Deteriorating Hearts

15 || Unexpected Result

// for Angie, who left an amazing comment on the previous chapter and made the cover in the multimedia section //

Here's an early update as promised! There are 4 more chapters till the end (the last chapter being the epilogue). I liked the narrative in this chapter and I hope you enjoy this chapter! I love writing about Charlie.

I've got nothing else to say but-

E N J O Y !
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Unexpected Result

Juniper Stauff and Jeremy Cox stared at each other for a couple more seconds, their surprised expressions shown clearly on their faces.

Seconds later, Jeremy Cox collected her small body and hugged her. He barely knew the girl yet he missed her. It was her act of bravery that had saved him and he would be forever in debt to her. She stopped him from doing a ruthless, horrible thing and he couldn't have been more happy to see his saviour right in front of his eyes after three long years.

Juniper stiffened before she felt herself relaxing. She wound her arms around his waist, buried her head into his chest and welcomed the warmth of his embrace.

Juniper had only hugged Jeremy twice. The first time she hugged him was the day he was released from the hospital. She had stayed over at the hospital after she was medically attended to and she visited the hospital each day, spending endless hours on her phone as she waited for the boy she saved to be discharged. He was in a critical condition when the ambulance had come to pick him up and Juniper only found out this information after she awoke from her blackout. And because Juniper wasn't part of family she was not permitted to see him. So the second he was discharged she ran to him and hugged the living daylights out of him. He was highly surprised and mildly amused by the sudden action, she remembered, but he had soon caved into the affection and hugged her back.

The second time she hugged him was when she went over to the Cox's household to tutor Charlie in History because he was failing and she needed the credits. It was the day that Jeremy was leaving to the rehabilitation centre to get better and overcome his depression. Seeing his mother and younger brother looking devastated with tears in their eyes moved her and she soon was so caught up in the moment that she embarrassingly opened her arms and asked for a hug.

Standing here in Jeremy's arms it surprised her by how vividly she remembered such little details which she had deemed insignificant in her life. She had pushed all memories of Jeremy away when he was sent off three years ago. When she pulled back she looked at him with a dazed sort of look in her eyes.

"You look like you can't believe what you're seeing," he said, his familiar lips turning up into a familiar smirk.

It was surprisingly shocking and slightly refreshing to see him like this. The three encounters Juniper shared with Jeremy, he was anything but kind. He was cold-hearted and downright rude, always having that venomous look in his eyes. The Jeremy Cox that stood before her didn't look like the Jeremy Cox she knew of - not that she actually knew him well. He looked different; eyes sparking; lips smiling.

"It's really you," she breathed unbelievingly, a smile taking over her lips.

He chuckled at her reaction. Apologizing for his lack of manners - which wasn't what the old Jeremy Cox would say - he opened the door and gestured her in. If possible, Juniper's wide smile widened as she stepped into the house.