Unconventional Lovers ☑️

Chapter 21 - Nursing Jessie

A week had past since the accident, and Riley hadn't frequently visited Jessie in the hospital as much as he really wanted to.

Keeping in mind that he had to put some physical distance between each other, Riley would only pop in for about 20 minutes a day - often making small talk, and cracking a few jokes every now and then.

Riley would often count down the minutes they spent together until he would leave - as a symbol for stopping his feelings for Jessie from growing.

But it never worked, and Jessie called him out every time he abruptly left. Even though Riley tried so hard to distance himself from being the guy that had a crush on Jessie, he didn't want to be the guy that was abandoning his friend either.

The next day was meant to be the same kind of visit. Riley had bought some snacks for Jessie that he kept craving constantly, and he felt guilty when he admitted to himself how he was going to enjoy putting the smile on Jessie's face.

Riley's smile that was present when he entered Jessie's room, soon changed to surprise when he saw Jessie sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What's going on?" Riley asked as he watched Jessie zip up his own jacket.

"I'm being discharged!" Jessie smiled back, "Cameron's just talking to the doctor real quick about something."

Jessie's bandaged leg that needed to be constantly raised up was now in a massive boot shaped brace. The injuries to his face was now practically cleared up, and Jessie seemed as lively as ever.

"How come you didn't tell me?" Riley asked as he took the bag from Jessie that he was trying to lift off the ground. "I would have thrown a welcome back party or something."

"I can't exactly breakdance in this condition," Jessie joked. "Anyway, you seemed pretty occupied with your own thing. I didn't want to bother you since you seemed to be busy with school work or something."

Cameron came into the room shortly afterwards, and rushed by Jessie's side when he tried to stand up on his own. Trying to support Jessie's weight onto himself, Cameron attempted to help Jessie towards the door.

"I've got this." Jessie laughed as he admired his caring brother's gesture.

Cameron took his hands off Jessie and allowed him to walk by himself. The limp looked overly dramatic, but the weight of the boot cast was actually rather heavy.

Cameron and Riley kept walking behind Jessie in case he fell backwards and injured himself. They made it into the elevator as they non-coincidentally met Olivia inside it too.

"You told her you were leaving the hospital, but you didn't tell me?" Riley pointed out, as it seemed like everyone important to him knew that Jessie was being discharged - except him.

Pecking Jessie's cheek with her lips, she reached for Jessie's hand and squeezed it affectionately. "I was there when the doctor said he could go home I guess."

'Makes sense I guess.'

Riley was secretly worried that the reason Jessie didn't tell him was because he was indeed pushing him away. Despite the fact that he kept telling himself this was for the best, it hurt more in reality as the image of Jessie drifting away from him wasn't appealing.

When they all made it to the car together, Cameron and Olivia were fighting over Jessie so that they could open the door for him. Riley, on the other hand, tried to not make a fuss and climbed into Olivia's car without looking back towards the others.