Read My Lips: Chapter 15

Chapter 15

I was shocked that I hadn’t been knocked fully out. Lying on the ground, I could feel the blood trickling down my face from my nose and lip. There was a good chance that I had cuts on my face as well.

My opponent gave me one last good kick in the side automatically making me flinch and curl up. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. My breath had literally been kicked out of me.

“Hey, thanks buddy.” Max grinned shaking his hand and patting him on the back. The opponent just nodded before walking over to the people who were supporting him. Actually supporting him and not selling him off to feed any addiction they had.

Rolling on my stomach, I tried to push myself up but my arms caved underneath me making me fall to my stomach again. I let out a groan as I rolled back onto my back trying to re-catch my breath. This was by far the worst fight I had ever gotten into.

But then again, my opponents hadn’t been paid to ensure that I’d be beaten up to the point where I physically couldn’t pull myself off the ground.

“Here, let me help you up,” Max chuckled pulling me from the floor. As an automatic reaction, I flinched and let out a groan as he gripped my arm leaving me no chance but to be pulled up. “You’re weak, pal.”

“I’m not weak. He was far too much for me and you knew it.” I shot back. It had only been one fight and I was already one hundred and ten per cent done with this guy. But I knew I had no chance backing out now.

“You’re weak, that’s all there is to it. Now, let me give you a tip; get yourself to the gym, do some exercise, eat healthy and you’ll me capable to fight him in no time.” He chuckled, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket. He placed it in between his lips and lit it up before letting out a long, smoke filled breath.

I didn’t bother to answer his sarcastic reply; I shook my head instead and made an attempt to rush out of the alley way as fast as my pain filled body could manage. My ribs hurt when I breathed of all the blows I’d taken to the sides.

Instead of going to the hospital where I knew I should go, I made my way to Jake’s house instead. I couldn’t exactly go to the hospital where Maisie was and I couldn’t go home where my mum was. So one of my friends was the last resort and I knew that out of all the boys, Jake’s parents were the most laid back.

It pained me to walk to his house but I managed it. I’d tried my best to wipe the blood away from my face as I continued my walk to Jake’s house. I was pretty sure my lip was bust from the stinging I felt when I put my hand on it.

On top of having blood on my face, my knuckles were also bust from retaliating to my opponent’s blows. Sure I’d managed to get a few blows to him but that was absolutely nothing compared to what he had managed to give to me.

Jake’s house wasn’t far from my house meaning I luckily didn’t have to walk that far to arrive at his house. I knew I could rely on him to help me out when he saw me like this, even though I knew he was probably going to lecture me for getting into a fight in the first place.

I still hadn’t told anyone about my deal with Max but to be honest, it wasn’t anyone’s business so no one had to know about it. I was going to keep it to myself and nothing would change that.

Maisie’s p.o.v

I didn’t feel as dizzy as I did before, thankfully. When I’d woken up from my sleep, my mum was sat in the seat beside my bed waiting for me to return from my slumber.

My mum helped me sit up, she constantly fussing over me; pulling the blankets up to a specific height and making sure that my pillows were nice and ‘fluffed’ so they’d be comfortable to lie back on. I could tell already that she was going to make an even bigger fuss when I was allowed to leave the hospital.

The worst part about this whole operation was knowing there was a chance that this operation wasn’t going to work and I still wouldn’t hear. I didn’t want to get my hopes up only to be let down if this was all unsuccessful.

“Where dad?” I asked mum, pulling myself up in bed just that bit more before relaxing back. I ran my hands through my hair which already felt awful because I hadn’t showered.

“He’s gone to pick up Austin so he can come and see you,” Mum smiled. She leant over the side of her chair only to pull out her magazine and a bottle of water. She flicked the magazine open before looking back up at me. “Is that ok with you?”

I nodded my head frantically in a reply. “Of course it is.” I wanted to see my little brother. He always managed to put a smile on my face.

“Good. Where’s Zach, cupcake? I thought he was coming back to see you.” She frowned, taking a sip of the water from the bottle she was holding.

My reply to her was a shrug before I answered her after a pause. “I not know. He probably got held up at home.”

Mum nodded at me before continuing to flick through her magazine. I lay back and stared up at the ceiling since I didn’t have anything to do. Who knew hospital could be so boring.

A sudden movement to my side made me snap out of my trance. I turned to look at my mum who had dropped her magazine onto her lap and was currently staring at me as if I had grown another head.

“You ok?” I asked warily, a frown sketched onto my face as I stared at her slightly horrified one.

“I completely forgot to ask if you were hungry. I’m such an awful mother, I’m sorry honey. Do you want something to eat? A sandwich? Cake? Crisps?” She began rattling off all of the food she could think of as I repeatedly tried to catch her attention.

“Mum!” I shouted waving my hands in her face. She finally snapped out of her panic moment and stopped naming all the food she could think of. “I just have chocolate cake or something.”

Mum nodded reaching down to grab her purse before returning to her full height and looking at me. “Chocolate cake? Coming right up. You just relax and I’ll go get it for you.”

I didn’t have time to reply before my mum rushed out of the room letting the door slam shut behind her. Letting out a sigh of relief, I lay back on the pillows closing my eyes finally being able to have some time to completely relax without been fussed over.

----

A hand stroking my cheek snapped me out of the slight sleep I was in. My eyes shot open as I stared at the person above me. Relief washed over my body when I realised it was only Zach.

“You scared me.” I breathed out. I ran my hands over my face in an attempt to wake myself up.

From what I could gather, Zach let out a laugh before sitting down in the chair where my mum was previously sat. “I thought you were asleep.”

I shook my head as I turned over to lie on my side. “No. Where mum, dad and Austin?” I pulled the bed covers up to my neck trying to keep warm. For some reason, this hospital room was rather cold.

“He was being loud whilst you were sleeping so your parents took him for something to eat to try and calm him down before they brought him back up here to your room.” Zach smiled. He then proceeded to reach out to my bedside table.

A delicious looking chocolate cake was placed in front of my face making me jump up into a sitting position. A smile made its way onto my face as I looked at the cake only imaging how it would taste.

Zach chuckled at my reaction to seeing the cake. “Your mum gave it to me to give you if you woke up. She said you were asking for some.”

I nodded in reply before enthusiastically reaching out to grab the cake from his hands. Zach then passed me a fork allowing me to finally dig into the cake that was literally mouth-watering.

I tried my best to ignore Zach who I could feel was staring at me. The thought of someone watching me eat made me feel really uncomfortable but I didn’t want to tell him to stop looking at me. I didn’t want to come across as being ‘bitchy’.

Trying to be discreet, I looked at Zach from the corner of my eye. Of course, he was staring at me. However, it looked like he was in a trance as he watched me.

And that was when it hit me. I dropped my fork and stopped eating as I stared at him.

How come I never noticed the bruises and cuts on his face when I woke up? Maybe I was too engrossed in the fact that he was back to realise.

“Zach? What the hell happened to your face?” I asked, shocked as I sat up. I continued to stare at him in shock as his face slightly paled at my revelation.

“What? I- nothing- just-” he stuttered looking down at his hands in a nervous gesture. He seemed to remember that when I couldn’t see his face, I couldn’t see what he was saying because he looked back up at me.

“Don’t lie.” I demanded. Was he seriously going to attempt to lie to my face when I could clearly see the marks etched onto his face? I could see the bruises and the fresh cuts as he looked into my eyes.

He let out a sigh and dropped his shoulders. “I just got into a slight fight. Don’t worry about it. I’m fine, I promise.”

“But-” I began before Zach cut me off. It was like he didn’t even want me to care about him.

“Stop. I swear, it’s nothing just drop it.” He said with a stern look on his face.

I felt the anger bubble up inside but I tied to ignore it. He told me to drop it so I should, right? I didn’t want to pressure him into telling me what happened only for him to get angry but at the same time I wanted to know what the hell had happened.

It was annoying that I was being kept out of whatever had happened but I suppose there was nothing that I could do about it. It was Zach’s decision after all.

Rolling my eyes at him, I turned my attention back to my cake where I continued eating what I had left. At least the cake wasn’t a pain in the ass like Zach was being.

It didn’t take me long to finally finish the cake. Trying my best to ignore Zach, I refused to look at him as I placed my plate back on the bed side table then lay back in bed facing the ceiling. Maybe I was being childish, maybe I wasn’t. Who cared; as his girlfriend, I had the right to be annoyed at the fact he was keeping secrets from me.

Normally, I don’t think a situation like this would affect me as much as it currently was. I didn’t know if I was genuinely annoyed with Zach or if it was just the stress of coming out of an operation, having everyone fuss over me then Zach refuse to tell me why he was hurt.

I just wanted to sleep it all off. Maybe then it would all disappear and I would be able to relax for a bit.

Zach’s face suddenly appearing In front of my own made me jump slightly. He smiled sadly at me as he stroked my cheek like he did when he thought I was sleeping before.

“I’m sorry baby. I didn’t mean to snap at you.” He said, leaning down to place a kiss on my forehead.

“I not bothered you snapped at me. I not like how you lie to me.” I frowned; I wasn’t trying to look childish or make him feel guilty. I just wanted him to know how I felt about being kept ‘in the dark’.

“You know I get into fights all the time. That’s why they treat me like that at school. I just had a run in with someone I used to fight and a fight emerged. That’s all that happened. I promise you.”

The look on his face led me to believe him. I knew that he fought all of the time and I knew that was why he was treat the way he was at school and that was why he was called the ‘bad boy’ along with his other three friends.

I smiled at him and reached up to also touch his face. “It ok. I believe you.”

A smile was the reply I got as he leaned down and placed his lips gently against my own. The kiss started off slowly before it began to grow increasingly passionate. Like the other times we’d kissed, butterflies bubbled in my stomach at the feel of his lips against mine.

I felt awkward knowing that I probably tasted of chocolate from the cake that I had previously ate but the thought soon left my mind as our kiss progressed. I lifted both of my hands and placed them on Zach’s neck as both of his hands cupped my cheeks.

Just as the kiss was about to deepen, Zach jumped back away from me and sat back on his seat. I frowned from his sudden movement wondering why he’d stopped the kiss when my gaze landed on the door where people stood.

Of course my parents would turn up now.

“Mum, dad, hi!” I awkwardly said whilst waving at them. I followed my mum’s hands which led to where they were resting on my little brother’s shoulders.

“Maisie!” He grinned running up to me and jumping on the bed. He then proceeded to lie down next to me and place his face in the crook of my neck as he cuddled up to me. I loved the bond that we somehow had considering the age gap we had.

My dad allowed him to cuddle me for a while longer before he walked over to him and pulled him from my grasp. “Ok, little guy. You have to be careful not to hurt her.” He warned him.

“Do you hurt, Maisie?” He frowned whilst reaching for my face. He placed his little hand on my forehead as if he was attempting to feel if I had a temperature.

“I just tired, buddy.” I grinned ruffling up his hair as he sat on my dad’s lap.

My mum moved from her place at the door and sat on the edge of the hospital bed. She then sent a polite smile in Zach’s direction. “Hello, Zach; nice of you to finally return. We thought something may have happened to you.”

I turned to face my dad knowing for a fact that he would have something to say about the marks that covered Zach’s face. He wasn’t one to let things slip. If he wanted an answer then he would get one.

“Ah, yes. What on earth happened to your face?” And there was the million pound question that Zach had to find an excuse for.

He fiddled nervously with his hands whilst he attempted to come up with an excuse as to why he got into a fight. He then proceeded to run his fingers through his hair, obviously deep in thought. “I just had a misunderstanding with an old friend of mine. Nothing too serious, just a one off thing.”

My dad nodded whilst re-positing Austin on his lap, obviously convinced by what Zach had told him. “Well, you better be careful to stay on his good sides. Getting into fights isn’t good.”

I turned to Zach and sent a stare into his direction as if to tell him to listen to what my dad was saying. Getting into fights wasn’t good and there probably wasn’t a good reason as to why he was getting involved other than the fact it was something he seemed to enjoy.

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My exams are now officially finished, can I get a hell yeah? HELL YEAH.

This means that i've broken up for summer so i'm off until September. I can not try and write as much as I can- I really want to focus on hopefully getting this close to finish by the time I start Sixth Form in September.

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