doesn't like it when random people call her. Brings her back to a bad time in her life.
"I'm Nurse Levin," the man says.
"Good for you," Blaise praises sarcastically.
Nurse Levin sighs. "I understand that you may be busy with school right now, but this is an urgent matter. Your mother fainted during her shift earlier today."
"WHAT?!" Blaise screeches. She shoots up from her spot, causing everyone in the gym to look towards her. She doesn't care about the attention though. She's worried about her mother.
"You're the only person on her emergency contact list so I thought I'd inform you of the situation." he informs.
Blaise starts to gather her things. "Where is she?" She demands.
"Jamison Hospital—"
Blaise hangs up before he can finish. That hospital is about twenty miles from here! I can't call Spencer, he's at work and I wouldn't want to bother him. I would call Myra and Azzy, but they're flying to their photo shoot in England after judo practice. And Saint has his tryouts. Blaise starts to run down the bleachers. If I start running now and don't take any breaks, I'll be able to get there in three hours.
Blaise sprints out of the gym, ignoring Saint's voice calling after her. She's about twenty feet from the door when she feels a large hand on her bicep tug her back. She frantically tries to shake her arm free, her panic setting in.
"Let me go! I-I have to get to my mom!" Blaise starts to thrash when strong arms wrap around her small body.
"Blaise! Blaise! It's me!" The voice says. The strong arms turn her around to reveal silver eyes filled with concern.
"S-saint! Let go of me!" Blaise thrashes even more.
Saint grabs onto her shoulders. "What's wrong, Blaise?"
"Im mamas! Im mamas! Im mamas hivandanots'um e! Yes petk' e arag hasnem ayntegh! Na mernelu e!" Blaise splutters. (My mom! My mom! She's at the hospital! I have to get there quick! She might die!)
Saint places his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down, Blaise. I can't understand you."
Blaise starts to hyperventilate. What if she's already dead? What if I'm too late? What if I lost her too? What if? WHAT IF? WHAT IF?!
"Yes ch'em karogh korts'nel nran, Saint! Yes ch'em karogh menak linel. Yes petk' e arag hasnem ayntegh— Yes ch'em karogh korts'nel nran!" Her lips move so rapidly as she speaks. She doesn't even realize that she's speaking Armenian to someone who has no idea what she's saying. (I can't lose her too, Saint! I can't be all alone. I have to get there quick— I can't lose her too!)
Saint wipes the tears spilling from her doe-shaped eyes. Blaise doesn't even notice the wetness on her cheeks. Everything around her is a blur. She barely even notices the boy in front of her. All she can see— really see— are his eyes. That's the only thing keeping her from spiraling; two silver orbs.
"What are you saying, Blaise? I need to understand what you're saying to know what's going on," Saint says softly.
I'm running out of time!
"Bats' togh," she growls.
Saint raises an eyebrow. "What?"
"Let go," Blaise repeats, only this time in English.
"Just tell me what's wrong, Blaise. I can help you."
~••~
"I can help you, mama!" Blaise cried. "I can make some money and help you pay rent! Just stop working so much!"
"NO!" Kindle bellowed.
Blaise froze in fear, her tears sliding down her round cheeks.
"You've done enough, Blaise! You almost got yourself killed the last time you said that to me!"
"But I want to help! I promise I won't get into any trouble!"
Kindle pointed towards Blaise's door. "Go to your room, young lady. This is not up for discussion."
~••~
"Blaise?" Saint's voice snaps Blaise out of her thoughts.
"Let. Go." She seethes.
Saint's eyes widen. "Are you ok—" BAM!
Blaise punches Saint in the nose. His head snaps back and he stumbles, giving her the chance to sprint out the doors of the school. Blaise continues to run, even when the sound of Saint's curses are heard. She doesn't even stop to think about the fact that she just sucker-punched her crush in the nose, nor does she stop to think about the fact that he saw her freak out. All she cares about is getting to her mom, and she won't stop until she gets there.
About half a mile into her run, a familiar blue truck pulls up next to her.
This boy just doesn't give up, does he? Blaise thinks in exasperation.
The window of the familiar trucks rolls down, revealing a pissed of Saint with blood dripping down his face.
"Get in the car, Blaise," he orders.
Blaise continues to run. The only reason she started to run in the first place is because she didn't want to bother anyone for help, but here Saint is offering to help her. But since she's slightly embarrassed that he saw her act the way that she did, she's being stubborn and refuses to take him up on his offer. Besides— the excuse that she uses every time— she could use the exercise anyway.
"Get in the fucking car, Blaise, before I drag you in here," Saint snaps.
Blaise looks over to him to see if he's being serious or not. His eyes are so dark with anger that they look almost black, his sharp jaw is clenched, and his knuckles are turning white from holding onto the steering wheel too hard. She huffs out a breath, both from her running and exasperation, and trudges over to his car. After she struggles to get the tall car, she fastens her seatbelt and stares straight ahead.
"Well? I'm in the car now. What do you want?" Blaise snaps.
Saint moves the tissue that he has shoved up his nose. "Tell me where you need to go and I'll take you there. I know it's too much of an emergency where you'd rather waste your time running than get there."
"I don't need your—"
"YOU JUST BROKE MY FUCKING NOSE, BLAISE!" Saint bellows.
Blaise flinches at his harsh tone. Her arms immediately wrap around herself as memories of her ex-boyfriend fill her mind. He's not like him. Saint won't hurt me.
"Tell me where you need to go, and I'll take you there. Then, I'll leave you alone forever," Saint spits.
Blaise looks up at him with wide eyes. "Forever?" She echoes brokenly.
"That's what you seem to want, right?" He glances over to her.
What he doesn't expect is to see her bottom lip wobble as tears fill her dull green eyes. Suddenly, Blaise lets out a sob as fat tears roll down her cheeks.
Saint immediately gets worried. "What's wrong, Blaise?"
"You-you yelled at me!" She cries.
Saint furrows his eyebrows. "Only because I'm in a lot of pain right now, Ember. I'm really not that mad."
Blaise continues to cry. "My mom i-is in the hospital and I-I didn't want to bo-bother anyone so-so I thought that I could— that I could make it if I ra-ran," she explains through her tears.
Saint runs a hand through his hair. I'm real a dick, aren't I?
Saint puts the car into drive. "Which hospital, sweetheart?"
"Huh?" Blaise sniffles.
"There's no need to cry anymore, Ember. I'll take you there so you can see your mum," Saint assures.
"Jamison Hospital," Blaise mumbles.
Saint nods his head, regrets it when he feels the pain in his nose, and starts to drive towards the hospital. His mom made sure that he remembered where all of the emergency buildings were in the town in case anything happened, so he knows how to get there by heart.
"S-saint?" Blaise says.
He hums to show that he's listening.
"Are you— are you mad at me for breaking your nose?" Blaise asks shyly.
Saint smirks. "I could never be may at you for too long, Em. You're too cute for that."
Blaise gasps in offense. "I'm not cute. I'm badass!"
"I never said you weren't."
"But being cute is for animals and children, both of which I am neither."
"Actually, that's false. You're both an animal and a child, considering the fact that you aren't eighteen yet."
Blaise huffs adorably. "Stop being smart."
Saint chuckles. "It's not something I can just turn off."
Blaise smiles softly before pouting. "I'm sorry for freaking out on you."
Saint glances over to Blaise with a sincere look in his eyes. "I'm sorry that I yelled at you. That was uncalled for." Saint turns back to the road. "What language were you speaking?"
Blaise bites her lip. She forgot that she was just spewing Armenian out of her mouth without realizing. One of the many things she does when she's freaking out is speak either Armenian or... German. But that was only with one person.
One despicable person.
"Armenian," she answers.
Saint nods his head and continues to drive in silence.
"We're here, Blaise," Saint says as he parks the car.
Blaise quickly gets out of her seat and speeds into the hospital, Saint right behind her. Blaise bursts into the lobby and runs over to the registration desk.
"My name is Blaise Nightshade and I'm looking for my mother, Kindle Nightshade. She fainted earlier today," Blaise rushes out, the tears in her eyes coming back.
The nurse stares at her with wide eyes. "Calm down, sweetheart. I can't understand a word you're saying."
"I'll show you calm—" Blaise gets ready to jump over and tackle the nurse, but Saint grabs onto her waist and pulls her back.
"Do you know where Kindle Nightshade is? This is her daughter, Blaise Nightshade."
The nurse glances at Blaise cautiously before typing something on her computer. Her murky brown eyes scan the screen before she looks back up to Saint.
"She's in room 401 on the fourth floor," she informs. She takes in Saint's bloodied face. "Are you sure you don't need to be here too? That's looks like a broken no—"
Saint thanks her quickly while Blaise just flips her off. The two teens run to the elevators and go up to the fourth floor, ignoring the nurse calling after them. Once they get there, Blaise runs over to a tall, male nurse reading something off of a clipboard.
"Do you know where Kindle Nightshade is?" Blaise inquires.
"You must be Blaise, I presume?" The nurse says, not even looking up from his clipboard.
"Boy, I don't got time for smartas—" Saint places his hand over Blaise's mouth.
"You presume correct," Saint answers.
The nurse looks up and raises his eyebrow. "Who are you and what happened to your nose?"
Saint holds out his hand to shake. "Saint Donovan, nice to meet—"
Blaise slaps the nurse's hand away from shaking Saint's. "That doesn't matter! All that matters is where my mom is! All that matters is that she's not fucking dead!"
The nurse pinches the bridge of his nose. "You're mother isn't 'fucking dead', as you so eloquently put it. She's just unconscious from the lack of food and water in her system."
"So, she's okay?" Blaise sloppily wipes the tears from her face.
The nurse rolls his crystal blue eyes. "She's going to be just fine."
Blaise lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Once she's over her relief, she punches the nurse in the arm.
"You dick! You should've told me that from the beginning!"
"Blaise!" Saint exclaims.
The nurse rubs his arm. "Why are you so violent?"
"I've had a long day and I just want to see my mom," Blaise growls.
Saint sighs. "She has had a pretty stressful day..."
"Benjamin Levin," the nurse fills in.
"...Mr. Levin. Could you please tell us where her mother is?"
Nurse Levin points down the hallway. "Last door on the left," he answers.
"Thank you," Saint follows after Blaise, who had already started sprinting down the hallway.
"Are you sure you don't need an X-Ray?!" Nurse Levin asks.
"Oh, I will! I just need to make sure she's alright, first!" Saint assures.
Blaise walks into her mother's room to see her laying on the bed with machines hooked up to her. She's currently asleep, making her look more weak than she normally does. Blaise runs over to her and grabs her hand, trying her best to stop the tears. She hates crying, it always gives her a headache. Especially today since she's been doing a lot of it.
"I can't believe you've let yourself go this much, mama. Forgetting to eat? Forgetting to drink? This is why you should listen to me!" Blaise whispers, trying her hardest not to cry at the sight of her pale, frail, and tired mother.
Kindle slowly opens her eyes when she feels a few droplets of water on her arm. When she sees her daughter crying above her, she frowns.
"What's wrong, baby?" She croaks.
Blaise gasps. She hugs her mother close to her body and tucks her head in her neck, just like she used to do as child when she was scared.
"Don't ever do that again, mama! I thought you died!" Blaise's voice cracks with emotion.
"I'm fine, Blaise. Just tired—"
Blaise snaps her head up to glare at her mother. "No! When was the last time you ate, mom? When was the last time you drank?"
"I had a glass of water not too long ago," Kindle answers vaguely.
"Define 'not too long ago'."
"I don't have to explain myself to yo—"
"When I need to come to hospital because you aren't taking care of your health, you do need to explain yourself to me, mother."
Kindle glares at her daughter. "If I remember correctly, I had a glass of water right before you left to go and hang out with Spencer."
"That was on Friday, mom! You haven't drank anything since Friday! I'm surprised you aren't fucking dead!" Blaise tugs at her hair and starts to pace.
As she's mumbling to herself, Blaise gains a new sense of courage.
"I'm getting a job," she declares.
Her mother's face morphs from annoyance to anger. "Don't you fucking dare—"
"I. Wasn't. Asking. Mom," she spits.
"I'm not about to lose you again, Blaise! I'm not working this many hours just so you can go and fuck up your life again!" Kindle yells.
"You don't want to lose me? You don't want to lose me? You haven't drank a glass of water in three days, goddamnit! I am not going to sit around while you slowly kill yourself! I'm not losing another parent! I won't lose another parent!" Blaise's dull green eyes are borderline neon green with hysteria.
"I'll take better care of myself, Blaise. Just don't do this! Don't go back to that life! Don't put yourself in danger!" Her mother cries.
"DANGER?! You're warning me about danger?!" Blaise's face goes stoic. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I'm getting a job mom," she opens her eyes. "End of story." She stomps over to the door. "Get some rest. I'll see you after school tomorrow."
"Kindle!" Her mother calls.
Blaise stops in her tracks. "Don't you dare call me that name. Not ever again!" She whips around to see her mother's tear-stained face. "Not again! I'm not like you! I would never put my health in danger! I would never scare my kid like you scared me!"
"I'm sorry, Blaise! I promise it won't happen again!"
"You're damn right it won't. Because I won't let it," she turns around. "You're going to quit one of your jobs, ma. I don't care which one, just do it by next Friday. I should have a job by then."
And with that, Blaise leaves her mother to rest.
Oop— she went there 😂. Anywho, I just wanna say a big thanks to my best friend Eliana for the translations. You guys should check her out helloearthlings_ She's an amazing writer and even more amazing person!