chapter 17

I sat in the Andrews’ living room with a cast on my left arm and bandages around my abdomen and right thigh. Apparently I had some really bad cuts I didn’t even notice before. Must have been when I fell on the shattered pieces of vase in my living room. Mr. Andrews told Mathew to keep an eye on me until he could get off work and come have a talk with me about my injuries. I knew the questions he would ask and already had the lies ready.

“Do you like tea?” Mathew asked from the kitchen

Mathew was waiting on me hand and foot as if I was bound to the love seat I was sitting on. It annoyed me to feel like I was dependent on someone else.

“Yeah I can make it though” I quickly got up and went to the kitchen with him. He was moving around the kitchen as if he did it every day. It astounded me that a guy could move around a kitchen so easily.

“I can do it, just tell me how you like it” he said as he pulled a tea cup from a cabinet.

“I can do it myself thank you” I reprimanded him as I took the cup from his hands and marched over to the kettle of water he had set on the stove a while ago. I could feel his eyes on me as I poured the hot water and knew he was ready to jump in if I looked like I needed help.

“The tea bags are in the drawer to your left.” Mathew said

“Thank you…do you have any honey?” the only way I would drink tea is with honey. After picking the tea bag that I liked best, I turned to see Mathew standing there with a small jar of honey in his hands. He smiled and handed it to me and I smiled back unconsciously. When I reached out and took hold of the jar my hand made contact with Mathew’s hand and a shock went up my arms. I almost dropped the honey from the surprise the small shock gave me. But Mathew took hold of it to avoid the accident. Without a comment on what had happened he placed the honey on the counter behind me. He had to reach around me in order to do that and I had to lean back to allow him access. Now I was in a corner with Mathew so close I could smell the Rosemarie he had been using to make lunch just a while ago.

I held my breath as he leaned in closer so our faces were only a breath apart and I could see the silver specs in his ocean blue eyes. It was like looking into a lake at midnight and seeing the night sky reflected there. An infinite depth seemed to suck me in and I lost myself in those eyes.  This was wrong and it would only lead to problems but for some reason I could bring myself to stop what was going to happen.

“Hey Mathew…whoa sorry” Sara said as she came into the kitchen with some grocery bags.

Mathew instantly drew away from me and before I could get my composure back he was out of the kitchen. I was in a little daze but when I saw Sara looking at me curiously, I turned away to finish preparing my tea. I wasn’t expecting for any of this to happen much less for someone to be a witness to it. I turned with the cup in hand and watched as Sara put the bags on the counter and begin to take out the groceries away.

“Do you need help with that?” I asked as I watched her move around the kitchen but there was an edge to her posture as if she was ready for something bad to happen.

“Well if you want to I don’t mind” she said as she went to put things in the refrigerator without a backwards glance.

I didn’t mind that she didn’t ask about my injury or tell me I couldn’t do it because of this injury. Actually I liked that she didn’t degrade my abilities and found myself smiling as I worked besides her putting the groceries away.

“Do you want…chicken for dinner?” I asked Sara as I looked into the pan Mathew had been making food in. It smelled delicious and I was tempted to take a little sample since Mathew had left the dish unattended.

“He will kill you if you start sampling so I would suggest you wait like the rest of us.” Jane’s voice filled the kitchen as she entered with her mother beside her.

“Well considering I am an invalid I think I should get a little leeway” I smiled but became worried when I saw Jane lean against the door frame with a tired expression on her face and a sad smile touching her lips. Sara was at her side practically holding her up and her face told of the worry and fear in her heart. Without thinking I stepped next to Jane and pulled her arm around my shoulders. I could see a protest forming on her lips as I directed her towards the stairs.

“Shut it girl, you can complain later. I don’t want to hear it right now” I wrapped my good arm around her waist and helped her make her way up the stairs. My abdomen felt like it was going to rip in two but I could care less about it. The pain would go away soon but if Jane passed out in front of her family I knew she would hate it. That kind of feeling of impotence would not go away so easily.

Once I had her sitting on her bed; I plopped down on her bed too. She looked at me like I was a strange creature and I chuckled before closing my eyes.

“Thank you for that” Jane said as she looked towards the bedroom door.

“Don’t mention it. You did all the work. I was just looking for an excuse to leave the kitchen before I stuck my fingers in that meal. Next time YOU drag ME out of the room.” She chuckled as I said this and lay on her back next to me. We both looked up at the ceiling together in a comfortable silence. It had been a long time since I felt this comfortable with someone else.

This thought brought back the memories of the past and those words that Miloh said. I felt as if I might break in front of Jane which made me sit up quickly. Unfortunately, I got up too quickly and my injuries throbbed in protest to the strain.

“I should probably go” I said as I wrapped my good arm around my middle and looked around Jane’s room. She had walls with a sky blue background and then white lines as if her walls were graph paper. Tools I recognize that were used in the architecture career were painted sporadically around the room. Right across from the bed was a building plan that looked to be for a house. Then I noticed different plans were on the walls. Floor plans, elevations views, and other things but they were for the same house.

Without thinking, I got up and walked to the first plan across from the bed. It was hand drawn and very precise. On the desk right under it I found the tools I saw on the walls and an envelope.

“You can read it” Jane stated calmly as she sat up against the head board.

I picked it up and saw the front said SCAD. It was from Georgia which was really weird since we lived in California. Turning it over, I opened it and took out the letter. I read it and a small smile formed on my lips as I realized that this was an acceptance letter. SCAD stood for Savannah College of Art and Design and Jane was going to go there to study architecture.

“Congratulations Jane. It looks like a good school and it looks like you have a big passion for architecture.” I put the letter back in the envelope and went to look around the room some more.

“I do but I won’t be going to SCAD unfortunately” there was a sad smile on her face as she said this.

“Why is that? I read they gave you a full ride scholarship. So money isn’t a problem. Do you not want to leave your family?” I asked as I went to sit on the bed again. She looked at me for a little while but then she smiled sadly and closed her eyes. I didn’t think it was possible but she was instantly asleep. With a sigh, I got up and pulled the covers out from under Jane. She turned on her side as I made her slide down so she wouldn’t get a crick in her neck. I pulled the covers up to her shoulders with a fond smile on my face.

“You’re just a box of surprises aren’t you?” I knew she would tell me things when she felt she could trust me but that would only happen in time. We still had all the time in the world.