"Is she awake, yet?"
"Does she look thirsty to you?"
"Is she going to be okay?"
"It's my fault, I shouldn't have asked her."
"Thanks for saving her, Jordan."
Jordan.
Jordan.
"Jordan.....," I mumbled, weakly. Immediately, I felt cool hands press against my burning cheeks. I wasn't blushing, trust me.
I felt.....sick.
I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes. Yawning, I said, "Where am I?"
Since I was yawning, it sounded like, "Hare ham hi?"
Jordan chuckled, but he looked awful. There were visible dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he didn't sleep.
He hugged me and I stiffened. I slowly relaxed. I realized I was craving this.
"God," he muttered in the crook of my neck. "Never do that again."
"Do what?" I said, tiredly. He studied me. "You don't remember, do you?"
I frowned at him. "Remember what....?"
Then, I gasped. "Wait. Why are you here? What day is it today? Wha--"
"Relax," he said, slowly pushing me into bed, and covered me up with the blanket. He pressed his palm to my forehead. Turning his head, he said, "They probably put too much in her drink. She's running a fever."
"For real?" Tyler.
"Tyler!" I exclaimed. He gave me a pained smile and looked away. "Sorry, Jordan. I didn't know about the drug dealers there. Hell, I thought it was a rumor."
Hell. Tyler almost never cursed.
Well, he used to when he was bad.
"Bro, it's okay. She's fine so don't go gay mode and worry about her like that." Jordan replied. Looking at me, he said, "I'm gonna go get some Tylenol. Feel free to ask Tyler some questions." And with that, he was gone.
"Really?" Tyler yelled after him. But he either ignored it or was too far away to hear him.
"So....Tyler--" I broke into a coughing fit. My throat felt extremely dry, and my voice cracked. Tyler smiled at me. It looked fake.
"Hold on, Sof. I'll go get you a glass of water," he stood up and went into the kitchen.
The kitchen....?
I realized I was in Tyler's house. And even more, I was sleeping in the guestroom. Also known as his room. For now.
But what about Mom? Dad? Jason? Chloe?
Tyler came back a few minutes later, a glass of water in one hand, and a granola bar in another.
"Eat," he said. I nodded and swallowed the water vigorously. It tasted so good and refreshed my parched tongue. He handed me the granola bar, and I unwrapped it. It was the Nature's Valley Peanut Butter one.
"Mmmmm," I moaned. He just stared at me as if I were made out of glass. I turned away from him. "Tyler, stop looking at me that way."
He raised his eyebrows. "What way?"
"Like I'm gonna fall apart any second now."
He turned away, mumbling an apology.
I finished the granola bar in seconds, licking my fingers when I was finished. Tyler and I stayed in silence for a few minutes. He looked deep in thought while I studied his features. His blonde hair was ruffled, in an adorable way. He, too, had dark circles under his eyes. His blue eyes which looked so energetic, now looked tired. Lifeless.
"Tyler, are-are you okay?" I asked him softly. He looked at me, and I was surprised to see he had tears in his eyes. He shook his head.
"Honestly Sofia, no. No, I'm not okay. If Jordan was later than he was, who knew what was going to happen to you. You could've been raped, sold, or...." He shuddered. Taking my face in his hands, he said, "See? See what the drugs did to you? You can barely remember what happened last night. You probably forgot some other stuff, too. It's all my fault." He released my face and stared at his hands which were folded in his lap. "If I hadn't invited you, none of this would've happened in the first place."
"Tyler."
"If I had known there were drug dealer rapists, or whatever, at my school, you wouldn't have been drugged."
"Tyler."
"If I--"
"TYLER!" He stared at me in shock. I looked deep into his blue eyes and said, "Look, Tyler. You don't have to worry, okay? I remember what happened last night. I remember how you asked me to your school dance a few ago. I remember our matching outfits, and how I have to pay you back for ruining mine. I remember how I made a new friend, how Jordan came, how I wanted a drink. I remember them drugging my drink, and almost raping me."
He opened his mouth to speak, but I kept going. "I'm thankful for what Jordan did. I'm thankful for what you did. You guys saved me and took care of me. And I really appreciate it."
I cupped his face in my hands, not at all surprised by the sharp feeling of his jaw. "You shouldn't worry. I'm alive, and thankful, and the drugs affected me by a little bit. Plus, I want to see you smile again, and I want your eyes to return their normal color."
I saw the ghost of a smile forming on his lips. "What color are they now?"
"They were blue a few days ago....but today, it looks like a fake blue. An artificial blue. Like someone colored your eyes blue with crayon."
He smiled. "Gee, thanks, Sofia."
I smiled back, and before I knew it, our faces were getting closer....and closer....
He tilted his head down, while I tilted mine up. And our lips met
I did appreciate the kiss, but let's just say that I was very disappointed. There was no lightning like I expected. No sparks.
It was....sweet. I wasn't that into the kiss.
And then I realized. I didn't like Tyler like that anymore.
And I saw a face flash before my eyes. Jordan.
I pulled away slowly, and Tyler got the hint. He muttered something to himself.
"What?" I asked him, thinking it was for me to hear. He shook his head, and I let it slip because I realized his eyes were back to the way they were before.
Happy Tyler.
I heard someone clearing there throat and I turned to the doorway.
"Sorry to interrupt your make out session," Jordan sneered at us. He wouldn't meet my eyes. They were full of betrayal, anger, guilt, and sadness.
"Jordan--" I stood up, but he shook his head. Handing me the Tylenol, he said, "I hope you get better."
He walked out of the room. My body acted before my mind did. "Jordan!" I yelled. I ran to the door but it was too late.
He was gone.
Clutching the Tylenol bottle in my hands, I sunk to the floor.
What had I done?
*
DO ANY OF YOU KNOW THAT FEELING OF SADNESS WHEN YOU FINISH AN ANIME? ME YESTERDAY THO. I ALSO FINISHED READING 'THE KISSING PACT' IF YOU HADN'T NOTICED (I MEAN, IF YOU LOOK AT MY 'ACTIVITY' BAR, THE ONLY THING YOU WILL SEE IS COMMENTS ON 'THE KISSING PACT') SO I FEEL THE SAME WAY I DO WITH ANIMES FOR SOME REASON.
KAY. I'M DONE EMBARRASSING MYSELF. TOODLES.
