Chapter 8

As I woke up from yet another long sleep I immediately noticed that this one felt different. I felt well-rested and a million times more comfortable than I have in a while and I obviously knew why. I opened my eyes to see Jess fast asleep beside me, or should I say below me as I’ve somehow ended up lying half on top of her during the night.

I loosened Jess’s hold on me slightly so I could move off of her but only slightly. I left my face rested in the crook of her neck and let out a contented sigh. I still felt like shit but having Jess here made me feel a million times better. I was careful not to move too much more as I laid there and listened to her quiet breathing as she slept.

Right so I was going to admit it to myself now. I definitely liked Jess. As in, I like her way more than a friend but there’s no way I was going to admit that out loud. Especially not to her, only to ruin what we did have but I’ve just never met anyone like her. No one has ever made me feel this happy by just simply being here and it’s safe to say I could never get her out of my head.

I sat up slowly so I wouldn’t disturb her and sat on the edge of the bed. I put my head in my hands trying to get a handle on things. Why did Jess have to be so damn perfect? Who the hell am I to her anyway? I’m sure she could have anyone she wants and well, I’m me.

I shook the thoughts out of my head and decided I should get motivated seeing as I was being forced to go to the doctor today. It was super early so I’m sure I had a long while until Jess woke up which would be the perfect opportunity to surprise her with breakfast. I know I have no food but I’m sure I’ll have enough time to walk to the store for something small and get back before she even notices.

I tied my hair up seeing as I couldn’t be bothered with brushing it right this second, and headed out of my room to the kitchen to see what I actually did have there. As soon as I walked in I stopped and stared in shock. I actually couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

There was a ton of food organized on my counter tops and when I opened the cupboards I discovered that they were stocked to their limit with everything you could possibly think of. I back up slowly and opened the fridge hesitantly, already knowing what I would find. The fridge was completely full.

I felt tears stinging my eyes as I fully realized what Jess had done. She just bought me enough food to last me weeks, maybe a couple months seeing as I didn’t eat much as it is. I couldn’t even feel defensive about it because I knew Jess didn’t just do it out of pity for me. I know by now that she does the things she does simply because she does care about me. Maybe not in the way I want her to but I would take it any day.

But why me? What is it that she somehow sees in me that would make her want to actually spend time with me and do things like this for me. Especially when I have no way of returning the favor.

I took a deep, calming breath just to try to shake off the shock of all this. I came in here to make Jess breakfast and that’s exactly what I was going to do. If I couldn’t pay her back materialistically then I sure as hell was going to make sure she knew I appreciated everything she’s done.

I rummaged through all the food until I found everything I needed. In what seemed like no time at all I had a plate full of pancakes, bacon, and eggs for Jess. It’s been months since I’ve actually cooked real food and I didn’t even realize how much I’ve missed doing that. Once I had everything plated, I set aside a small amount for myself and carried out plates into my room, setting them on the bedside table like Jess had done the night before.

Jess was still sound asleep and I almost didn’t want to wake her up. I almost didn’t but it was already going on ten and I wasn’t sure if she had other plans today.

I sat on the edge of the bed and shook Jess’s shoulder gently now that she had moved so that she rested on her side.

“Jess? Jess, wake up,” I said quietly.

I heard her mumble slightly in her half-awake state but she eventually opened her eyes with a little more coaxing from me. As soon as her eyes focused on me she smiled softly and I can’t deny my stomach did little flips at that.

“Good morning,” Jessie said, her voice still a bit raspy from sleep.

“Hey,” I smiled. “I made you breakfast.”

I turned and grabbed her plate whilst she sat up in bed and looked at me a bit guiltily.

“Look, Elena, about the groceries last night-“

“It’s fine,” I interrupted. “Thank you, Jess. Really.”

“You know I did it because I want to look out for you, right?” she asked, searching my face for any sign that I was upset with her. I know that she would find none though.

“Of course,” I assured her. “Now please eat.”

Jess and I sat in my bed and ate much like we did the night before. We ate in comfortable silence for a while but I noticed Jess kept sneaking glances at me like she wanted to say something but was hesitant to do so. I set my, now empty, plate down and turned to her.

“What is it, Jess?” I asked quietly. “I know you have something to say.”

She hesitated for a second before she looked up at me almost timidly. I nodded at her, encouraging her to speak.

“Just. How long have you lived like this?” she asked.

“What do you mean? Like what?” I asked, tilting my head to the side in genuine confusion.

“When I got here last night you had no food here. You don’t use cabs and you wouldn’t buy food the other day when we went out to lunch even though I knew you were hungry,” she elaborated.

“Oh.” I looked down at my hands briefly and then back up at Jess who was patiently awaiting my answer. There was a dead silence before I finally spoke up again.

“When I came here I did bring plenty of money with me. I was prepared to make the change and settle here but it took me a lot longer than I thought it would to find a job. I had to stay in a hotel longer than I anticipated and so it sort of sapped all my money. My credit cards were maxed out which is why I just can’t seem to get caught up. So I just do my best to save what I can,” I explained.

Jess sighed heavily and simply set her plate down on top of mine.

“I just wish I would have met you sooner. I just hate the thought of you hanging by a thread this whole time,” she said sadly.

Just as I was about to answer her, Jess suddenly stood up quickly.

“I almost forgot, we need to get you to the doctor. Get dressed so we can hurry and get you seen,” she said as she started gathering her things.

I assumed that would be the end of this conversation so I quickly got dressed and managed to get my hair sorted before Jess quickly ushered me out to her car. I sat quietly in the passenger seat, thinking the drive would be quick but we just happened to hit traffic on the way there. Well this would be fun.

“Does the radio not work in your car, Jess?” I asked. I would think that Jess would be the type to play music all the time while driving but come to think of it, as much as she’s driven me around she’s never turned it on.

“Um, yeah it does. Here,” she reached over and turned it on. The station it was on was playing fairly current music which I was perfectly fine with.

When traffic did eventually clear up we weren’t too far from the hospital. Most of the drive was spent mostly in silence besides the sounds of the radio playing. We were just pulling into the parking lot when I heard the man on the radio announce what was up next.

“Next up, we have a brand new single from pop star, Jessie J-“

Jess reached over and clicked off the radio instantly and I looked over at her curiously.

“Not a fan of Jessie J?” I asked, amused.

“Not exactly,” she said, laughing slightly.

I just shrugged and looked out the window as Jess found a place to park.

---

Jess and I were soon seated in the waiting room while she insisted that she fill out my charts for me. Her reason being that I was “too sick to fill out forms.” I just let her have her way while she asked me the questions listed on the form.

“Okay what’s your full name?”

“Elena Christine Gray,” I answered.

“I like Christine,” she said with a smile as she wrote it down.

“Thanks. I do too,” I told her. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“What you’re full name?” I asked her.

“Oh. Jessica Ellen Cornish,” she answered.

When Jess finally finished filling out my forms I started to notice something strange. When she got up to hand the papers to the receptionist I noticed the few people that were waiting with us were staring at her. What’s even crazier is Jess didn’t even seem to notice. That or she was really good at ignoring people. When she came back and sat beside me I decided to voice my concern.

“Jess, do you realize all those people are staring at you?” I whispered.

“Erm, no?” she said almost hesitantly. I was calling bullshit on that. I mean, who doesn’t notice when a bunch of strangers are watching their every move?

Before I could press the matter any further I heard my name being called by a nurse. I made a silent note to ask Jess again about what was going on as she grabbed my hand and led me down the hall and into the room that the nurse showed us.

Jess sat in the extra chair in the room while the nurse looked me over and asked about my symptoms. Everything pretty much seemed fine besides the fact I was still running a fever and my chest was absolutely killing me.

“The doctor will be in to see you in just a moment,” the nurse told me as she went to leave.

Silence fell over the room and I looked over at Jess who was busying herself with something on her phone. Obviously trying to avoid the conversation I was attempting to have with her earlier. I sighed and laid down on the bed I was sitting on. I don’t want to force anything out of Jess but if she’s keeping something important from me, well, that hurts a little bit considering I thought we’d grown close over the last few weeks.

It was only a few more minutes until the doctor came in. I sat up awaiting some sort of news but I was told that I would be taken to have a quick chest x-ray. Well that sounds like a whole bunch of fun…

-------------------

All right so long story short I have pneumonia. Well “a touch of pneumonia” according to the doctor. So I’m being sent home with some meds and orders to rest for a few days while the antibiotics did their work. No problem I suppose.

Meanwhile, Jess’s quiet demeanor had changed over since I was diagnosed but I’m not sure if I preferred it now. In the time that I had walked with her through the halls of the hospital to leave she continuously ranted on and on about how I needed to take care of myself and that she was sticking around until I was better. I have to admit though, her being off with me was a bit cute which I suppose was worth being fussed over in the end.

As we were walking out into the parking lot I suddenly heard someone scream. I practically jumped out of my skin and heard Jess curse under her breath.

“Elena, go ahead and get into the car,” she said handing me her keys.

“What-“ I looked and saw a small group of teenage girls, probably around thirteen or fourteen walking toward me and Jess.

“Please, just go on. I’ll be with you in a minute,” she pleaded.

I shot one more glance at both Jess and the girls before I quickly walked off to Jess’s car. Obviously I was confused as fuck. Who the hell are they? I tried to see what they were doing from the car but I could only see so much through Jess’s mirrors. I saw a couple camera flashes and heard more squealing but that was it.

I was only waiting a few minutes before Jess finally showed up and got into the car. She was looking quite flustered and everything about her body language just screamed stress to me. I watched as she took a deep breath and put the car in drive, pulling out of the parking lot without a word.

“So… are you gonna tell me what that was?” I asked cautiously.

“I’m going to drop you off at your apartment now. I have somewhere I need to be in a bit but I’ll be back around yours tonight, okay?” she said, only taking a very brief glance at me.

“Okay but that doesn’t tell me what the hell just happened, Jess,” I stated a little more firmly.

Jess bit her lip nervously at my words and I heard her draw in a shaky breath and she glanced at me one more time. She looked like she had tears in her eyes, threatening to spill out but she didn’t look at me long enough to know for sure. She looked pitiful though, and I instantly felt bad for prodding her.

“Look, we’ll talk about it tonight okay? When we have more time,” she said, almost whispering.

“Do you think I’ll be angry at you?” I asked her gently.

Jess kept her eyes on the road but I saw a single tear escape from her eye and roll down her cheek silently.

“I don’t know,” she said weakly.

Nothing else was said for the remainder of the drive and when we did finally pull up in front of my apartment I turned to Jess before I did anything else.

“Jess? Please look at me,” I pleaded.

She slowly turned toward me until her eyes met mine hesitantly. She looked absolutely heartbroken and I couldn’t bear it. I didn’t ever want to make her look like that.

“Look, I don’t know what it is you have to tell me but no matter what it is it’s not gonna change anything. At least not for me, okay?”

She only nodded silently, probably a bit too emotional to speak by now. I couldn’t understand what had her so worried but I didn’t want her to be. I leaned over toward her side of the car and pulled Jess into a tight hug, hoping it would somehow reassure her. Her arms immediately went around me and she just broke down crying into my neck. Jess had been the stable one between us up until now and it sort of put things into perspective for me. About how she’s probably struggling with something just like I have and she just needed to let it out.

We stayed like that for several minutes before I felt Jess slowly calm down. She at least wasn’t full on sobbing anymore but I still felt the tears on my neck, soaking down into my shirt. I leaned my head against hers gently as I finally spoke again.

“Do you want to come in again anyway? We obviously need to talk if this is bothering you that much, Jess,” I spoke quietly.

She shook her head and wiped away her tears quickly with her sleeve. Lifting herself from me, I finally saw her face again only to see her eyes bloodshot and swollen.

“No, I really do need to be somewhere soon. I promise I’ll come back tonight, okay?” Her voice was weak from crying but her tone sounded a little better at least.

“Okay. Let me know when you’re on your way?”

She nodded and I let myself out of her car, heading up to my apartment left to my own thoughts.

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Needless to say, when I got in I was so bothered about Jess that I didn’t even notice how sick I was anymore. I paced around for a while wondering about what I should do. And then the thought came to my head. All those people today seemed to know who Jess was somehow, which doesn’t make any sense. Why would that cause her to react the way that she did and what did it have to do with me being upset with her?

In that moment, an idea struck me. I dug out the laptop I had brought with me from home which I only used to job hunt now. I started it up quickly and pulled up Google. I did the only thing I could really think to do. I just wanted answers. I typed ‘Jessica Cornish’ into the search bar and hit enter. When the results page loaded I did nothing but stare at what was on the screen.

What the fuck?

A/N  I didn't read over this because it's really long so sorry for any mistakes. I appreciate all the feedback I'm getting please keep it coming. It really helps me out :)