Chapter 15

Georgina

Jake knocks on my door just as I finish pulling on my light blue T-shirt dress.

He’s still wearing his Avengers pajama bottoms, slung low on his hips, showcasing his abs, his long brown hair a mess cascading in front of his eyes. He looks pale.

“Georgie, I’m dying.” He leans his head against the door frame.

“What’s wrong?” I walk over to him and put my hand on his forehead. He feels slightly warm and clammy.

“Think I’ve got this stomach bug that’s going around. I’ve spoken to dad, and he’s told me to stay home.”

“Okay. Feel better soon, Jakey.” He turns to walk back to his bedroom. I follow after him. “Oh! How am I supposed to get to school?”

“Andy texted, said he’s on his way.” Jake slumps back into his bed.

“I can’t get a ride on my own from AJ!” Macy already accused me of hooking up with him on the sly. If she sees me getting out of his car on my own, she’s really gonna think I’m lying.

“Sorry, Smidge. It’s Andy or walking.” Jake pulls his sheets up under his chin. “You’ll be fine.”

Still grumbling to myself, I grab my backpack and make my way to the end of my drive to wait for AJ.

Two minutes later, his black Jeep pulls up. I hobble around and get in the passenger side, tucking my crutches down beside the door. AJ looks me up and down, then looks back at the house.

“Where’s Jake?”

“He didn’t tell you?” We scowl at each other.

He shakes his head.

“He’s sick.”

“Oh. Okay.” AJ frowns and puts his car into drive.

The entire drive to school, we sit in silence, a frown etched on AJ’s face the whole way there.

I had thought after the way he’d acted at the weekend, we might have actually been able to start acting civil toward each other.

I feel myself getting more and more pissed off at him. ~He was the fucking asshole, not me!~

~

“Okay! What the fuck is your problem, McGabe?” I finally explode.

He turns toward me in surprise.

“You were actually kinda sweet to me last weekend, and then you disappear all week, and now you’re just gonna ignore me completely!?”

His eyes widen, his face blanches, then goes slightly green. Abruptly he pulls off into the parking lot of a 7-11 and swings his door open only to empty his stomach onto the asphalt. ~Gross!~

~

“Oh, God,” he weakly says, leaning his head back against his headrest. He gags again and leans back out the door. I hear more wet splats and feel my stomach turn a little.

When he sits back this time, his eyes roll a little in his head.

“AJ?” I lean toward him. He’s shivering slightly, even though he’s wearing a jacket and a hoodie, with a few beads of sweat on his forehead. “AJ, I think I should take you home.”

He groans in response.

I manage to get out of the Jeep and make my way slowly around to his side of the car, trying my best to avoid the puddle of vomit.

I push him slightly, and he drags himself over to the passenger side. I get in and adjust the seat and mirrors. Thankfully, he drives an automatic so I can actually get us safely back to his place.

Wherever that is. ~Thank the Lord for sat nav!~ Pressing on the Go Home button, I navigate back to his house.

Leaving him half passed out in the Jeep, I slowly make my way up to his front door, hoping someone is in.

After a couple of minutes of me ringing the doorbell, it opens, revealing a really pretty, young-looking woman still dressed in her pajamas, wavy blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail.

~Huh. He must have an older sister~.

“Hi. Can I help you?”

“Um, yeah. I go to school with AJ, and he got sick on the way in.”

She leans out, looking past me to the driveway.

“I need some help to get him out of the car.” I gesture to my plaster cast.

“Of course, one second.” She grabs a coat, and between us, we manage to wrestle the semi-conscious AJ into the house and up to his bedroom.

Not very easy when one of us only has one working leg, and the other one, turns out, is getting over the same sickness bug.

Once we have him on his bed, she turns to me and smiles. “You must be Gina.”

“Y-yeah?”

“Don’t look so shocked. The red hair gave it away.

“When someone can give my son a run for his money when it comes to getting top grades, you best believe their name is going to come up in many conversations!”

“I thought you were his sister!” She only looks about twenty-five.

She throws her head back and laughs.

“Thank you, sweetie. But no, just the age-old tale of a teen mom.” She smiles lovingly down at AJ, running her fingers through his mess of black hair.

A noise downstairs catches her attention. “Do you think you can take care of him for a minute?” I nod, and she pads back downstairs.

AJ moans and starts to gag again. I grab his bin and thrust it in front of him just in time.

~Oh shit oh shit oh shit!~ ~I shudder as some of his vomit splashes my hands. He finally stops heaving and lies back down.

Using one crutch, my other hand holding the bin as far away from myself as possible, I make my way slowly into his bathroom and empty it away.

After swilling it with water, I place it next to his head. I decide to pull his boots off, drop them by the foot of his bed, and pull his comforter up over him.

He stirs a little but doesn’t open his eyes.

“Oh, thank you, honey.” AJ’s mom reappears in the doorway, a toddler with short blonde curly hair in her arms, sucking on her thumb.

“I would run you into school, but I’ve got two more sick munchkins to look after.” The little girl giggles and buries her face in the crook of her mom’s neck. I smile back.

“That’s okay. But do you think it would be okay if I borrow AJ’s car? I’ll bring it back after school. I can even bring him his missed assignments from this week.”

“That would be wonderful. I know he’s worried about the school he’s missed this week looking after us all.”

I look down at AJ.

~He’s spent the week looking after his sick mom and siblings?~

~

That’s kinda sweet. Not at all what I would have expected from AJ fucking McGabe.

“He probably won’t be in school tomorrow either. Why don’t you keep his Jeep and drop in after school tomorrow instead? I’m sure he won’t mind.”

She looks back down at him then flashes a grin at me. “Too much!”

“I’m sure he’d hate it, but thanks!” I grin back. “That would be amazing.”

***

I missed the first period of school on Thursday, but Mrs. McGabe had already phoned the school and explained what happened, so I was given a pass.

I had a few funny looks driving AJ’s Jeep, and Drew and PJ thought it was hilarious that I borrowed it without him knowing.

Macy ignored me all week. Robyn too, but only by default of being with Macy all the time. Katy spent more time with PJ, so I sat with her and the boys at lunch.

With Jake being off sick, the last couple of days felt a little like a double date with Katy and PJ not holding back on the PDA. Drew was getting a little flirty with me. It was nice.

He’s kinda cute. Luckily there is no football game on tonight as half the team is sick with the stomach bug, and I am obviously excused from cheer practice.

After I pull up to AJ’s house on Friday, I gather together all the assignments I collected from our teachers for the week.

He’s so lucky he looked after me last weekend, or I would have never gone out of my way to help him keep his stupid grades up. His mom lets me in with a smile.

“Hey, Gina, sweetheart. Thank you so much for bringing Andy’s assignments by. I have a huge favor to ask.” She bites her lip worriedly.

“That’s no problem, Mrs. McGabe. What can I do for you?” I flash my sweetest smile at her.

“I need to run to the supermarket, and the girls aren’t really well enough to take with me. AJ is still sleeping. Would you mind hanging with them till I get back? I’ll be an hour tops, and I can run you home after.”

“Sure, I’d be happy to.”

AJ’s mom pulls me in for a tight hug.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” She leans back and yells into the living room. “Girls!” The toddler I met yesterday appears in the doorway together with a slightly older version.

They both have the same blonde hair as Mrs. McGabe, but curlier, nearly in ringlets. All three of them also have the same bright blue eyes.

“Girls, this is Gina. She’s a friend of Andy’s, and she’s going to watch you while I go to the store.”

They both smile at me, and I wave at them. The older one waves back shyly.

“The younger one is Charlotte, and the older one is Sammy. They’ll be fine. Just sit them down in front of the TV with a Disney film.” She laughs.

Immediately after the front door closes behind her, the questions begin.

“What’s that on your leg? How did you hurt your leg? Why is it green? Do you play Barbies? Do you play computer games? Do you kiss Andy?” The very stern answer to that one was obviously no.

They don’t want to watch TV, so they lead me upstairs to their bedroom opposite AJ’s. I peek into his room as we go past.

His is dark, but I can make out the shape of him under his sheets, his foot poking out the end. I pull the door closed to try and stop the noise of his little sisters waking him.

I am sitting on the floor in front of Sammy, who is cross-legged on her bed, playing with my hair.

I have Charlotte on my lap, book open, reading out loud to her, doing the gruff voice of Captain Hook when I hear a chuckle from the doorway.