Attracting Trouble

Chapter 25: Can't Fix Stupid

I hobble into Will's empty house, Will behind me and Hannah and Duke in front of me.

My foot aches as much as my head, but I don't want to say anything. Hannah's happy that we're all hanging out and I don't want to ruin it. 

But Will's eyes are glued to me. I can feel them as I walk past him and through the door. The three of us wait for Will to go to the living room where he flips a few lamps on.

"We can play on the coffee table," he explains as he cleans the magazines and such from it.

I sit down on the couch and try not to look like I'm in pain. Secretly, I'm thankful for the urge to cut my foot off. Only because if I didn't have that to think about, I'd have no choice but to deal with everything else.

"So, Duke, when did you start performing in plays?" I ask casually once Will disappears to go find the board games.

Duke shrugs his shoulders. He's not ashamed of any of it, not that he should be, but it surprises me. A guy like him in a group of friends like Connor's. I never would've expected it.

"I started them in junior high and now I'm hooked, I guess," he tells me. I can see him looking at my face a little harder. His eyes are glued to the spot Connor hit me.

Hannah wouldn't tell him...

"Well." Hannah clears her throat. "I'm ready to start this game of Scrabble, are you, Jess? We used to tie all the time in this game. I'm not sure how, but we did."

She sits on the floor by the coffee table and pulls Duke down beside her. I don't move from my spot on the couch. I don't know if I would be able to get back up once I got down...

And I'm suddenly sounding like my grandparents.

"Here it is." Will sets the dusty game board down on the coffee table. He then turns the TV on and flips it to a music channel.

"Now all we need is some popcorn. Jessa?" Will says as he motions for me to join him in the kitchen.

Hannah looks at me expectantly. She's telling me to go with him by using her eyes - and it's bothering me.

So I bite down on my lip and push myself up before following Will into the kitchen. I watch him as he gets a few bags of popcorn from the cabinet above the microwave and sets them out on the counter.  I lean against the opposite counter and cross my arms over my chest.

Will steals glances back at me before he sighs heavily. He slams the microwave door shut, times it for two minutes, and presses start before turning to look at me.

"Look, I'm sorry, Jessa." He pauses for a second, his eyes sparkling as his mind works up some sort of concoction of words. "Actually, I'm not sorry. I'm glad that someone else knows what happened to you."

I can't bring myself to look up at him, so I keep my eyes on the ground in front of me. Hot tears are brimming my eyes and I can't tell if it's because of what's happening to my life and the people in it, or the awful pains shooting up through my leg.

Will approaches me, getting closer and closer with each step. "I know you're scared. But you need to trust me. I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."