Valley Forge Boarding School

Chapter 14 - Caring Touches

Alex raced past Mr. Lawson, kneeling down next to me, softly grasping my shoulders. "Jacky, please, are you okay?", he whispered, before spotting the blood. His eyes grew wide and he started frantically searching for where it was coming from. "No no no no no..."

"Alex, I'm fine...", I attempted to reassure him, but seemingly my voice came out a lot less sturdy than I had hoped, because he just stared at me with tears in his eyes. It took him a few seconds, but then he recollected himself, and before I could say another word I was sweeped up into his arms, letting out a whimper as the sudden motion sent a flash through me.

"I'm sorry", he muttered, turning and hurrying out the door, through the dark hallways. I leaned my head against his shoulder, sighing in relief, knowing that my friend's arms were my safe haven. "Thank you", I whispered to him, not knowing how else to repay him, and he pressed a kiss into my hair, making me feel very warm. "Hush now, don't waste your energy."

We arrived back at our room and Alex set me down on his bed, careful this time not to hurt me too much. "I'll go get the nurse, you just wait here, and for goodness sake stay down." I nodded, and he quickly kissed my forehead before running out towards the staff rooms, leaving me slightly blushy.

I focused on breathing steadily, soon finding a rhythm that helped distract me a little. As I stayed still and listened into the darkness, I could hear a faint sound, soon realizing that it was a car starting and driving away. It didn't bother me too much that the men were escaping, we could give their description to the police, I was certain of that.

Not even two minutes later, the nurse came, still in her pyjamas, with a very impatient Alexander behind her. "Oh my goodness, what happened?" The poor woman looked as if she had seen a ghost, and I gave a mild smile. "Tripped and fell in the hallway, ma'am."

She shook her head in disbelief. "You boys just don't care, do you?" She reached out for my shoulder and gently pushed down, making me scream as I felt a flash of pain erupt in me. Alex winced and quickly took my hand, I could tell by the look on his face that he wanted to throw himself right between me and her, but we both knew the actions were necessary.

I plopped my head back down onto the pillow, biting down on my lip hard to stop myself from getting loud again as the nurse continued pushing and prodding for what seemed like forever. My brain must've done me a favor and dropped me out of consciousness after a while, because I didn't remember it ever stopping, instead I woke up a short while later from a cold towel being pressed against my face.

Alex was leaning over me, smiling when he saw that I was awake. "Morning, Jacky", he whispered. I felt surprisingly alright, not quite good, but there was a pleasantly numb pressure applied to my shoulder and stomach area, preventing the injuries from bringing me all too much pain. "How is it morning already...? Did I fall asleep?", I whispered, and Alex set the towel to the side. "Not quite, but you were out for quite some time. Washington was notified and he cut the trip short, everyone's back already, but I made them promise not to wake you."

"What time is it?", I asked. Alex shrugged, turning around to check the clock. "Seems to be close to 4:30. You should sleep a bit more, everyone's probably gonna flock in here as soon as the morning bells ring, enjoy the quiet while you can", he chuckled softly. I reached my arm out to him and softly nudged him to lie down with me. "I want to cuddle."

Alex blushed and happily obeyed, lying down next to me and very very carefully wrapping his arms around me. It was an easy task to relax under his touch, and as always my head immediately considered sleep a wonderful option. Not quite yet, I thought to myself, and stirred slightly to face my friend, nuzzling into his chest. "There we go", he muttered softly, seemingly able to read my mind. I felt a few soft kisses being pressed into my hair, and the heat went rising to my cheeks, luckily I was hidden from his sight.

"What's gonna happen now...?", I whispered, thinking about all the tumult that would occur once the clock passed 6 in the morning. Alex gently tightened his grip, squeezing for reassurance. "You, my dear Jack, are going to stay in bed and get better, while I will fend off any nosey classmates of ours, and I'll probably have to explain everything to Washington since I haven't had the chance yet. But that's my job, you just relax, you deserve it."

I didn't make him tell me twice, closing my eyes and focusing on his steady breathing and kisses in my hair, I slipped into a content half-sleep. The entire room was quiet and dark, and I felt right at home in my best friend's embrace, cherishing the love he was showing me.

"Hey, Alex...?", I whispered after a while, very quietly to see if he was awake. I smiled when I received no response, knowing he had fallen asleep soundly, and most of all, I was trapped in his sweet embrace until morning came. For a minute I considered staying up so that I could enjoy it fully, but sleep got the best of me and I drifted off soundly, with a content smile on my face.

There was nothing in this world that could've disturbed my happiness in that moment, not some strange man with a cane, not a tough-loving nurse, not a lovable yet annoying friend. It was all Alexander, my mind could not think of a single other reason to live.