To heal a broken heart

Chapter 17

~Holly's POV~

"Are you ready to talk to your friends, dear?", Mrs. Mitchel asks lowly. She didn't say anything during the whole examination, just silently patching me up.

She's probably disappointed in me for being so weak and pathetic.

"You know, you should've told them before all of this happened. They would've helped you", she mumbles carefully. I just shrug.

"I didn't want to be a burden", I admit silently. She grabs my hands gently, looking down at me with pity in her eyes.

"Nobody thinks your a burden, dear", she responds immediately. If she only knew...

When she finished patching up my last wound I slowly get up from the now familiar bed. I can't let them wait any longer, it would be rude.

"Thanks, Mrs. Mitchel", I mumble shyly and give her a small smile. She smiles back, but I still see the pity in her eyes.

"Stay strong, dear, don't let them win", she replies and I nod, silently thinking to myself, that it's already to late for that.

Once I exit the infirmary I hear two bodies springing up. The worried faces of Jayden and Juli come into view. He waited for me?

"Oh my god, Holly!", Juli exclaims in silent shock after seeing my bruised and patched up face. She immediately scurries over to my side and carefully hugs me. I'm thankful for her thoughtfulness, because the bruises and cuts still hurt like a bitch.

"What did they do to you?", she sadly murmurs in my ear. I don't respond, I figure Jayden already told her.

"Why didn't you say anything? I would've protected you!", she asks all churned up inside. I feel guilty upon seeing her in this state, it seems she truly cared about me all along. I should've trusted her more...

"I'm sorry", I mumble timidly. "I didn't want to be a burden and I- Uhm... I- I wasn't sure if it wouldn't annoy you to know how weak I am..."

"Oh Holly", she mumbles again, accidentally squeezing me tighter, causing me to unintentionally whimper. "Oh shit, sorry. It's just... You can always trust me! You're my best friend, you're one of the most important people in my life!"

She slowly lets go of me and I nod, still feeling shy and guilty about all of this.

"I'm sorry", I repeat again, but she just shakes her head.

"Never apologize. It's not your fault. Things happen and we can't change them sometimes, but I'm just glad we talked about it now", she smiles at me. I try to smile back and her face brightens. It's strange, I feel kinda warm inside. It's unfamiliar, but I like it.

"Uhm... I mean, I like your reunion or whatever this was, but I'm still here as well", Jayden interrupts our little moment after a few seconds of silence. He rakes his hand through his hair and scratches his neck, a small grin on his face.

"Oh, uhm, yeah... Th- Thank you! Fo- For helping me!", I nervously ramble, internally beating myself up over my stutter. He on the other side just smiles. It's a genuine smile, one I rarely saw in the past.

"Anytime", he grins back and I can't help but smile at his cute expression. I feel Juli's gaze on us, her smirk probably as wide as a continent, but I choose to ignore it.

"If they ever bother you again feel free to tell me. I'll make sure they won't do anything anymore", Jayden adds. I nod, feeling incredibly shy around him.

"Sis, could you give us a minute?", he suddenly asks Juli. She raises her eyebrows and smirks at him, but nods nevertheless and exits the room to wait in the hallway. When I turn back to Jayden I see a small blush covering his cheeks, surprising me a whole lot. Jayden Davis doesn't just blush! What is going on here?