Until You're Cured

Fourteen Days

Fourteen Days

"Mitchell!"

I bolt upright in bed. Why the hell was I looking up at my own ceiling and not Scott's? Why was I hearing my mother screaming at me instead of the electronic beep of Scott's alarm clock? Why am I here and not with him?

Then, it all comes back to me.

The kiss yesterday at school. Jake informing me that he could turn us in. The fight. Scott blames it all on me. He thinks this is my fault. He says that if only I'd been able to control myself, we wouldn't be at risk.

This isn't my fault. I didn't choose this. I'm not sure I want to sleep with him tonight, or ever for that matter. But then I remember what my mother told me, if I come back here, I don't get food.

I dress slowly for school, putting on clothes that had been rejected when packing for Scott's house. I end up in a plain white t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Picking up my backpack, I walk out the door.

When I arrive at school, Scott is standing there waiting for me. "Are you coming over tonight?" he asks, not even looking quite at me.

"Yes," I state flatly. Honestly, I don't want to spend tonight with him. I'm mad at him. But I also want dinner so...

"Oh, thank god. I couldn't sleep last night without you beside me," Scott lets out a sigh of relief that stops when he sees my expression.

"Guess you won't be getting much sleep tonight either, then. I'm sleeping on your couch."

Scott's face fell. All the happiness that had surfaced when I said I was staying over draining away. "You still mad at me, Mitchie?"

"Don't call me that," I snap. Who does he think he is? He doesn't get to say things like yesterday and then be all like, 'baby, are you mad at me', looking at me with those beautiful baby blues. No one gets to do that and he is no exception.

"Mitch." He grabs my arm as I turn away. "I get it, you're mad. But we need to work this out." I pull my arm away and start toward my first class, forgetting that we share that class. Never have I been so focused on a science class. I don't even like science especially not biology. Touching internal organs? Pass, thanks. We were talking about how the physical brain is related to the figurative mind and emotions and how the Cure fixes these things.

Mr. Garcia instructed at the end of the hour, "Okay, I want you to turn to the person next to you and tell them one, how you feel. Two, would the Cure negate that feeling. Three, comment on the other person's response."

"Pissed, it would."  I tell Scott.

"Worried about you, it would, but I don't want it to. Look, I'm sorry for whatever I did to piss you off." Scott tells me.

"You don't even know what you did. Are you kidding me?" my voice is rising in both volume and pitch and the people near us are noticing.