Perfectly Mean

Occasionally

Ava woke slowly, her hair in her mouth and her leg throbbing painfully. She groggily sat up, brushing her hair back and glancing around. Why was she in the basement? Why was she sleeping on the couch? And why the heck did her leg hurt so badly?

She suddenly caught sight of the crutches leaned up against the end of the couch, and the previous events came rushing back to her. Groaning, she reached for them, and stood up on one leg, adjusting them under her arms.

She hobbled up the stairs, thankful that she could simply push the door open. Her mother was sitting in the living room, reading the paper and sipping her coffee.

"Ava!" the woman shouted as she noticed the girl in the doorway. "What were you doing down there?"

"I went down last night and fell asleep on the couch," she mumbled, still trying to remember everything. "My leg hurts so bad."

Gail stood quickly and helped her daughter into the living room, seating her on the couch. "I picked up your pain medicine on my way home last night. I'll get it for you."

Ava nodded and grimaced as she tried to find a less painful position. She realized she was still wearing her cheer skirt and a hoodie. The skirt was short enough for her to see a giant purple and blue bruise formed on her thigh. It looked gross.

"How's your leg?"

Ava glanced up finding Hayden in front of her. He was dressed for the day, but his hair was a mess, as usual.

"It hurts," she said quietly. "And looks nasty." She gestured to the contusion on her thigh.

Hayden made a face as he leaned forward to look. "At least you don't have to wear a cast. They itch really bad."

"And how would you know?" She raised an eyebrow and all but glared at him. She was not in the mood to have him play the glad game and try and brighten her situation.

He glanced away. "I broke my ankle a few years ago."

"Oh," Ava almost felt bad. He actually did know what he was talking about. "Hey, thanks for the pizza last night," she blurted out suddenly. "It was pretty good."

He smiled...maybe. "I'm just glad you don't hate pizza anymore."

Gail walked back into the room, carrying an orange prescription bottle and a glass of water. "Here you are, sweetheart," she said, passing the items to Ava. "You need to take two. Good morning, Hayden." She smiled over at the young man. "Breakfast will be in just a few minutes."

He nodded and eased himself down in a big armchair, and picking at his thumb.

"So how did the two of you spend your evening?" Gail asked taking the water from Ava and helping her arrange an ice pack on her thigh.

"We watched this German movie," Ava replied. "Hayden translated."

"I didn't know you spoke German, Hayden," Gail turned around, looking at him.

"I don't," Hayden admitted, perking up considerably. "I just made it up as I went along."

"And that's what made it so funny," Ava put in, smiling. "Especially that one part about the polar bears!"

"My, that sounds interesting!" Gail chuckled, inwardly rejoicing that the two of them had gotten along. Perhaps she shouldn't intervene anymore. They seemed to deal with each other much better when she wasn't around.

They were finally called to breakfast, but all three decided to eat in the living room so that Ava didn't have to move. When they finished, Ava decided to take a bath, and Hayden and Gail left to talk in her office. She immediately noticed how quickly Hayden's demeanor changed.