The Dating Game

Chapter Fifty-Eight

Justin

"I'm fine," Juliet argued. "I can walk perfectly straight."

Juliet had stayed overnight at the hospital and now she was finally discharged from it. Ian had been fussing incessantly over her "condition" due to the fact she had ended up in hospital. I tried to keep my distance, but I was just frightened she'd have another turn. I am partially the perpetrator for why Juliet ended up in the hospital anyway.

Driving home, Ian was consistently fleetingly checking his rear view mirror just to glance back at Juliet. It was rather perceptible so when she noticed, neither of us was shocked. The only thing that shocked us was Juliet's abrupt outburst.

"Dad, I'm perfectly fine," she snapped. "There's no need to keep checking on me. All I'm doing is sitting in a car. I'm fine," she stressed. "Please stop."

For the rest of the journey, Ian ceaselessly had a guilty expression plastered on his face. Granted, he didn't cease looking back at Juliet, but he did slow the intervals down between the glimpses. Juliet was oblivious because she had her arms crossed over chest and her eyes were transfixed on the view outside.

The tension had begun to mount as soon as we got in the car at the hospital car park, but now the car was brimmed with tension. I was unsure whether to reach out and hold Juliet's hand or not. But when we got back to her house and she was the first one out and into the house, I knew I should probably give her some space and leave her alone but Ian didn't share my same theory.

"Can you stay with her for a little while, please, Justin?" he asked.

Hesitant, I turned to the stairs. "Do you think that's wise?"

"Yeah," he protested. "She'll be better with you than me."

"Okay."

So that's how I made my way upstairs to Juliet's room. I knocked a few times but when I didn't get a reply, I just walked on in. She was sat on her bed with her laptop. She looked up at me after a few seconds and sighed. "You can go home, Justin."

Truth be told, I'd be a little stressed if people were fussing over me, too. Juliet did seem fine and capable of doing anything. She did have a funny turn, but she's fine now. Staying overnight at the hospital aided her, too. There wasn't really any reason to why she wouldn't be okay. Except the fact that she has a heart condition, but that's probably what hindered the combat against the heat loss.

"Your dad told me to stay," I mumbled feebly, sitting on the edge of her bed.

She groaned, grabbing her hair at the roots. Her hickory roots had grown out a lot now, but the camera ends were edging further and further down her body and past her waist now. She let go of her hair. Her cheeks were a light shade of magenta.

"Do you want a drink?" I asked, not knowing what to really say in this situation.

"Just go home, Justin. I am perfectly capable of doing anything right now. I don't need some babysitter to sit beside me and wait on me, hand and foot. Just leave. I don't want to be around anyone right now."

She slammed her laptop shut and stood up off the bed. She lost her footing a little so out of impulse, I reached forward to try and grab her before she could fall precariously and hit her head on her bedside table. Instead, she composed herself almost instantaneously and my assistance was redundant. Her eyes narrowed and she turned to me. Now she was really agitated. I stepped back.

"Just go home!" She paused, her chest rising and falling dramatically. "You're all treating me like a little kid who can barely walk. I have proved I can walk. I walked to the car at the hospital. I managed to walk up those stairs. I'm here now. I'm not a little kid. I'm eighteen!"