I stared into the mirror of my bathroom, staring at my reflection uneasily as I watched my eyes dance with the lights.
I don’t know how he did it… but Jase got me in and out of the hospital without alerting anyone of my presence. Not my parents, not my sister… not anyone.
I was honestly surprised they treated me without calling my parents. They asked me who my parents were and their numbers, but Jase asked them to step outside with him.
He talked for too long and came back, and then suddenly they were off my back.
I would be lying if I denied that it scared me a little.
The power he had over so many people.
I got discharged last night and came home around midnight. Jase drove me home as I remained all bandaged and stuff, but I wasn’t injured to an unhealthy extent.
Nothing was broken, my concussion wasn’t horrible. The only thing noticeable were the dark, purple bruises wringing around my neck.
As I stared at my reflection longer, I then pulled the collar of my turtleneck over the bandages to conceal the bruises, and I finished with placing a new thumb-sized band-aide on my cheek (where I scraped myself after my head hit the ground), finishing with everything before I walked out of my bathroom.
I also had a large, purple bruise on my cheekbone, as well, from the fall after I was hurt. But I came up with the most perfect lie as to why it’s there.
I then stepped down the staircase to find Lizzy swiping through her phone, chewing on some cereal.
“Morning,” I said.
She gazed up. “You came home late last night. Where were you?”
“Hanging out with Jase,” I said.
It wasn’t a complete lie.
She gave me a dubious smile. “I knew you two would hit it off.”
I rolled my eyes.
Yeah, maybe after I was sure he wasn’t planning on putting me into a grave.
Her eyes immediately darkened. “Hey… what happened to your cheek?”
“While I was walking to his restaurant,” I explained to her, lying through my teeth but I knew very well to be specific so she’d believe me, “there was this large ice patch on the sidewalk… you know, next to those gutter things? And I thought it was water, so I stepped on it.” I sighed in anger. “And I slipped and literally fell on my face.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”
I shrugged. “It happens.”
“Did Jase help you?”
“Yes, I guess,” I said then, deciding to tell the half-truth. “He took me to an urgent care and they said I wasn’t concussed, so… I’m fine.”
She opened her mouth agape. “You went to the hospital, and you didn’t TELL ME?”
“Urgent care,” I corrected despite the lie. “It’s not that bad.”
She just puffed her cheek and sighed, letting out a breath.
I just stepped over and got onto the stool beside her. “You ready for the psych test today?”
She just cleared her throat. “Oh?”
And she coughed, clearly fake and exaggerated and I smiled.
“You know…” she said then, clearing her throat, “ahem. It seems as if I contracted the flu. I can’t go to school today.”
“Nice try,” I said, bumping her shoulder.
She smirked over at me.
“Do you want me to help you study?” I asked.
“Nah,” she said then, “I bomb it, I bomb it.”
I just chuckled.
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