Ten Minutes Ago // Ben Tyler Cook

Part Two / Chapter Three

"You did what?" Noelle screeches, her volume causing me to pull the phone away from my ear.
   
"Ow," I mumble.
   
"Marlee, this is a new level of stupid! How long is it going to take for your ankle to heal?"
   
"The doctor said that it should be okay in six weeks, but until then, I can't dance, and I should keep it elevated when I can."

"That's a week before you leave, will it be healed in time?"

"That's what we hope." I sigh. "Look, we're almost to the apartment. Can you make sure there's an ice pack in the freezer for when we get there?"

"Yeah. See you in a minute." Noelle ends the call.

The car is quiet. Sky still feels guilty for asking me to jump higher, Ben is worried out of his mind that I won't follow the doctor's instructions, and Josh is afraid to say anything because of the tension hanging in the air. Sky pulls up to the apartment building and puts the car in park. Ben gets out of his side and comes to open my door.

"Keep your foot elevated, Marlee," Josh reminds me as Ben gets me out of the car.

"Text us later," Sky adds. "We'll tell you if you missed anything during rehearsal."

I nod, offering the two a small smile. "Will do. Thanks, guys." I allow Ben to pick me up and carry me inside, up the stairs, and to the door of the apartment, no matter how much I'd rather walk. I fish the key out of my pocket and give it to him. Inside, Noelle is getting an ice pack out of the freezer.

"Do you want to go to the couch or your bed?" Ben asks me.

"The couch, please," I answer. He obeys my request and gently drops me on the couch, setting up pillows for me to rest my foot on. "Thank you, Benji."

"Of course, anything for you." He leans down and kisses my forehead. "Get some rest, Marlee. I'll call you after rehearsal." Ben leaves as Noelle enters the living room with the ice pack.

"See ya later, Benjamin," Noelle says. "Here, Marlee." She places the ice pack on my ankle.

I inhale through my teeth. "That's cold," I mumble.

"I know, I'm sorry. But it's called an ice pack for a reason, Marlee." She sits down on the couch. "So how exactly did this happen?"

"I was challenged to do a newsie jump, and we kept adding things on to make it harder. Then this happened." I motion to my propped up leg.

She gives me a look. "Was it Sky?"

"He said to try and get more height, but it's not his fault. Please don't make him think that. He feels really guilty," I explain.

Noelle nods. "I won't say anything to him. Now you should get some rest. Sleep, or watch tv, or something like that." She tosses me the remote and gets up from the couch. "I'm going to make a batch of cookies."

I nod, turning on the tv. I pick a show on Netflix, but I don't really care what I watch. Before long, I drift off into a light sleep.

~~~~~
Since nothing really happens in this chapter, I thought I'd make today a double update day!
Thank you guys for commenting and voting, it means the world to me. Have a great day/night!!!