Between Love And Hate

Chapter Twenty-three

Raven

"Does this hurt?"

Kattie poked my rib, giving me a bitchy smirk as she did it. I snorted. I had pain tolerance, so it was obvious the only thing that was hurting was my arm. I ignored her.

"What about this one?"

She poked the spot where the bullet wound was and I hissed in pain.

"What the hell?! You wanna end my life?!" I said as I glared at her. She just gave me a girly giggle, moving away from the bed so I wouldn't hit her with my right arm.

"Just you wait until I get outta here." This time, she stuck her tongue out at me. I ignored her for the second time and continued watching Spongebob on TV. "How long will you be in that cast?" she asked.

I shrugged with my right shoulder. "Dunno. Doc said my arm was dislocated, he thought it was broken. So right now, the only reason I'm in a sling, is because my shoulder has to stay in a place to heal, it should be out of use for now."

She nodded in understanding. "How long will it be in a sling then?"

"I don't know. Two weeks maybe." I said.

Kattie raised a brow at me, "It's as good as an amputated arm right now then."

I'd had enough of her jabs. I threw the bowl and the popcorn inside it at her. The bowl hit her in the face and the popcorn stuck in her hair and clothes.

"Ow! That hurt man!" she hissed, rubbing the spot that was turning red on the side of her head.

"That's for thinking you can get away with the shit you do."

Of all the people at home, mum and dad had to send Katherine to come keep me company at the hospital. She came with a small hand made basket, filled to the top with brownies. But I didn't eat it alone, Paris had joined her and Paris was a generous little child.

Half the brownies were donated to her new hospital friends and the nurses. Even Doctor Greene had a share in it. I glared at everyone that ate from the basket, and whenever Paris would turn to look at me, I'd wear a fake smile. I really wanted to whine like a little kid. But I couldn't, so I kept quiet instead.

Paris was asleep on the long couch in my hospital room. I thought all of Kattie's shouting would wake her up, but it didn't.

"So, what are your plans for prom?" Kattie asked, sitting back down, picking popcorn off her hair, one after the other and then throwing it in her mouth.

I gave her a look, but she shrugged. "You don't expect me to waste the popcorn. These are good. So, what are your plans for prom?"

"I only have plans for finals. I don't really care about prom." I answered.

"Are you crazy?"

"I'm not."

"So why won't you go to prom?"

I shrug. "I don't know? Lemme be."

"I know someone you know who would love to go to prom." She said.

I paused and stared at her, picking popcorn from the side of her face. Maybe she didn't see that one.

After crunching it, I smirked. "And how does that concern me?"

She smirked back at me, "that person happens to be Janelle. Think of it, what if someone else asks her to prom long before you do it?"

I smiled at her, and she shivered instantly. I didn't have the nicest smile on my face. I had the smile that would make even the strongest jock boy at school run away if I smiled that way at him.

"Don't you dare feed my head with imaginations, Idiot. Who said I'm going to ask her to prom?"

Kattie hissed, rolling her eyes. I snarled in reply,
"You don't look anything like The Undertaker. Keep practicing."

"You know I hate you, right?" she asked.

"Trust me, I hate you more. We just happen to be joined at the hip. I'm grateful we're not twins. We would never agree." I answered her.

It didn't take seconds for us to start laughing. When she finally stopped, she wiped the single tear that stood on the side of my left eye.

"I hadn't had a good laugh in a while. Thanks, you idiot."

She shrugged, "you're welcome, stupid."

We talked for a while, I told her I'd asked Janelle out on a date and that was my undoing.

"Did she say yes?" she asked, I nodded a reply, my eyes glued to the TV.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked again. I shrugged, "I don't know. We could do anything she wants. Go anywhere too."

She chuckled, "you're a very boring person. You're just beauty and brains for nothing. Who am I kidding, you're stupid. Always been."

I didn't bother saying anything in reply. She was just as stupid, if not more stupid than I was. I couldn't tell her anything, Kattie was a running tap in real life. She talked too much.

I ate what was left of the brownies. Kattie stayed with me until it was two in the afternoon. She took Paris with her when she left. She had to carry Paris though, the kid was still asleep when she decided she needed to leave.

The room felt empty after Kattie and Paris left. I went through my phone and only realized then that I had a bundle of texts from friends at school and my 'All girls fan club' I had at school. My facebook notifications plastered everywhere.

Facebook was the only social media app I had. I really didn't care about other apps. I wasn't much of a social media person.

I was still going through the get well messages and stuff people sent me when the door to my room was pushed open. I dropped the phone instantly and looked at the door to see who it was.

Blue eyes, with a tint of green seemed to be staring back at mine. I blushed furiously.

"I didn't know you'd come visit again."

I said. She just smiled at me and walked towards the bed. She gave me a side hug and then a peck to my lips. I relaxed against her. I probably had been waiting for that all day.

"I'll come visit every day until you leave here... even if I don't like hospitals."

I chuckled. "Come 'ere. I want to cuddle. And since you're here, might as well use you as a cuddle buddy."

She blushed, hesitating a bit, but I gestured for her to come over. She climbed next to me, it was really hard to cuddle me cause of my injured arm, but she did it anyway.

We talked about random stuff, like how she secretly loved blue eyes and how she preferred Italian food to Chinese food. She'd never been on a Ferris wheel because she was afraid of heights. She loved jasmines and roses. And she preferred green apples to red ones.

She said she wanted to be an only child, "but when Brittany was born, she had this one-sided dimple that I instantly fell in love with and she had the smallest tuft of hair on her head and she held my pinky finger so tight, it broke my resolve. And oh her eyes. I used to think they were cat eyes, somehow it looked blue if you flashed light into it, but it really was green. "

I chuckled. "Bri is an adorable little girl. She makes me wish I had a little sister of my own."

"But you do."

"Nope. I don't."

"Bri can be your little sister, if you want. And Paris is your little sister. She probably bosses you around."

We both laughed after she said that. She was right.
"Paris bosses me around, I don't know how you know that."

She smiled, pressing her lips against mine for the second time. "I've got a kid sister, remember?"

We laughed again, and for the first time I felt different, happy, and fulfilled. And maybe Janelle would be my prom date.

I couldn't see prom happening without her.