No More Cast

I have good news and bad news.

The good news?

I'm finally getting my cast off!

The bad news?

I'm completely terrified!

"Aspen, you won't even feel it" Charlotte says in exasperation as she flops beside me on my bed

We're at my house because my mother wants to be with me when I get my cast cut off.

She came back three days after Charlotte and I's date.

I still haven't told her about it, yet.

"How would you know? You've never been in a cast before!" I respond in a panicked tone

"Yeah, but I do know that you tend to overreact" she says

"I'm not overreacting, Charlotte" I say as I glare at her

"Aspen, Charlotte, come down before we're late" my mother yells from downstairs

"We're coming" I yell back

I carefully slide off my bed only to be gently pulled back by my one working arm. I land on top of Charlotte with my legs on either side of her hips. I'm practically straddling her at this point.

"Please don't be mad at me" she says with an adorable pouty face

Aw, she's so cute.

"Why would I be mad?" I say with a straight face

"I don't know, but you're mad at me right now" she says

"I'm not mad at you" I say, my straight face unwavering

She slowly leans in for a kiss only for me to block it with my palm.

"I'm not kissing you anytime soon" I say before I carefully climb off of her

"Why are you mad at me, Aspen?" She asks as she follows behind me

"No reason" I say as I descend down the stairs

"Aspen, please tell me" she begs with puppy dog eyes

Aw, she looks so cute with puppy dog eyes.

"Later" I say before I walk out the house

-

We've been sitting in this hospital room for over two hours.

For two hours straight I've been listening to the incessant ticking of the clock on the wall.

Honestly, I think I'm going crazy because of it.

If the doctor doesn't come in soon, I think I'm going to rip my hair out.

"Relax, it's going to be okay" Charlotte whispers from beside me

I lay my head on her shoulder which makes her smile as she wraps her arm around me and places a peck on my forehead.

I look across the room at my mom since I haven't told her about Charlotte and I.

She's looking at us with a wide smile on her face which causes me to blush.

"We'll talk about this later" she mouths as she points between Charlotte and I

"Okay" I mouth back.

Someone knocks on the door before a young lady walks into our hospital room. She's dressed in dark blue scrubs and holding a clipboard.

"Hello everyone, my name is Zoe and I'll be your nurse for today" she says happily as she looks at all of us

"According to your file you're supposed to get your cast off today, is that correct?" She reads from the clipboard

"Yes" I say

"Great, I'll go get the saw then we can get started" she says with a smile before she leaves the room.

As soon as the door shuts behind her I whip my head in the direction of Charlotte.

"Saw?" I say in a panicked tone

"Not that type of saw, Aspen" Charlotte says as she smacks her forehead in annoyance

"I need a drink" Charlotte says in a stressed out tone

"What was that, Charlotte?" My mom questions with a cocked eyebrow

"I said that I need some sleep" she repeats with wide eyes as the tips of her ears turn red

"Mhm" my mom hums which causes me to laugh at the situation

Charlotte playfully glares at me before grabbing my hand. She intertwines our fingers together which makes her smile.

We sat like this until Zoe came back.

Zoe twisted the doorknob and used her back to prop the door open as she wheeled in a cart that had a small saw attached to it.

Oh, that's what the saw looks like.

I guess it's not so bad.

"Okay Aspen, I need you to get on the hospital bed and lay your arm outwards for me" she says as she wheels the cart near the bed

I reluctantly stand up and untangle my hand from Charlotte's which causes her to subtly pout. I slowly make my way towards the hospital bed before carefully sliding myself onto it and positioning my arm so that my inner arm is facing upward.

"Thank you, sweetheart" she says

I turn to look at Charlotte only to see her glaring at the nurse.

Why is she glaring at her?

Did Zoe do something that I'm not aware of?

God, I'm so confused.

"Okay, I'm going to start now. Please relax and try to remain calm" Zoe says with an easy going smile before she flips a switch which makes the engine come to life

She slowly begins from my upper arm and carefully makes her way down.

-

Fifteen minutes later she's done cutting the side of my cast. She uses special scissors to cut the soft ends of the cast.

"Okay, now I need you to turn your arm the other way" she says

I do as she says and turn my arm so that the outer part of my arm is facing upward.

"Thanks again, Sweetheart" she says with a smile before she begins to cut this side of the cast

-

When Zoe was finished sawing and cutting my cast she carefully pried the colored part away from the cloth.

It feels weird to be able to bend my arm normally again.

"Does it hurt to move your arm?" She asks as she sees me bending my arm up and down

"No, but it tingles" I respond

"That's normal, it'll go away soon" she says before she walks across the room towards the trash can and throws my cast away

"Since you seem fine you're released to leave at anytime" she says with a smile as she wheels the cart towards the door.

As soon as she leaves the room Charlotte and my mom rise from their seats and walk up to me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" My mom asks with worry

"Yes mom, I'm one hundred percent okay" I say as I move my arm for emphasis

"Ms. Bailey, I know this is sudden but may I take your daughter on a second date?" Charlotte asks my mom

Did she just-?!

To my-?!

What?!

"Second?" My mom teases with a small smile as she looks down at me which causes me to blush as I look down at my fingers

"Of course you can, just have her back by twelve" my mom says

"Thank you" Charlotte says

She holds out her hand for me to grab which I do as I stand up from the bed.

We make our way out of the hospital room and down the hall before Charlotte speaks to me.

"Now that you have two working arms again you'll be able to fully enjoy this date" she says which causes me to smile

"I still have to be careful with my arm" I state which makes her nod in agreement

-

"You didn't!" I automatically say when we enter Charlotte's bedroom

"Charlotte, you didn't!" I say as I continue to look around in shock

Have you ever made a blanket fort when you were younger?

If so, then that's exactly what she did.

She nailed the blankets to the walls so that it spreads across the open area in her room. She placed a full sized mattress under it along with a mini fridge.

"I got all of your favorite snacks and drinks" she says as I turn to look at her with shock

She continues to watch my reaction since I haven't said anything since my immediate reaction. I just stare at her in awe.

"Do you like it?" She asks when I continue to stare at her

I love her so much.

Wait a minute.

Did I just mentally say the L word.

What is wrong with you, Aspen.

It's too soon for the L word.

You guys aren't even dating.

Ugh.

"Aspen?" Charlotte asks in a worried tone as she goes to touch my shoulder

Before she can touch me I tackle her in an appreciative hug.

"I love it, thank you so much" I say

Charlotte releases a breath of relief before she wraps her arms around my waist.

"No problem" she says with a smile

"I have one question" I say as I pull away and look up at her. She raises her eyebrow in question which causes me to laugh.

"What did you do with your bed?" I ask

"I didn't like it anymore so I gave it away to Carolina," she says with a shrug before leading me into the blanket fort

"I'm getting a new one in two days" she finishes as we sit on the mattress

"I can't wait to see it" I say with a smile.

-

Charlotte and I used her laptop to watch Christmas movies as we ate white cheddar popcorn and Cheetos.

I ended up falling asleep in the middle of one of the movies only to wake up by Charlotte shaking me.

"Five more minutes" I groan as I snuggle into something warm and soft

I feel vibrations from Charlotte's laughter which causes me to become confused.

Why is my pillow vibrating?

I reach my hand up to feel my pillow only to have Charlotte place a kiss on my hand. I jump up from my laying position so that I'm now sitting up.

I look down only to see Charlotte's head propped up on some pillows while she just watches me in amusement

"What happened?" I ask as I feel more tired than normal

"You fell asleep after you stuffed your face, you've been asleep for three hours" she says which makes me blush in embarrassment

Oh no.

Did I snore?

Did I drool?

Did I do something embarrassing?

"No offense, but you look like a cat when you sleep" she says which makes me blush harder

"Good to know" I mutter sarcastically as she laughs

"Come on, I have to get you home to your mom" she says as she sits up and stands from the mattress

I reluctantly stand up and follow her. I slip my shoes on before going outside to Charlotte's Audi.

I wish I could stay here with her a little longer.

-

Charlotte slowly pulls into my driveway

I don't think she wants to leave me either.

Or at least I'm hoping she doesn't.

We slowly make our way out of the car and towards my porch. She walks me to my front door only for us to just stand there.

"I wish you could've stayed longer" she says as she takes ahold of my hand and interlocks our fingers together

"So do I" I say with a small smile.

We stand there for the longest time and just silently gaze into each other's eyes.

"Goodbye kiss?" She asks which causes me to chuckle at her

"You do realize that I'll most likely see you tomorrow, right?" I ask her

"That's a long time without your kisses" she says as if it's a fact

"Okay, one won't hurt" I say before I stand on my tip toes and place my hand on Charlotte's cheek. I lean in which causes our lips to meet in a slow, passionate kiss. I go to pull away only to be pulled back by Charlotte's hands on my hips.

My body is tingling along with my fingertips as my mind is clouded over with euphoria.

My legs start to feel weak and like jelly almost instantly.

Both of my hand are resting on her cheeks so that I have control over her lips. Her fingers are gripping onto my hips for dear life.

A harsh rustling in the bushes across from us causes me to jump away from Charlotte.

"What was that?" I say breathlessly with swollen lips

"That was me showing you how much I'm going to miss you" she says in a husky tone which makes me roll my eyes

"Not the kiss, that rustling in the bush" I say as I carefully pull away from her since my legs are still weak

"It's probably nothing" Charlotte says with a dismissive tone

As I approach the bush two squirrels run out of it which makes me jump out of surprise.

Charlotte and I glance at each other before bursting into laughter.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asks

"Yep" I say with bright smile

"Great" she says and kisses my cheek before retreating towards her car.

I walk inside the house only to stop in my tracks when I see my mom sitting in the living room with a bright smile.

"Hi mom" I say as I walk into the living room and sit on the couch

"You and Charlotte seem close" she says, her smile unwavering

"Charlotte and I have always been close, we're best friends" I say but end up smiling which gives myself away

"Closer than normal" she clarified

"Okay, we might kissed. On the lips. On Christmas. Under a mistletoe." I say slowly revealing more information to the story

"I go out of town only to find out that I missed your first kiss" my mom says

"And first date" I say which makes her eyes grow in size

"What number date was this?" She asks

"Second" I say as she releases a breath of relief

"I'm so happy that the both of you are dating. I've been waiting for this since you guys were in freshman year" she says

Wait, what?

"Mom, we're not dating" I say which makes her smile fall

"Please tell me you're joking" she says in disbelief

"Nope" I respond

"Well, I've revealed too much information" she says as she stands up

"What do you mean waiting since freshman year?" I ask her

"Sorry, can't hear you" she says

Ugh.

I will find out what she means.

"Does lasagna sound okay?" She asks

"Yes" I say before I run upstairs towards my room