Age is just a number, after all. (Morten Harket x Reader)

Age is just a number, after all. (Chapter 18)

A few hours went by and you simply stared at the white interior of your hospital room. They offered you the TV remote but you politely refused. You really didn't feel like watching TV.

Then, at around 1PM, the door opened again. It was your mother. As she entered the room, Mia tumbled in behind her, carefully carrying her big cast.

"Oh, sweetie. What did you do this time?", your mother asked with a worried expression, approaching you.

"Uh, get soaked in aggressive bleach, I guess."

"Didn't I tell you to be careful during chemistry class? Well, I suppose accidents can happen, but... oh dear, look at you..."

She carefully examined your chemical burn mark, being sure not to touch it.

Your eyes widened as she mentioned the word "accident".

"They didn't tell you what happened?"

She stopped to look at you. "Well, only sort of. I have been called and they told me you were hurt by bleach and they had to bring you to the hospital, so I assumed..."

You nodded. "That makes sense."

"What happened then?"

You paused, hesitating to tell the truth, unsure of how your mother would react. She, on the other hand, carefully read your gaze.

"It was not an accident?"

You nodded. "I opened my locker door and there was this cup of bleach. Before I could notice it, it spilled all over me. It seemed like it was rigged. Since I don't keep open cups of aggressive bleach in my locker, you know."

She narrowed her eyes a little. "Sounds like an awful prank."

"Yes, pretty much."

You stopped yourself before you were able to bring up the note you found. If you implied to her, that Jakob had made your sister fall and break her arm, she would most likely straight away go for his blood. You decided to keep that secret for now.

"We have reason to assume that it was Jakob."

Her expression turned into anger. "Doesn't this kid have enough already? What's the matter with him?!"

You knew. You knew that he was frustrated and hurt. But you couldn't tell anyone that you knew.

"I don't know but I heard that... bullies nag other people to make someone feel more miserable than they are themselves. Maybe he has some issues. I couldn't find another explanation, at least."

"That sounds legit. But that's not excuse for", she started vaguely gesturing over your burn, "all of THAT."

You nodded and looked down.

"I mean, that could have hit your eyes. Or if you breathed in too much of the gases, you could have serious internal burns-"

"I did breathe in some but it doesn't look too bad for now."

"SEE! I TOLD YOU! Oh, that brat."

You had never seen your mother this infuriated. You could tell that she was trying to contain her emotions.

All the while, Mia had tried to climb up on your hospital bed, but failed multiple times.

"Mum, could you give Mia a hand here?"

"Huh? Oh, sure. There you go sweetie", she said and supported your little sister on her way up.

She looked at your burn mark in awe. "What's that?"