New Girl in Town Pt. 22

"I like M&M's," Jessica defended.

"Even Sarah is hungry," Roxie said. "Right, Sar-bear?"

"I could eat," Sarah answered which caused some giggles.

"Well since you can eat," Jessica said as she got to her feet. "Let's go see if we can find something you will eat."

"Then come right back, right?" Sarah asked.

"Absolutely," Jessica nodded. "Then we'll see about waking Prince Charming with a kiss."

"Done!" Staci said enthusiastically.

"Not you, Staci!" Jessica shook her head.

"Yeah, me!" Sarah giggled then leaned up and kissed Jake's cheek.

"See what you did to my little sister, Staci?" Jessica said. "Now she's kissing my boyfriend too."

"Yeah, but she's adorable," Roxie countered. "Come on, Sar-bear, let's get some food in you and your big sis."

****

Jake awoke when someone entered his room. He opened his eyes and watched as a tall blonde entered. He felt like he recognized her but between the sedatives still in his system, his scrambled brains and the dimness of the lights in his room he didn't know from where but something about her seemed so familiar. She looked a little like Jessica but older which drew a question to Jake's mind.

"Jessica?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered as she moved closer.

"How long was I out this time?" he wondered aloud.

"You were out when I got here," she answered. "I thought that I'd come and check on you."

She took a seat beside his bed and her face moved into the light. Jake was struck by her eyes and the slight upturn of her lips when she smiled.

"You're gorgeous," he murmured. "Who are you?"

"Thanks for saying so, Jake," Jessica Langston smiled. "I'm sure that your Jessica told you about me. I'm Jessica Langston."

"Her recruiter, right?" Jake asked. "You helped me."

"I tried," she deflected. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," he answered honestly.

Ms. Langston pressed the nurse call button on the side of Jake's bed.

"The nurse should be coming in a moment," she told him.

Jake nodded and started to ask her a question but the nurse entered before his brain could construct it properly.

"He says that his head hurts," Ms. Langston told him.

"Well let's see what we can do to help you out here, Jake," the nurse said as he looked over the chart. "Doc says that you can get a small dose to dull any pain so... here we go."

The nurse went to Jake's IV stand and pressed a few buttons. It beeped and he checked the drip to be sure it administered the correct dosage.

"Okay, Jake, you should start feeling better in a few moments," he told him then looked at Ms. Langston. "Anything else I can do for you, ma'am?"

"I think that should do it," she answered him. "Thank you very much."

"No problem," he said. "Jake's our superstar so we like to watch out for him. Take care, Jake. Buzz me if he needs anything else."

She assured him that she would then looked back at Jake. He had a dreamy look on his face and she knew that the pain killer had hit.

"Your so pretty," Jake murmured with a smile. "Just like my Jess."

"Yes, Jake," she smiled and patted his hand. "Very much like your Jess."

"How's he doing?" Ken asked as he walked in with bottle of water in his hand.

"He said that his head was hurting," she answered him as she accepted the water. "They gave him something for it."

"Do you want to wait here for Jessica to get back?" he asked. "Her folks said that some of her friends dragged her to the cafeteria for something to eat and they shouldn't be long."

"Sounds good," she smiled. "As long as you aren't the jealous type."

"Jealous?" Ken asked.

"A certain someone called me gorgeous," she told him.

Ken glanced at Jake's bed then smiled himself.

"The kid's got great taste," he said as he moved closer to her.

"Oh yeah?" she teased. "You think so?"

"Uh huh," he nodded as he leaned in and gave her a kiss.

The noise the door made when it opened caused them to jump. Ashley giggled as the pair quickly separated themselves.

"Ooo, you got caught," she teased them. "Be glad that it's just little ol' me though because there are impressionable kids headed this way. Save the making out for the hotel tonight, lovebirds."

****

Tabitha sat on one side of Jake's bed with Jessica on the other while Ashley stood at the foot of his bed. Tabitha had Jessica's bad arm in her hands and had started to rub fingers and palm.

"A little gentler, Tabitha," Ashley said as she looked on. "And you don't want to pull on it too much. It might take Jessica's bones longer to knit together if you do."

"Or she'll have to have surgery and a pin put in and you don't want that, Jess," Ms. Langston told her.

"They do give you a card so you can get through metal detectors though which is kinda cool," Ken commented.

"Can't Jake do this now that he's awake?" Tabitha asked. "He's used to rubbing on Jess."

"Tabby!" Jessica said as her cheeks flushed.

"Well, he is," she argued then looked at Jake. "Why are you being so quiet, Jake? Jump in here."

"I don't think so," Jake said thankful that she blocked Ms. Langston from his view.

"Jake's afraid that he'll call Ms. Langston gorgeous again," Jessica offered with a grin. "He got all embarrassed so he's afraid that he'll say it again if he opens his mouth."

"That's not fair, Jess," he mumbled as his face started to burn from embarrassment.

"Oh please, she is gorgeous," Jessica countered.

"Don't feel too embarrassed, Jake," Ken said. "I stumbled over half my words when she was interviewing me for this job."

"That's because she has a picture of me behind her on the wall of her office," Ashley stated.

Jake looked at Ashley, nodded then more words slipped out of his mouth.

"You're beyond gorgeous," he said then shook his head. "What is wrong with me?"

"Maybe the drugs they're giving you have some kind of truth serum in it," Tabitha postulated. "Jess, ask him anything that you ever wanted to know. Quick!"

Jessica shook her head as she laughed. Ashley gave Jake a wink then pointed at Jessica's hand.

"Back to hand massage, please," she said. "Let's give Jake and his loose tongue a bit of a break."

"Yes, lets," Jessica nodded then looked over at Ashley. "You are gorgeous too by the way just in case you haven't heard it enough."

"Oh she has," Ms. Langston stated. "That's why her boobs are so big. All the compliments she gets go straight there."

Jake's eyes went right to them then up to Ashley's face. She grinned at him as he quickly turned his head away. Jessica caught his eyes and she gave him a playful but stern look.

"I saw that, Jake," she told him.

"Busted," Tabitha giggled.

"Oh you're one to talk, Tabby," Jessica said with a smile. "You've had those boobs of yours on his arm since we started this so don't even try."

Tabitha jerked herself upright and her face turned red. The others laughed at her immediate reaction to Jessica's words.

"Jessica, I didn't mean..." She started to say but Jessica laughed and stuck her hand back out.

"I know you didn't, Tabby," she told her. "Now get back to rubbing me and make sure that Jake gets a good look at your technique because it's going to be his hands doing this very soon."

****

Thursday

C.C. stood in the school's parking lot before school started. She looked intently toward the entrance as cars pulled in. Somer saw her and approached.

"Is everything okay, C.C.?" she asked.

"Not really," she answered. "Do you know who's absent today?"

"Well school hasn't really started, C.C.," she answered. "Anybody could be at this point. Why?"

C.C. took a moment to look around then moved closer so she could whisper to Somer.

"Well, you know that my mom works at the courthouse, right?" she started.

"Like as a typist or something, right?" Somer asked.

"Something like that," C.C. nodded. "I heard her talking to my dad last night and... and I heard her say that someone had been arrested."

"C.C., I'm sure there were a few people arrested over the weekend. It was a holiday one after all," Somer said but C.C. shook her head.

"Someone was arrested in connection with Jake and Jessica's accident," she told her.

"Oh fuck, for real!" Somer shouted.

Several students looked their way and C.C. shushed her. She pulled her toward the sidewalk away from others so they could speak more freely.

"Sorry," Somer apologized. "I didn't know it was like a big secret or anything."

"It's not. Well not really," C.C. told her. "I heard her say... I heard my mom say that it was a student here."

"A student here?" Somer gasped. "Oh my god! Who do you think it is? Ohhh, that's why you asked who was absent! Whoever isn't here must be the one!"

"That was my thinking but then who knows how many absences we'll have today," she said. "It was just a thought."

"Do you think Jessica knows?" Somer asked but C.C. shrugged.

"With Jake waking up I'm not sure that she's concentrating on anything but him," C.C. told her. "And I don't want to say anything until I know something for sure. You know how the rumor mill around here runs."

"Yeah," Somer nodded as she looked around to see who was in earshot. "Let's hope none of this gets back to Jess."

****

Jessica stood at Ms. Simpson's desk before class started. She had asked her if she would accept homework from Jake so that he didn't fall too far behind.

"I will provided it's still okay with his doctors," she answered, "I know how excited and relieved you are that he's awake but try not to rush him back into things too quickly."

"My mom has already told me the same thing," Jessica nodded. "I won't rush him. I figure that he'll get bored and would want something to do while he heals."

"I think that it's more likely that you want to beat him out for valedictorian and ensure that he can't make excuses about losing to you," Ms. Simpson noted with a grin.

"Exactly!" she laughed then someone cleared their throat at the doorway.

They looked over and C.C. stood there. She waved for Jessica to come over then waved at Ms. Simpson.

"Can I borrow Jess for just a moment, Ms. Simpson? I'll be really quick," C.C. stated.

Ms. Simpson glanced at the clock over her door then gave the cheerleader a nod.

"You've got five minutes before the bell, C.C.," she said. "Be as quick as you can."

"I'll try, Ms. Simpson," C.C. assured her as Jessica walked over.

C.C. took Jessica out into the hallway then looked around to see if anyone was near enough to hear them. She then explained what she had overheard from her mom the night before.

"And you're sure that you heard your mom say that it was someone that goes to our school?" Jessica asked as her mind raced with the possibility that someone she knew was responsible for the crash.

C.C. nodded as she rubbed Jessica's good arm.

"Are you okay, Jess?" she asked. "Your face lost all it's color. Do you need to go to the nurse?"

"No," Jessica stated. "I'll be all right. It's just kind of a shock, you know?"

"I know what you mean," C.C. nodded. "I couldn't believe it when I heard it!"

"And you didn't hear a name?" Jessica asked.

"I didn't. I'm sorry," she answered. "I was in the parking lot trying to see who wasn't there and that's where Somer found me. I told her what I was doing which was probably a mistake. It will be all over the school by the time the bell rings. I'm sorry, Jess."

"I don't know, C.C.," Jessica said. "Somer's been kind of sweet lately so maybe she won't say anything."

"Yeah, she's been a lot happier since Rick came back to town so maybe," C.C. stated as the warning bell rang.

Jessica hugged the shorter girl and managed a smile.

"You had better get to class so you aren't late," she told her. "I'll see you at lunch."

"Yeah," C.C. nodded. "I'll see you there unless you need me for anything then come and find me. Promise?"

"I'll be the one dragging Staci along with me if that's that's the case," she told her with a grin. "I can barely go to the bathroom without her as it is. Once she finds out about this that will be over."

"Overprotective Staci is a sight I never thought I'd see," C.C. remarked. "It's really cute and sweet."

Ms. Simpson poked her head out of her door and tapped her watch. C.C. smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Ms. Simpson," she said. "See you at lunch, Jess."

Jessica waved then went to take her seat in Ms. Simpson's room. As she sat there she wondered who could have been the one to cause the accident. The thought that it could be one of her classmates chilled her. The thought that whoever it was left them there, that thought infuriated her.

****

"Well we know that most, if not all, of the freshman class couldn't have been involved," Staci said at the lunch table where the misfits held court.

"And everyone that was at the party," Jody said. "You can count all of them out as well. None of us left except for Ray, Bobby and Marybeth when they went out looking for you."

"That narrows it down a lot, gorgeous," Javier said then kissed her cheek.

"Babe," Jody whined but she couldn't hide her smile or her flushed red cheeks.

"Both of you make good points," Shelly said. "Jess, what do you think?"

"I think that I'm about to murder this stupid fruit cup," Jessica answered as she attempted to pull the plastic off with her cast straightened fingers. "Okay, that's it. I'm stabbing this thing!"

She placed the cup on the table and picked up a fork with her good hand. As she raised the fork Staci reacted.

"Gimme!" Staci said as she snatched the cup before it could be skewered. "Remember that you have to ask for help, Jess. You can't just go around stabbing defenseless fruit cups."

"Can so," Jessica grumbled as she waited for Staci to hand it back. "It mocked me."

Staci lifted the plastic flap off the cup then moved it up and down as if were capable of speech.

"I'm Jess's fruit cup and I'm the tormentor of one handed volleyball players everywhere!" she said in a deep voice. "Bow! Bow before the might of my fruity goodness!"

"Oh my god, you are like so not funny," Jessica said as she reached for the cup.

"Like oh my God, Jess, you sound just like your recruiter," Roxie mimicked in a voice that sounded a lot like both Jessica's.

"I do not," Jessica argued as she play fought with Staci over her fruit cup.

"Yeah, you do," Shelly smiled. "At least it'll help you fit in when you get out there."

"Being tall, blonde and gorgeous won't hurt you either," Ray commented.

"I don't think tall is a requirement," Bobby said. "That doctor that came along isn't tall but she's hot too."

"How have I missed seeing them all this time?" Javier complained which garnered chuckles from the guys. "Are they going to be here much longer?"

"They leave out early Saturday morning," Jessica told him. "We're taking them out to eat Friday for dinner as a thank you."

"Am I invited?" Staci asked.

"You're just trying to get another look at Jess's assistant," Roxie said as she sneakily swiped the brownie off of Staci's tray.

"Ooo, can I get an invite too then," Marybeth commented. "He's cute."

"Guys, this is payback for us drooling over the gorgeous ladies from California I think," Bobby chuckled.

"Oh it's not payback, sweetie," Marybeth smiled as she patted his knee under the table. "He's a hottie and so are they."

"Our golden girl is going to fit right in," Staci said then noticed her brownie had been pilfered. "Hey, where is my brownie?"

"You snooze, you lose, Cheer Girl," Roxie giggled.

"Foxy Roxie! That was my treat for today!" Staci declared as she reached for it.

"I don't think you deserve a treat after what you did with my fruit cup," Jessica giggled. "Serves you right if Roxie eats your brownie."

"I redeemed myself when I called you gorgeous, Jessica," she stated.

"Hmm, maybe," Jessica said as she tried to spear a piece of fruit but cup skidded away from her.

Jessica grumbled under her breath then snorted as she tried to retrieve her wayward fruit cup with her bad arm. Staci swooped in and moved it back then held it in place.

"Eat up, Jess," she said. "You'll need your strength for when you see Jake after school."

"Ugh, fine," Roxie sighed and moved the brownie back to Staci's tray. "I guess that you earned this back."

"You know I did," Staci smiled then tried to take the fork from Jessica's good hand. "Now give me that fork so I can feed you!"

"Roxie," Jessica said, "take that brownie back right now!"

****

"Jake, how are you feeling?" Jake's dad asked after he entered his room.

"I managed to stay awake for a whole hour," Jake said with a wry smile. "I think that's pretty good considering."

"That isn't funny, son," his dad told him.

"It's a little funny," Jake said.

"Would Jessica find it funny?" he asked him.

"Jess would let a laugh slip out then tell Staci to slap me for what I said," Jake chuckled. "Then Roxie would smack me before either of them had a chance."

"That sounds about right but you left out your cousin Shelly, Jody and that girl that Bobby is dating now," his dad stated. "Now how are you really feeling?"

"Marybeth. That's who's with Bobby," Jake said. "I'm okay. These stitches on my head are bugging me and my leg is throbbing but I'm not sure if it's actually pain or just the cast being on it. Hey, how come you aren't at work?"

Jake watched him for a few beats then pushed the button to raise his bed when he wasn't answered. Without much difficulty he poured himself some water and took a sip.

"Dad, what's going on?" he asked.

"Jake... son," he started to say then paused and continued to pace.

"Dad, you're starting to scare me," Jake shared. "Not to mention tiring me out just watching you pace around. What's going on?"

Jake's dad sat down and looked his son in the eyes.

"Jake, there's something that I have to tell you and I'm not really sure how to go about it," he started.

"Is it about Jess?" Jake asked. "Or mom?"

"No, it's not about either of them. They're fine. Your mom's gone to the house to get you some clothes to change into and Jessica's at school," he told him. "I hope that you're ready for homework, son, because your girl is determined that you aren't going to fall behind. She made that perfectly clear the other day."

"Oh she told me," Jake said. "Bobby made fun of me for like an hour that I'm laid up here with only one good leg so I can't get away from the avalanche of homework that Jessica's collecting for me."

"That sounds like Bobby," his dad said.

He paused for a moment then decided that he needed to plow ahead with his news.

"Jake," he started. "There's some things that we haven't told you about the accident."

"Okay," Jake said as composed as he could manage.

"The sheriff's department was investigating it," he started.

"I wasn't drinking, dad," Jake defended himself.

"We know, son," his dad assured him. "They even took a blood sample from you while you were in surgery and tested it. It came back clean."

"So I just messed up on the curve then?" Jake asked. "I nearly killed Jess and myself because I..."

"Jake, you didn't mess up," he stated. "They found out that someone hit you guys. That's why you crashed."

"Hit?" he asked. "Someone hit us?"

A memory struggled to the surface of Jake's mind. A sudden, blindingly bright light filled the car's interior. The shudder as his car was bumped from behind. The car started to slide into the curve. Jake's hands steered into the slide like his grandpa had taught him. He remembered that he had just got it back straight when he felt a second bump. The wheel jumped in his hands. He felt it start to go and started to try and save it again but he felt the front tire dip into something in the road. He heard Jessica scream and the memory suddenly stopped there.

"Jake!" his dad called out as he gripped his son's shoulder. "Are you all right?"