First Summer of Us

Chapter 10

Jonah's POV:

It was pretty annoying coming back to Melbourne early, while my mates were playing footy, partying hard and hitting the clubs.

I catch a taxi to ambers hospital. She fainted or some shit? Anyway, I'm seeing her today. I look at the amount of money clicking up on the cab ride. $14, $17, $19. I can't pay that much money... We get nearer to the hospital. When we're about 3 blocks away, we stop at a red light. This is my chance. I reach for the door and in one, swift movement, I've opened the door and run out, blood rushes through me and the adrenalin makes me shake. "Hey! What the..! Where are you going?!" the taxi driver shouts after me, but I'm already sprinting down the street.

I get to the hospital and check in to see amber. Ambers mum's apparently gone to visit her mum.

I sit bored next to amber. What's the point? She's not even conscious.

Amber's POV:

I suddenly feel woozy. I get a flash back of being tossed through the surf, not knowing which way is up. My eyes slowly flutter open, light catching them for the first time in... I don't even know how long.

I register Jonah's face staring at mine. "Jonah?" I say in a husky voice. I'm hooked up to machines, a drip and there are tubes running in and out of me everywhere.

"hey babe." he says, Kissing me. "what are you doing here?" I ask him. "as soon as I heard what had happened, I flew home. I had to see you! I've barely left your side." he says. "wow." I say. "thankyou." "sure." says Jonah.

I realize what he said about flying back to Melbourne and suddenly the memory hits me. "So.. You and Amy Henderson, huh?" I say. He stares at me, shocked. Probably wondering how the hell I found out. "you'd make a cute couple." I say bluntly, staring him down.

"what are you talking about?" he says. "Niall saw you, Jonah. Both of you. In Coles? Ringing any bells?" I say. "...no? Listen it wasn't me, it was probably just Mark, we look similar." he says. Hmm. Now that I think about it. Niall doesn't know Jonah or mark that well, he could easily get them mixed up. And Jonah's changed now, anyway.

He leans forward to give me a hug. His shirt sleeve gets court on the side of my bed and is yanked up revealing his arm.

It was covered in little bloody scars. Fresh scars. Recent scars. Like mosquito bites that had been scratched too hard, but they weren’t.

~ “Jonah?” I couldn’t believe my eyes. His own dark eyes blinked up at me. He’d obviously seen me, but he still sat there, in the dark grimy street, pushing the needle further into his forearm. His friends sneered at me, some of them inhaling cigarettes and blowing the cloudy smoke from their nostrils.”What are you.. what are you doing?!” Al he could do was stare at me. ~

"Jonah.." I say. "you told me you quit a year ago." I say, still frozen and staring at his scars. The veins under his forearm are bulging and dark. "oh, right. My cat scratched me this morni-" he starts. "bullshit!" I yell.

I start to well up. "you're over reacting amber." he says. "I just needed a hit." I've had it. I want the manipulative jerk out of my life. It was him and amy, he never quit. I hate him. How could I have been so stupid?! "get out!" I yell and he leaves. "you know what?! I'm better off with Amy! At least she fucking puts out!" he yells and slams the door behind him. I grab my pillow and bury my face in it, crying.