Serendipity (Jamilton)

Chapter Sixteen

Jefferson goes quiet for a long moment so I just lay there staring at him. In the back of my mind, I’m praying he didn’t do it, I don’t want him to have done it. Is it because of how different things are between us now?

“I,” he begins and hesitates for a moment, “I’ve known Lavien for a long time. He and my dad were close friends, so I kind of grew up around him and we grew close.” He bites his upper lip. “While I was in the office with Madison, Lavien called and said he needed a favor. I, of course, agreed. He didn’t tell me what he would do or the reason behind it. He told me to make you angry and then swerve off into the alley and dump you there, except you ended up doing the swerving for me. That was all he said before he hang up. The rest falls into place after that.”

At this point, I’m clutching the sheets under the covers tightly, fighting back the urge to scream, to throw myself at him for what he did to me. And to think I actually wanted to go out with this guy.

Wait… I wanted to go out with him?

In the corner of my eye, I can see Lafayette fidgeting in the corner, clearly uncomfortable. I look over at him. “You can go, Laf. Thank you for getting me here.”

Laf jumps at the sound of my voice but smiles gratefully soon after. “You’re welcome, mon ami. Please check in when you can.” He then leaves the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

An uncomfortable silence settles on me and Jefferson and neither of us dare to break it. We both know that at some point the other will snap and all hell will break loose. That wouldn’t go over well, especially since we’re in a hospital and we’re supposed to be quieter.

Finally, he speaks, “Alexander, I’m sorry…”

I look at him and narrow my eyes. “Sorry? Sorry?! Sorry doesn’t even begin to fix anything you did! Sorry won’t turn back time! Sorry won’t heal my cuts and scrapes and bruises! SORRY WON’T GET ME OUT OF THIS HOLE THAT YOU’VE DUG ME INTO!”

A nurse comes in hurriedly and scolds me for being too loud. She then proceeds to check over my IVs and stats, since she was already in the room, before leaving.

“If I had known what he was gonna do, I never would have gone along with it,” he says softly, looking down at his hands.

I turn to stare at the wall in front of me. “Oh, really?”

Now Jefferson turns to look at me. “Yes, really. I would never wish harm upon you. I swear.”

I clutch the sheets so hard it feels like my palms could start bleeding. Maybe they are. That would be a nice distraction.

“And why not? You must’ve gotten some clue as to what he was gonna do.”

“I didn’t,” he says sharply. He catches himself and his tone softens again. “I would never wish harm upon you because I… I don’t even know how to explain it. You… You’re special to me. That’s why I asked you out on the dates. When I learned about the money, I had no idea that Lavien was related, but I wanted to help you and I also wanted to figure some things out.” He’s still staring at me but I don’t look back. I’m staring down at my hands. “Even with just that first date, I was able to figure it out.”

He pauses for a moment, probably trying to pick out the harshest words he can come up with. Clearly he’s joking. There’s no way he’s serious.

“Alexander, I think…- no, I’m most definitely sure- that I like you. I don’t know how else to describe it.”

The words make me tense and my chest starts to ache. How can he like me? No one likes me. I’m the guy that everyone hates. As long as I remember, no one has confessed to me. Ever. I was always the kid sitting under a tree, reading a book. I just… I don’t understand. Why?

~~~

It’s been about a day and a half and the doctors are finally letting me go. Jefferson hasn’t left my side once since the other day. Not that I minded the company. The only problem was that neither of us had really spoken to the other since Jefferson confessed to me.

Now is no different. We haven’t said a word on the drive back to the apartments. The hospital isn’t far from our apartments, so it takes us less than five minutes to get back, which is a good thing considering the atmosphere in that car was so tense you could cut it with a knife.

Jefferson comes over and helps me out of the car. I don’t want to admit it, but it really helps having him there. I don’t think I’d be able to walk at all if it weren’t for him being there so I could lean on him. The cut across my stomach hurts so much it feels like it’s happening all over again. It’s really bothersome.

He helps me up to my apartment, helping me sit down on my bed when we get in there. I immediately lay down which is a big mistake because even the soft shock the mattress sends through my body makes me cry out in pain. He looks at me in worry, adjusting the pillows so I can lay comfortably.

“You need to be more careful,” he says, breaking the long, long silence.

I nod slowly. “Yeah. I just didn’t think it would hurt that much,” I say, grimacing in pain.

Jefferson covers me up with a blanket before sitting on the edge of the bed. He stares down at me and there’s clear regret and sorrow in his gaze. I look away. I don’t want to see that from him. He made his choice, now he has to deal with it.

There’s a hand that goes across my forehead, brushing the hair out of my face, running their fingers through it gently. The gesture is soothing, caring, something I haven’t had since before Mom got sick. I already know who did it since there’s no one else in the room.

“Alex-”

“Don’t call me that,” I snap. He’s been calling me that too much lately. When he says my first name, it makes my chest feel all weird, making me want to like him just like he likes me. I can’t let that happen.

Jefferson tenses and he slowly pulls his hand away. I don’t want him to stop but I force myself to stay still.

“Alright,” he says tightly. “Hamilton, I’m not going to ask you to forgive me. I will ask you, though, to give me another chance, to let me actually be here for you. I… I won’t let Lavien near you again and I’ll take care of all the money and I’ll take care of you-”

I stop him. “You won’t pay back the money yourself. I won’t let you.”

“It’ll be a step towards hopefully fixing what I did to you,” he says with finality. “As for your big obsession with earning the money yourself, I’d still really like to go out on those dates with you.”

I want to protest against it but I know no matter what I do, he’ll find a way around it.

That’s when I say some words I wasn’t expecting to say, “I want to go on those dates, too.” I quickly try to fix it. “I don’t mean because I like you, I mean I just wanna go, I get food and stuff, so-”

Jefferson chuckles, looking down at me. “You’re digging your own grave, Alexander.”

I don’t even get the chance to yell at him because before I can react, he presses his lips to mine.