Together at last || Jenna Ortega x Y/n (female)

Chapter 23

❗️TW: Emetophobia ❗️

Pov: Y/n

The first thing I notice is that I'm out of the sun. I feel cooler, my forehead covered by a wet, cold rag and a ventilator blowing cold air toward me.
The second thing I notice is whispers. I don't recognize the words being said or even the voices. When I open my eyes to a darkened room, I glimpse two people there with me. Emma and Jenna.

Emma is the first to notice my slightly open eyes and her face goes from concern to relief. "Hey, you're finally awake," she says - not whispering anymore, but her voice calm and quiet. I look around the room. If I remember correctly, this is mine and Jenna's room, but I wouldn't trust my memory too much on that. Jenna is the next one who speaks up. "How are you feeling?" she asks. I avoid looking at her as I answer. "Mmh, bad," I whisper. And it's true - I have a pounding headache, my skin feels prickly and uncomfortable, and I'm nauseous. I hate being sick.

"We figured you might. You probably have a heatstroke," Jenna says. Her voice is full of concern. "Here, have some water and a snack," she says, holding a water bottle and a banana my way. I shake my head as I sit up, which I immediately realize was a terrible idea. The room starts spinning, like an out-of-control carousel, fast and relentless. No, no, no, please, no, I repeat in my head. But it's too late, and my mind shuts off as I retch and gag, throwing up into a bucket that Emma quickly handed me from the side of the bed.

A hand - Jenna's hand- rubs up and down my back as I throw up twice more, and then I feel great relief when I realize it made me feel better. I carefully open my eyes again, avoiding the bucket, and look to my side. I don't know if the embarrassment is displayed on my face, but I certainly feel it. "Hey, it's okay sw-... Y/n. Here, let me take care of that," Jenna says. Emma and my eyes dart toward her when she nearly calls me a pet name, and her face flushes before she corrects herself.

She takes the bucket out of my hands and walks to the bathroom. "Feel better?" Emma asks, and I nod. Jenna comes back, hands me a water bottle, and this time, I take it. "Howʼd I get here?" I say, more directed at Emma, but Jenna is the one who answers. "We had Hunter carry you up, we figured you would want some privacy once you woke up," she says, smiling sweetly. It takes everything in me not to melt into her arms, not to ask for her to hold me. I looked away quickly before it was too late.

„Y/n?" Emma says, and then immediately adds, „You know that no one here would say anything bad about your scars, right? You can totally walk around in, well... not in a sweater, at least. Nobody wants you to hide yourself or hold back on having fun and swimming because of that." Jenna nods along with what Emma says. "I know... I've gotten so used to hiding that I... Well, I didn't even think about it, and when I felt how hot it was, it was too late," I admit.

We talk some more, and it takes me a while to convince them I'm feeling better. When they finally give in, they go downstairs, and I go to take a shower and brush my teeth. Getting out, I dress in shorts and a shirt. I look at myself in the mirror for a moment, and with every second, I rethink my decision about that. I was so focused on my reflection that I didn't notice someone coming in.

"You're beautiful, Y/n. You don't need to worry about showing yourself, you really don't," that someone whispered. It was Jenna, now standing next to me and looking at me. I startle first, then drop my head and look at my feet. Her words mean a lot to me because through all the coldness of her voice, I can still hear affection. She's told me those things many times before, and I know she means them. "It just makes me feel vulnerable to reveal them. It's like writing on my forehead hey look everyone, I'm mentally unstable" I say, that last part in a goofy voice.

"More like hey everyone, look how strong I am", Jenna counters. A smile tugs at my lips, small and unexpected, before I shove it away. I turn around, now not looking at her through the mirror, but directly. That's when it hits me, that this is the first conversation we've had since the breakup. She looks into my eyes for a while, and neither of us says anything. Seconds grow into a minute, then two minutes. It's like an emotionally charged staring contest, and nobody wants to give in, or look away.

"I miss you," she whispers after a bit. Her face, for the first time in a while, looks like the one I've known. Full of love, affection, and... was that regret? My breath hitches for a second before I catch myself again. "I miss you too," I admit. There's a lot I could add - many emotions that I've felt for her ever since she broke up with me—anger, grief, sadness. But I didn't let that slip out and ended the conversation with an awkward "Let's go," before walking down the stairs.

And as Emma and Jenna said, nobody was weird about my scars. Sure, they looked, but not in a bad way. Despite still feeling a bit weak, I enjoyed the rest of the evening. We played Uno, drank some wine (Emma made sure I had a lot of water, still going in about me fainting), and went swimming in the pool. And sadly, that moment earlier with Jenna, one where she put down the facade she had on recently, was gone. She had a poker face whenever our eyes met. At that moment, I thought we might be able to settle things out, talk about everything. But now, the way she was cold and distant again, I didn't dare approach her. Why, just why, did I have to fall in love with an actress who could hide all of her emotions in a heartbeat?

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okay so im back, kind of? i can't promise updates as frequent as before, but i'll try my best ❣️

also it feels weird to write again so sorry if this chapter is shit haha, i'll get better again with time