Unrequited Love - 5

"McGavin?" I knew someone was calling me, but I didn't care enough to open my eyes. "McGavin, wake up." The voice sounded so sweet, though. I could barely resist obeying. "McGavin, open your eyes or you will have detention for the rest of the week." 'Well, I don't want that…'

I opened my eyes a little, flinching at the sudden bright light. "Can you please wait until school is over to sleep? This is a classroom, not a hotel suite." I sighed and forced my eyes all the way open, blinking a few times as I looked up at my teacher, Ms. Varnez. "Sorry," I mumbled, stifling a yawn. She frowned at me, her eyes filled with concern. "Jamie," she said softly, "is something wrong?" I glanced toward Callum quickly before shaking my head. He wasn't paying attention at all. He seemed to be drawing something… 'Focus, Jamie.'

"…You sure?" she asked again. I knew she didn't believe me. Who would believe that the best student in the school looked like a zombie and kept falling asleep in classes for no reason? "Yeah, everything's fine," I said, faking a smile. She didn't look convinced, but she went on teaching. I sighed and slumped back into my seat, trying to force my eyes to stay open. A few minutes later, Ms. Varnez was called out of the room for an emergency phone call. As soon as she was out the door, I pulled my phone out and texted Eliza.

"El, I think I need to go home. I keep falling asleep…" Only ten seconds later, I got her reply. "...Can you wait until after lunch? I'm afraid you'll fall asleep before you eat…" I sighed but decided to comply. It was only a few more minutes, anyway. "…Sure, I guess I can wait that long." I put my phone back into my pocket just before the bell rang.

As everyone was leaving, Ms. Varnez entered the room. I watched Callum walk out the door before I decided to get up. "Jamie?" I looked at my teacher as she walked over to me, sadness evident in her eyes. "…Yes, Ms. Varnez?" "I'm… so sorry, but…" My heart was racing as fast as it could. 'What's going on?' I wondered as I bit my lip. "It's your father…" she said quietly. My eyes widened. "What's wrong? Is he okay?" I asked. "He's… in the hospital. You know that sharp curve just down the road?" I nodded. "Well, he was going too fast when he went through it… ran off the road and flipped the car…"

I was frozen. I couldn't even blink.

"B-but, he was working," I whispered after a moment. "He wasn't going toward the company," she said softly. "…Then where was he going? He was mad at my mom, and my mom was mad at him, and there's no way they could just talk that through, and besides, they work just across the street from each other, so why would he be going around that freakin' curve?" I wondered aloud, my voice becoming shrill and my words running together as I tried to figure this out.

Ms. Varnez put her hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down a bit as she spoke. "He had a note taped onto the mirror… He had planned to pick you up early and take you to some lake…" "Lake?" I asked. She nodded and asked, "Do you know what that meant?" "Yeah," I said, "He used to take me to my grandfather's lake all the time. And we'd just sit and talk and joke around…" She smiled at me apologetically. "Well, I don't know how he's doing, but I'm sure he'll be out soon, and you can do all of that again." I nodded, but I had a feeling he wasn't going to be out anytime soon.

"Now, you go on to lunch, and after you eat, if you want, I can take you to see him, okay?" I faked another small smile and nodded, whispering my thanks. Then she patted me on the back and sent me on my way.

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I didn't go to lunch. I received around twenty-eight messages from Eliza, but I didn't bother answering any of them. I'd gone into the chemistry lab because I knew no one would be there. Students were supposed to have adult supervision since there were chemicals everywhere, but no one would deny me access because they all knew I wasn't going to do anything stupid- though this time, I didn't ask to come here.

No one knew where I was. And that was what I wanted. I wanted to be alone for a while, try to wrap my head around this situation. I didn't want anyone to know that my dad was in the hospital. I didn't even want to know. I wondered if my mom knew, if she'd taken that call…. I doubted it. When my mother was angry, she didn't speak to anyone unless it was about work. I couldn't see her even noticing that the number that was calling her was from the hospital…

I sighed and sat on the floor, wishing I could just go on to the hospital myself, but it was on the other side of town, and I didn't trust myself with walking all the way there in my current state of mind.

My head shot up when I heard the door open. Footsteps followed, and eventually, Callum came into sight. He set something on a table and froze for a moment. Then he slowly turned to face me. "Jamie?" he asked softly. 'He's speaking to me now?' "Yeah?" I whispered. He walked over to me and knelt down. "What are you doing in here?" "…Sitting. You?" "Just getting the project off my hands… Why aren't you eating?"
I sighed and resisted the urge to bring my knees up to my chest, knowing that if Callum knew me as well as I knew him, he'd know I only do that when I'm really upset. "Not hungry right now. Isn't the project due next week?" He looked down and sighed before saying, "Yeah, I got finished earlier than expected…" "Oh," was all I could say.

"…Well, Jamie," he said as he got to his feet, "I should probably go… I told Linda I'd take her out to lunch today to make up for the treatment I gave her…" "That's nice…" I said, almost smiling. "Yeah, I just hope it's enough. She seemed really upset…" He looked genuinely upset himself. "It'll be okay," I said. He smiled down at me, but his eyes were still sad. "Yeah, you're probably right," he said, "I'll see you around, okay?" I nodded and watched him leave the room. Just as the door was closing, though, he popped his head back in. "Hey, Jamie," he said. "Hm?" "Eat something soon, 'kay?" I smiled. "Alright." He smiled at me again before letting the door close behind him.

'That was the Callum I knew…' I thought, smiling to myself. 'Maybe things are getting better.'

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"This sucks." I sighed and leaned back onto the sofa. I was currently sitting on the floor, thinking about my day. After lunch was over, I'd gone with Ms. Varnez to the hospital. I saw my dad, but he was sleeping. Apparently, he'd been sleeping for around two hours before I got there. The doctor said that was normal since he'd just gone through an exhausting experience. He'd had bandages all around his arms, legs, and chest, and he had stitches running down behind his ear and almost to his jaw line. It had killed me to see him like that, so I hadn't stayed long, only around five minutes.

I'd texted Eliza and told her that I had gone on home because I was feeling sick, which was sorta' true. I also told her that I'd eaten as soon as I got home, which was a complete lie. At least Callum was being Callum again….

I jumped slightly when I heard my ringtone. "I've waited all my life to cross this line to the only thing that's true-" I picked my phone up off the floor and answered it. "Hello?" "Jamie, are you okay?"

'Eliza… Well, can't hang up now.'

I sighed and answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired." I heard a long sigh of relief before she said, "Good. So Callum told me he talked to you today. Is that true?" I smiled at the memory. "Yeah, it was right before I left." "That's good, so you're back to being bestest fwiends, right?" I laughed softly and said, "I guess so." "I'm glad. Well, I'm gonna' go eat now. And you should, too." "Yeah, alright, El." "I mean it-" "I know, relax." She huffed but didn't argue. I heard her mutter some incoherent things before she said, "Later, Jamie." "Later," I said, and then I hung up, dropping the phone into my lap.

I leaned my head back and looked at the ceiling. "One issue down," I mumbled to myself, "three more to go."