Chapter 4 CHANGES
My footsteps echoed as I walked through the empty hallways. I hugged my cheesy romance novel to my chest tighter, afraid of someone randomly popping out from behind a corner. I kept my eyes open and watched for any movement around me just in case Layla decided to pop out of nowhere.
“I’m serious this time Mr. Spencer!” An older male voice yelled as I was about to turn the corner. I stopped myself and threw myself back so I was leaning against a wall. “Why can’t you be like every other student?!”
“I’m unique.”
My ears perked up at Axel’s voice. His voice was as smooth as velvet and addicting. I couldn’t get enough of it.
“High school is not a joke young man!”
“It is to me.”
“Why are you always so distracted with everything?! You have no girlfriend anymore, so she shouldn’t be a problem-”
“Don’t talk about that bitch,” Axel growled. I flinched at the hatred and anger in his voice. I guess things must’ve ended badly with them.
“Watch your language young man.”
“I don’t have to,” Axel replied simply.
“You’re lucky your daddy’s so rich-”
“Stepfather,” he corrected.
“Son, you are flunking every single subject. How do you think you will pass?”
“I won’t.”
I heard an exhausted sigh. “Money seems to buy everything nowadays. Back in my time-”
“Back in your time there was no electricity- I get it,” Axel interrupted the teacher rudely.
“Can’t you find a reason to try?”
“No.”
“At least someone who’ll get you off your bad drug addictions-”
“I’m not addicted,” Axel cut him off. “Addiction is the uncontrollable physical or psychological need for something. I don’t need them, and I can stop whenever I want to. But I want them, and I don’t want to stop.”
“Drugs and alcohol only hurt you” the man said. “And it’s a waste of money.”
“If it’s a waste of money, then why do you snort up lines every time you get home from work?” There was a moment of silence before Axel continued on. “And from the last time I checked, you still have student loans to pay off,” more silence, “and mortgages.”
Two hands grabbing my shoulders from behind made me jump. I dropped my novel which echoed through the halls. “So your new hobby is stalking now too?” Kasay asked from behind me. I spun around and glared at her.
“You scared me!” I hissed at her.
“You weren’t the only one I scared.” She peeked around the corner and snickered, “that old teacher would be in so much trouble if we snitched.”
“Well we aren’t going to snitch on that poor guy,” I peeked around the corner, but Axel was no longer there. The only person who was there was the old teacher. “And I’m supposed to be going to the office, so if you excuse me.” I started walking away from her, but she grabbed my upper arm.
“That was actually me trying to get you out of this hell hole,” she explained. I turned back so that I was facing her and raised both my eyebrows at her. “Before you ask why I didn’t make it less embarrassing, I had no choice.” She threw both her hands in the air. “Layla was the only one announcing shit in there and that was the only way.”
“Great, now I’m going to be the top gossip for the next three days.”
“Weeks,” Kasay corrected me.
I rolled my eyes. “Thanks a lot.”
“So do you want in or not?”
“For what?”
“Getting your braces removed.”
“Of course.”
“Then follow me.”
“I just can’t skip my afternoon classes.”
She rolled her eyes at me, “meet me in the school’s parking lot after school.”
It was finally time to change.
~*~
“Tell me if this hurts,” the young dentist said.
If I were to be factually accurate, he was no dentist. He was a college student that Kasay ‘conveniently’ shared bodily fluids with. Sure, it was illegal, but that never stopped Kasay from anything.
He had introduced himself as ‘Rex’. He was quite an intelligent guy, really. He had graduated high school with a 4.5 GPA and he was now a medical student. I had to make sure I knew his background before I let him even look at my braces.
“Don’t hurt her Rix!” Kasay grabbed his arm as he was trying to remove the wire from my brackets.
“If you stop clinging to me I won’t” he laughed nervously, “and my name is Rex, not Rix.”
“But braces hurt, don’t they Rix?” I didn’t know whether her calling him the wrong name was intentional or not, but in my book it was hilarious. “Is there a way to numb the pain?” she questioned. I imagined the question coming out of Axel’s mouth. I pushed back my thoughts about Axel.
“I have some painkillers over on the coffee table,” Rex replied.
Kasay let go of him to go search for the painkillers. He successfully removed the wires from my brackets without putting me in any pain. My friend came back with a large bottle filled with painkillers. “So do I just shove them down her throat?”
“I can’t take those,” I pointed at the painkillers in the bottle.
“Yes you can” Rex said.
“I can, but I won’t.” There was no way in hell I was taking some mysterious painkillers from a college guy’s house. But before I knew it, Rex had pinned me down to the couch as Kasay painfully shoved painkillers down my throat. Kasay held my nose and clasped my mouth shut to try to make me swallow them.
I struggled for them to let go, but they refused. After running out of oxygen, I finally swallowed the damn pills. Kasay let go and beamed down at me. “Now that wasn’t hard, was it?”
“Dirty work done babe, now we’ve just got to find a way to get these brackets off.” Rex flipped through the textbook beside him.
“Thanks for helping Rix.”
“It’s Rex.”
“Whatever, Rix.”
After a while, my mouth started to feel dry and numb. My eyes became droopy and I lost focus of everything. Everything around me felt so weird. “I don’t have the equipment to get her brackets off…” Rex trailed off.
“We could always improvise.”
“G-Guys.” I stuttered sleepily. “I-I fe-feel weird.”
“Rix honey, did you misplace something?” Kasay asked him confusingly.
“How many painkillers did you give her?” he asked.
“Honestly?”
He nodded for her to continue.
“I have no clue.” She admitted.
Both their heads snapped in my direction as the whole world seemed to spin out of control. And I suddenly realized how I had left my cheesy romance novel on the ground at school before I blacked out.
~*~
“Dude, please take care of her for us.” Kasay’s voice rang through my ears.
“Take her home.” Jaxon’s sleepy voice replied.
“Please, we can’t let her mom see,” she begged.
I tried to correct her, but my mouth wouldn’t open.
“Is she drunk?!” Jaxon gasped.
I tried to open my eyelids, but they were too heavy.
“I wish.” Kasay sighed sadly. “But no, she overdosed on painkillers.”
“What?!” Jaxon panicked. “How?! Who?! When?! Where?!”
“Calm your tits redhead.” Kasay said calmly.
“She threw up so she’s fine.” Rex replied, his chest rumbled beside my head when he spoke.
“And who the hell is this?!” Jaxon yelled.
“Dude chill-”
Jaxon being the drama king he was wouldn’t let Rex explain himself. I felt him snatch me out of Rex’s arms. “Both of you leave, now.” Jaxon growled as I heard the door slam shut. “I’ll have to talk to those idiots later.” He said to himself.
I felt myself being carried up a flight of stairs before I was placed onto a soft comfortable surface. I tried to get up or to say something, but my muscles refused to move. Where was all your energy when you needed it? I felt a pair of lips on my forehead before I heard the door shut.
~*~
The sound of a shower running made my eyes fly open. I scanned the room I was in immediately. Blue walls filled with Broadway posters, piles of clothes folded neatly in different spots of the room, scripts set neatly on a desk beside a large mirror. I relaxed, knowing I was in none other than Jaxon’s bedroom.
The shower suddenly stopped. A pale guy with flaming red hair and hazel eyes stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. His flaming red hair was wet and clung to his forehead. He had an impressive set of abs-
“Done checking me out?” Jaxon asked playfully.
I shook my head, still staring at his abs before nodding. “No-I mean yes- I mean-” I stopped myself. What was I going to say…? I searched my brain for an intelligent reply, but none seemed to pop up. “I wasn’t checking you out.”
“Now you’re blushing.” He laughed. I covered up my flaming cheeks with my hands. I had to admit, he had changed a lot since the last time I saw him shirtless. “Do you still have a headache?” he asked in a motherly tone. I never knew guys could act motherly until Jaxon asked that.
He cocked his head to the side, making some water rip from his flaming red hair. “What are you thinking about?”
“Huh?”
He shook his head with a smile on his lips. He grabbed a random t-shirt and slipped it on. I turned around and let him put the rest of his clothes on. “I’m done, you can look now.” I turned back to fully dressed Jaxon. His expression suddenly changed when I bit my lip. “Rosie?”
“Yeah?”
“Smile.”
So I did.