Chapter 3 Less like a lady, More like a man

When she recovered her consiousness, the first thing that caught attention was the blinding lights above her. She shaded her eyes from it untiĺ she finaly adjusted to the light. She sat up when she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and remembered her injury. Looking at her surroundings she then realized that she was in the hospital, with her injured shoulder bandaged carefully to stop the bleeding.

She looked around the room and, when she thought that she was alone, she suddenly caught sight of Nick, who was peacfully sleeping on a chair in the cornee of the room with nothing but his black, leather jacket to keep him cozy. She disliked the sight of him, but, knowing the corageous act he did to save her life, she reluctantly shoved her hateful thoughts towards him aside and felt slightly grateful to him

If it werent for him, I wouldnt be here, she thought.

After strugging for a while, she was finally able to sit up and leaned against her pillow.

At the sound of her rustling in the bed, Nick opened hiseyes and smirked when he saw that she was awake.

"Your parents are on the way," he said.

"How long have I been unconscious?" Celeste asked, ignoring his remark.

"About an hour now. How are you by the way?"

Celeste shot a glance at her shoulder before answering. "It still hurts but it didnt bother me much like it did earlier."

Nick nodded. "Thats good to hear. But, really you should be a little more careful if you dont want to end up like your dog."

At the mention of her beloved dog, Celeste threw him an outrageous glare. But she couldnt bring herself to spit out the words because she knew he was right.

She just fixed her glare on him, speechless.

Satisfied that she kept quiet, Nick stooď up and slowly approached her.

"You know, if I hadnt been there to save you, you wouldve been a goner." He smirkeď at the way she clenched her fists at the need to shower him with insults.

Seeing she wasnt going to say anythig he continued. "But for someone who acts so much like a man and less like a lady, I expected you could save yourself back there. He carefully eyed her jeans and her baggy t shirt which proved his remark right.

Celeste looked insulted and rolled her eyes.

"What are you getting at Nick?"

"What I mean is that you act so much like a boy in your speech, your appearance and even in your personality but you cant even protect yourself like one, eh?" He teased.

"Stop making fun of me," Celeste muttered, feeling her heart burning with rage. She took a deep breath which made Nick smile. He knew he had once again gotten onto hee nerves and he was just waiting for her to explode.

"So what? You saved me once and I'm grateful for that! But dont think that was enough to repay what you did in the past. I may have been injured, but my dog didnt even managed to survive," she hissed coldly.

Nick, who, throughout their conversation, had been walking slowly towards her, had finally reached her bedside.

"I didnt mean to have her killed like that," he said sincerely with an apologetic look in his crystal blue eyes. He wanted to say that he was sorry but he knew too well what a waste that would be. Throughout the past nine years he had tried apologizing to her in almost every conversation he had. But he had come to know that his efforts had not been acknowledged.

Celeste opened her mouth to say something against him when the door suddenly opened to reveal a worried Dianne panting for breath.

"Dianne?" They both said simultaneously.

"Celeste—" She began but stopped short as soon as she noticed the tense atmospher around them. "Hey you guys okay?"

Celeste and Nick exchanged a quick glance.

Nick nodded quickly. "But what brings you here?"

"I came for Celeste, of course! As soon as I saw on the news, I—"

"The news?" Celeste echoed suddenly flustered.

Dianne nodded, surprised that they didnt know. She turned on her phone and showed them the news of the accident. Surprisingly the video captured the entire incident— of her walking carelessly on the street and of Nick' sudden rescue.

"Its spreading like wild fire, huh?" Nick said nonchalantly, his eyes still focused on the news.

"Ugh!" Celeste groaned. "Just when I wanted to forget this moment, I find myself on the news. How wonderful!"

Nick snickered at her remark. "You really hate the fact that I saved you, do you?"

Celeste rolled her eyes. "Stop reminding me about that!"

Nick burst out into laughter as Celeste turned red in rage.

In between their arguement, Dianne stood confuse between the twò of them, confused. This was her first time seeing the two of them together, aside from the times when Nick bullied her in public. Sure, he was bullying her right now. But this was the first time a she'd seem the two of them had been together in a serious circumstance like they were now. This left her with a feeling of suspicion, which she immediately brushed away.

"That's not true!" Celeste said at something Nick had said, making her red in emberrassment.

Dianne scratched the back of her head thinking, How childish are they?

And so they were.

She snickered at their immaturity and, as soon as their arguement died down, she walked towards Celeste's bed and sat beside her.

"You seemed to be alright now, despite the accident," she said, glancing at her shoulder.

Celeste nodded. "Yeah..."

She turned to Nick, suddenly concerned about her health. "What did the doctor say about my condition, by the way?" 

"He said you fractured your scapula, but, fortunately, it was just a minor injury," he said, sitting back in his original seat. "For the bleeding on the other hand, it was caused by a huge cut, which the doctor had stitched earlier when you were still unconscious."

"Stitched?!" Celeste echoed, her eyes bulging out."Unconscious?" Dianne said at the same time, but she said it mostly to herself."Yeah," Nick answered both questions calmly, to show that it was no big deal. He folded his arms to see what Celeste's reaction would be and he could tell that she was starting to panick.He knew she hated the though, especially since it was without her knowing.As he continued to study her, the door suddenly flew open and in came Mrs. Johnson, Celeste's mother, looking terrified at the sight of her daughter in bandages.Without hesitating or even regarding the other two, she drew near her daughter and began inspecting her precious body for any further damages."How are you?" she asked, catching a glimpse of her shoulder. Celeste opened her mouth to explain when Nick interrupted her and began explaining in her stead.Hearing that she only had a mild injury, Mrs. Johnson drew out a sigh of relief. Turning once again to her daughter, she began to scold her."How many times have I told you to be careful, especially when your crossing the road! Now look where your disobedience brought you..."She went on and on, scolding her embarrassed daughter."I get it mom," she said humbly hoping to soothe her mother's rage. "I promise, this will never happen again," she vowed.Thankfully her mother easened up a bit and turned to Nick, who was chuckling at the corner and thanked him for saving her daughter."No problem, Mrs. Johnson," he said, smiling brightly, glancing at Celeste, who shot him a glare of jealousy from the attention he got and, without her mother noticing, stuck her tounge out at him. He just snickered and looked away, which brought her more irritation."Thanks for calling me as soon as you could, Matt," Mrs Johnson was saying. "I told your mom where you were and that I'd be bringing you home with me." Nick nodded. "Thanks, Mrs. Johnson--" He said when, for the third time that day, was interrupted by the sudden burst of the door. They all turned and saw the doctor, the driver, Mr. Murphy, and Mr Johnson altogether having a serious conversation as they entered the room."Fortunately, her injuries aren't fatal..." The Doctor was saying as Mr. Johnson nodded thoughtfully.Mr Murphy, the dentist, had just changed into his dentist clothes and was now wearing gloves. He must've been on duty now, Nick thought at the sight of his attire.Mr Murphy noticed him and smiled warmly before approaching Celeste.Mrs. Johnson smiled at her husband before they turned their attention to the patient. Before long, the adults had a serious conversation with both the doctor and the dentist.After the dentist had apologized to the Johnson's and after the doctor had told them that the child could be discharged today, Mrs. Johnson apologized to the dentist for her daughter's carelessness and thanked the both of them. They had already settled with Mr. Murphy paying half the hospital charges and the Johnson's for the other half. And after that, Mr Murphy and the doctor walked out of the room, joined by Mr Johnson, who had to go to work, leaving Mrs. Johnson in the room with the three children.Less than an hour later, Celeste was discharged as soon as the bills were paid.Mrs. Johnson, along with the children, hopped inside the car. Unfortunately, Celeste was forced to sit beside Matthias, since she was in between him and Dianne. She silently groaned as Mrs. Johnson started the engines."Guess your not coming to school tommorrow?" Dianne asked her, breaking into her thoughts."Well, it doesn't hurt that much anymore..." She began."The doctor said that it was only a minor injury," Mrs. Johnson bugged in. "Of course, as much as your able, you have to go to school."Matthias, who was looking out the window, smirked in satisfaction. Celeste sighed. She had no desire to return to school tommorrow but she knew it was hard to change her mother's mind once she already decided something."Alright," she agreed.

*******

When they arrived home, Celeste immediately took a bath to cool herself and so as to clean her stitched wound. She had lost her appetite hours ago so she decided to retire early to her bed as soon as she got dressed.Lying in bed, she suddenly thought about what Matthias had told her a few hours earlier at the hospital.Less like a lady...More like a Man...

His words echoed endlessly in her head, which severely annoyed her."Ugh," she groaned in disgust.

"So what?" she said out loud.

"It's none of his business if I do act like a boy!"

But even as she said so, she still felt deeply offended about his remark...