The Run ©2014 Sydney Wray

Chapter 12

A/N: Helloo! Because the last chapter was so short, I'm going to update today and also tomorrow. I had a lot of fun writing this so I hope you all enjoy!

"You think she's in a coma?" I heard faintly. It was Lavenders voice.

"I don't know.. But she's so much better this way." Nathaniel.

I heard a thwacking noise and I mentally smiled. Good old Lavender.

I was slowly resurfacing and managed to mumble, "I'm not deaf you know."

"Dammit." Nathaniel cursed under his breath.

All I knew was that my jaw was numb. I opened my eyelids, spots swarming in front of them. Slowly, they adjusted to the sudden light and activity. 

I sat up. Lavenders eyes were wide with fright and she slowly let out a breath. I was lying on the couch.

"Oh my god, you're okay!" She smothered me with hugs, but she bumped my jaw.

I felt immediate shooting pain and like my jaw would crumble away. Tears sprang to my eyes, but I quickly wiped them away. I hated to cry. Nathaniel noticed, then looked away when he caught me eye. His brow furrowed in confusion.

Lavender piped up. "You've been out for about an hour. I was so worried."

I blinked.

"And we think you might have bruised your jaw. So ice has been sitting on it for the whole time you were out."

I flinched and felt below my ear. It hurt.

Lavender shrugged. "The doctor said it would be painful for the next week or so and if it doesn't get any better then you should go and see him. You have to keep taking ibuprofen- two. And keep icing it."

I blinked at the amount of information she was giving me. "Okay."

She had a permanent smile plastered to her face. Something was up.

"What's wrong?" I asked slowly, tentatively.

She paused.

"Lavender." I warned.

I watched her slowly leave the room and return shortly with a small, rectangular wall mirror.

 Lavender handed it to me and I put it up to my face. A light crimson shade of blue and purple was creeping out under my lower jaw.

My eyes widened. "What's wrong with my face?!"

She cocked her head, still slightly cringing. "It'll go down within a week-"

"A week?!"

"Or two." She finished.

My eyes were so wide I thought they'd pop out. I took a deep breath, my chest heaving. I did not want to show a lot of emotion. It took all of my strength to either not break into tears or smash everything in the apartment to bits.

I composed myself and out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Nathaniel was watching me with such concentration.

"Well, you're up. Everything's good." He grimly smiled, but I could tell it it wasn't sincere. I was confused with the sudden change of heart.

After he left, Lavender looked back at me and had not caught on to his standoffishness. "So? How was meeting your mom?"

I sighed, remember the recent events. "She wasn't my mom."

Her mouth popped open.

"She's my aunt. My mom is in Los Angeles. My dad is dead."

She let go of a long breath. "Wow. I wasn't expecting that."

It was quite for a few moments when a sudden question finally dawned on me. "How'd I get inside? I passed out outside.."

She shrugged. "I was waiting for you guys to come back when someone knocked on the door really urgently. I ran to it and found Nathaniel standing there with an insane look in his eye. Scared, maybe. You were in his arms."

I was in his arms.

A warm feeling started at the pit of my stomach, but then came to reality. Nathaniel Sky? Have feelings for me? There was no way.

~~~~~~~~

(Nathaniel's POV)

I was standing outside the apartment, my arms taut on the railing. I couldn't shake away the feeling that was suddenly erupting and I was scared. Relieved that she woke up, but scared at the events that followed. I thought hardly about the memory.

"Okay, on the count of three; we pull." I suggest.

She nods. "One."

"Two."

"Three."

The door opens with a click, but the next thing I know she is sprawled on the ground. I jump down to her side and am now crouching. I try to shake her, but she doesn't wake up. Her eyelids stay shut and it looks like she's sleeping peacefully. The adrenaline that suddenly kicks in is insane and worry hits me like cold water. I scoop her up swiftly and her lazy head falls to my chest. I run up the flights, to Lavenders doors. Knocking as urgently as I can, she finally opens the doors.

She gets one look at Lindsey's draped body. "What's happened?!"

I walk past her to the couch and place her down as gently as I could. "She hit her jaw on the trunk ad passed out."

I gently move an escaped strand of hair away from her forehead and she doesn't stir. Feeling her forehead, it was burning up.

I curse and accept the ice bag from Lavender. "Call a doctor."

Quickly, she springs to action and grabs her cell phone from the counter. She dials a number and walks out of the room. I stare intently at Lindsey and notice a small freckle on her nose. I smile, but a strange emotion hit me when I notice scars on her cheek. It's so weird that I have never noticed it before, but I do now. The emotion, I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

Then it came. I was being protective.

Lavender comes back into the room suddenly and looks at me. "We just have to keep the ice on her jaw until she wakes up. The doctor thinks she just bruised it so the sudden slam to such a sensitive area must've triggered a response in her brain. That's why she passed out."

I nod.

It was gone as soon as I came to a certain realization. I think I might've liked Lindsey.

But she doesn't like me, oh no. She's made that quite clear.

That's what makes me so angry, because everyone have always liked me, not the other way around. But Lindsey is different.

(Lindsey's POV)

"Go fish!" I happily said.

She groaned. "That's, like, the tenth time!"

I shrugged and watched her dig in the pile of cards.

She looked at me. "Do you have any two's?"

I scanned the cards in my hands and spotted a two. Sighing, I plucked it out and gave it to her.

Lavender chuckled. "I'm so good at this game."

I snort. "Um, excuse me. I have five pairs and you have one."

She laughed. "Rhetorically, I'm amazing."

We laughed and then was interrupted by the slam of a door.

Nathaniel stood there and his eyes found mine first. His gaze softened once he saw me, then nodded at Lavender. "We should eat something easy for dinner, it'll probably be painful for her to eat."

She nodded but he was gone.