The Girl That Didn't Explode (Bliss Book 1), page 15
"What the hell is wrong with you?!?!" Noah pushed Christian off of him, tossing him away as though he were a piece of trash.
"I'm so sorry Pure." Christian said, hovering over me as I held tightly to my stomach.
"You asshole!" Noah’s voice was low as he pushed Christian out of the house and shutting the door.
"Pure, you idiot! Look at me,” Noah’s hands lightly slapped my cheeks,
“You're going to be okay." He said, then muttered, “who the hell does she think she is? A wall?!” But I’d heard him and the next thing I saw was an array of red flooding my face and vision.
Chapter 31: The Nurse
"What, what happened?" I opened my eyes, my brain aching, pounding against my skull. The room was dark, and I couldn’t recall ever leaving my home. I tilted my head forward, a red light kept annoyingly beeping.
Was I under some sort of drug?
"Ah, Miss Bliss, you're awake." A strange man's voice said in a high chirp, I opened my eyes wider as I realized he was wearing a white coat, this man could easily be identified as a doctor.
"Yeah, what happened?" I said, barely above a whisper, my dry mouth struggling to open.
"You got hit pretty hard young lady, I suggest you don't work those abdominal muscles for a couple days." A kind smile was on his face as he approached my hospital bed.
"What happened." I stated, trying to sit up.
"You're vitals are all in check, you should be able to leave by tomorrow afternoon." He said, ignoring my question, his voice as cool as a breeze.
"What happened?" I demanded again, raising my voice, feeling a sharp pain in my gut as I tried to sit up.
"You mustn't do that Miss Bliss. Let’s see here, this is your second time here in under a month- perhaps you might want to quit fighting? Do you wrestle?" He asked calmly as he wrote something down on a clipboard.
“What? N..no?” He wrote something down on his clipboard and walked out of the room. I sat silently in the dark wondering what had happened, why the hell was I in a hospital?
"Hello," a blonde girl dressed in blue scrubs walked in and put some gloves on, "Sorry about Doctor Barnacle, he's very busy, I'm Eleanor, I'll help you." My eyes widened as I recognized the same girl who was destroying my life out of pure jealousy. Patricia had said Eleanor was nice, but I hadn't realized she helped out at the hospital. The same girl that tortured and fought me was now smiling at me as she placed some gloves on.
"Eleanor?" I asked in shock as she finally made eye contact with me.
"Pure? Pure Bliss? What're you doing here?" She asked, a sort of change in her rude attitude made her seem like she actually cared. She finished putting her gloves on and approached me.
"I don't know, can you tell me?" I whispered, my voice hoarse and scratchy.
"Of course, here let me get you some water first, I'm so sorry that happened to you and I'm so sorry I was so mean to you. Christian is such an asshole. He wasn’t even worth fighting over." She sighed, walking around the dark room and turning on a faucet. She came back moments later with a cup of water in her hand.
"What?" I asked curiously. The memory hit me, as hard as it was painful, I wished I could forget. The stinging pain of his fist on me, the blood streaming out of my nose, Noah's green eyes staring at me as he told me I'd be okay and then insulted me seconds later.
"Pure, don't worry about anything right now, just wait until you get better." She smiled at me, "Is there anything I can get you?"
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I voiced my thoughts. She merely just laughed a kind laugh and and said she'd get me a meal. She came back seconds later with a hamburger and fries. She sat beside me and set the tray on the bed.
"I didn't think you'd like the hospital food so I went down and bought you a hamburger." She grinned widely, "You better share," She laughed. I eyed my food wisely, maybe she'd poisoned it and any second now I'd be dead and she could just blame the hospital. It was mischievous how she was being so nice.
"Thank you." I coarsely said, taking a small bite out of the hamburger as a huge headache hammered in my skull.
"Well lucky for you that blonde guy brought you here, he was pretty cute, what was his name? Noah?" Eleanor's eyes sparkled as I gave a smile and rested back on the pillow, “I'll leave now, get your rest, I believe they're going to release you tomorrow since the anesthetics are causing headaches for you. Get well soon, and I think that your stomach will be fine." She finished getting up to leave.
"Wait, what happened to my stomach?" I pondered and tilted my head to look at her.
"I'll tell you another time, as to allow you to sleep." She gave me a soft smile and picked up the good tray.
"Eleanor, please tell me." I explained weakly, hoping and waiting for a response.
"Uh, the. . ." She paused for a second, an unsure look crossed her eyes then she looked back at me, " How much do you remember?"
"Enough." I muttered, I was being difficult, that much was understandable.
"Apparently, from what I heard, some guy named Noah was at your house and he was leaving in the morning when Christian was about to knock on your door and he got way jealous, girl you are so lucky, I wish guys would fight over me like that," She inserted the last sentence, a sad smile on her face, "Well apparently, Christian saw you holding hands with the Noah guy and he started a fight with him and you tried to stop it, but ended up getting punched in the gut by the asshole.
When the blonde guy dropped you off you had blood running down your nose and ears, I guess he must've hit you pretty hard to affect your facial nerves that much, " She said. I wondered how people had found out so quickly and how they’d gotten the details down to a T. I groaned, knowing that the whole school probably already knew.
A look of disbelief filled my expression and then a huge ache in my stomach told me that I had a new bruise. Everything was out of control and.
"Well, the hospital doesn't know that story, the blonde guy told them you were in a wrestling match, it's kind of conceivable,you don’t look too weak, but also pretty dumb. Anyway, Christian isn't going to jail for assaulting you because… well my parents had a hand in that and so did Noah, I wish he’d have told the truth. Chris is such a jerk, I don't know why I didn't see it before.
You and I could've been friends a long time ago. Anyway, I have to get to other patients, get well soon!" Eleanor gave me a warm smile and stepped out of the room, "If you need anything, press that gray button beside your food tray, I'll come!" She grinned and stepped out.
I was dazed, wondering if I was in some alternate universe where Eleanor could actually be decent to talk to. Maybe I was in a coma and this was all just a dream. My mind wandered back to the fact that Patricia was right all along, all Eleanor's bullying was all but a ruse, she's not the bad guy, Christian is.
As I lay in the dark room thinking, I realized I really, really wanted to get my revenge.
Chapter 32: Sunday
A loud honk awakened me from my slumber, I looked out my room window to see a black unrecognizable car underneath.
"Hey Pure! It's Sunday, so my family wanted me to ask you if you wanted to go to church with us?" Brad shouted as I stared out my window and onto the driveway below, the whole town could practically hear him. He was standing with his hair perfectly placed and his tuxedo perfectly ironed.
"I've never been," I shouted back, recalling the time when I went to Christian's funeral. Christian. His name made my heart turn to stone, but I still couldn't help the pathetic little flutters that came up.
"It's good to try new things!" Brad exclaimed and walked out of sight to my front door and knocked. I hopped out of bed, a slight pain in my stomach reminded me of yesterday at the hospital. They allowed me to leave before the sun came up this morning because a new patient who needed more help than I did had appeared and they had no more room.
It was a fifty-eight year old man who had a heart attack and they couldn't find space for him so they told me I could leave. As I'd been walking out of my room, I saw the strong old man clutching his chest, his wrinkled eyes in tears and his white hair shaken. I wanted to cry for him but everything seemed as though it were a blur.
Come to think about it, I wanted to go check on that old man today, hopefully he would be doing better. Hopefully he would survive.
"Yes, what do u want?" My grumpy father was standing at the door, wearing nothing but his underwear. I frantically looked around the living room, avoiding coming closer to the door. Mom was sitting on the couch, her head peaked up to see and as far as I could see, she was wearing a robe.
"I was going to take Pure to church." Brad gave him a confident smile. I crept along the stairs, hoping to be unnoticed.
"How long is that gonna take?" My dad asked completely annoyed at being disrupted.
"Just a few hours, I'll have her home at noon." Brad gave him a warm smile and stood his ground.
"Well, noon sounds great young man, have fun with our little bitch, and take as much time as you need, her mom and I are gonna be busy." He snorted, turning toward mom and winking.
"Yes sir, thank you, let her know I'll be waiting in my car." Brad said as my dad shut the door.
"Daughter! There's a guy waiting outside for you, hurry up and get your ass out of here." My dad shouted as I started hearing kissing and smooching sounds coming from the living room. I ran into my room and looked through my closet. What do people even wear to church? Well Brad was wearing a tux and so I guess I'll just wear a dress. What if it's too short? I stared at my closet for a couple seconds more, maybe a long dress would be appropriate.
I picked out a long mermaid dress with pink flowers and wore white sandals. I guess this would do, of course I don't know until I get there. I hate trying new things.
"JACOB!" I heard from down stairs as disgust washed over me. I have to get out of here, fast. I scurried down the stairs and stepped into the fresh earthy air.
The world was so green around me, it was glistening with small water droplets, shimmering as the sunlight hit. I walked past the small flower pot we'd put outside and never bothered to water. It was sad seeing the dead flowers but we were all always far too busy.
I jogged- more like hobbled- in my shoes until I spotted Brad inside his black car. His tan skin radiated off the windshield as he tilted his chin up and spotted me. A wide grin appeared on his face as he stepped out of the car.
"Hey handsome." He teased, referring to me as though I were a guy.
"Hey beautiful." I countered, giggling as he held out his arms and hugged me.
"So you're coming with us right?" He grinned widely as he went to the passenger side and unlocked my door for me.
"Yeah, is what I'm wearing the norm for church, I mean do people dress like this? What's it like? How do you. . ." I began but was cut off as he started the engine, a wild smirk on his face and backed out of my drive way. "Brad. Brad. Brad. Brad." I annoyingly repeated his name to get his attention. I promise, he's like the brother I never had.
"What?" He muttered, turning the radio.
"OH MY GOD!! I LOVE THIS SONG!" I announced, singing along. Moments later, an annoyed Brad joined me in singing and we had a full on party in his car until we arrived at the church. Nerves began eating me up. It felt like the first day of school all over again, what would they think of me? How do I do things? When do I stand up? Where do I sit?
Most importantly, would Christian be there? I scoffed, I know it’s not my place to judge, but Christian wouldn’t deserve to go to church, I would kick him out if I owned the place. These questions wandered my mind as Brad parked the car and stepped out to my side. He unlocked the door and helped me out.
"I wanna go home." I whined, suddenly feeling homesick as I stared at the large building. Would it be crowded inside or empty? Are we early or late?
"Come on Pure, you don't know if you'll like it unless you try it." Brad encouraged.
"You also don't know if you'll hate it."
"Touché." Brad grinned as he walked beside me, his shoulder sliding past mine. We walked up a large spiral staircase until we entered the building. The shiny waxed floors illuminated the room full of candles and pictures. It was so beautiful and cozy. It felt like a home away from home, a protected place where nothing could harm you, where you were invisible.
I smiled admiringly at my reflection in the floors and the beautiful scenery. It was calming. We entered through the main door to find ourselves standing on soft red carpet.
Hundreds of people were sitting as a man stood in the front of the room preaching. The first thing I noticed was the segregation of how women were on one side and men on the other.
It was odd but that's okay. I kept an open mind, new things are good.
I left Brad to go find a seat, the first few back rows were full so I sat a couple seats up. An old bearded man that was preaching smiled in my direction kindly as he continued his speech.
"How do we know the sky can spin? The world is moving, who created this wonder full place?" He preached. I smiled in astonishment as I heard him freely proclaim his faith, I've never heard something of that sort before, it was refreshing.
I smiled silently, all of my attention focused forward, a fullness filled my heart as a smile wouldn't leave my face. It was odd how I agreed with everything he was saying. I really liked this.
♡♡♡
After church, Brad came up to me with his little brother and his parents.
"What did you think?" Brad's dad asked.
"I wish I came here sooner." I said truthfully. I looked over and saw sharp eyes staring at me. I knew who it was, what do I do? My heart rate pumped faster and faster and wouldn't slow down in my chest.
Christian was staring at me from a far off distance. The same way he used to look at me before. It's true we did take things a bit too fast. But I couldn't help it. I was staring at him intently.
And then he began walking towards me.
Chapter 33: Bad Blood
I glared at the people around me. They all had perfect hair, perfect teeth, perfect friends. Everyone seemed to have a perfect life.
Everyone but me.
I trotted through the doors of Lelo Middle school, in constant fear of how today would go. My parents had sex again this morning so as disgusted as I was, I hopped onto the bus and sat quietly in the back.
"Hey new girl!" A tall blonde boy said as he said beside me. Seventh grade seems like such a scary year so far. What to say? What to do?
"Hi." I mumbled, shielding my face from his view. From a very young age, I was informed on what a male and a female can do behind closed doors, it wasn’t something I was proud of and it wasn’t something I could erase. I remained silent, shy, and quietly awaiting a friend.
"You look kind of upset, do you want to talk about it?" He smiled slyly and say beside me.
"No." I said, turning my body toward the window.
"Okay, but if you want someone to talk to, I'll be here." His green eyes danced as I finally got a good look at him. He was rather cute. "What's your name by the way?" He asked, just as he was about to get up.
"I'm Pure." I said, a small smile played on my lips.
"Your name is very. . .unique." He paused, smiling at last, "I'm Josh, and if anyone bothers you, you can come to me." He smiled widely as he began walking to a group of guys that went ballistic.
I smiled at the odd boy and looked back at the window.
The bus stopped in front of a tall building with a giant red sign saying LELO MIDDLE SCHOOL, I will never forget the day I walked through those doors. The friendly smiles, the kind faces.
I grinned at everyone who was looking at me until I saw a group of girls snickering as they kept looking at me. ‘They're rude,’ I remember thinking as I kept walking down the never-ending hallway.
The bell rang and I rushed to my class. Mrs. Green was my teacher and from what I've heard, she's not the nicest.
"Good morning. I'm Mrs. Green." She grinned widely.
"Hi. I'm Pure." I smiled at the young teacher wearing a pretty blue dress.
"Oh well nice to meet you Pure, I remember looking at your name on my role sheet, it's a very pretty name, but I suggest you get that jacket you're wearing off because it looks like someone drew on it." She smiled kindly as she pointed me to the bathroom.
I glared at the image of the small blue eyed girl on the mirror. The picture of something very nasty drawn on her jacket. And all I could think about was one thing. Josh.
I never let myself trust anyone that easily again, in short, it was the start of my nightmare and the scars had been jaded for a while until they couldn’t be contained.
♡♡♡
"Pure, come on please, just let me explain." Christian said as he approached me. I began walking away slowly, my eyes searching for Brad.
"I don't want your explanation. What's done is done, Christian, I've already forgiven you and I just want you to leave me alone. Please, this isn't the first time something like this has happened." I said, recalling my many other trust issues.
"Pure, come on, just let me ask you one thing." He suddenly got serious his begging and whining completely stopped. I feared what he was going to say next so I kept my mouth shut and waited for a question. "What was Noah doing at your house?"
Seriously?!? I wanted to shout, of all the questions he could have asked, he chose this. His jealousy was uncalled for and his curiosity was irrelevant. I really wanted him to stop.
"I don't know what you mean." I stated vaguely, backing up another step, where the hell is Brad? Why is Christian even at church?
"Pure. Just tell me you hate me and like him instead and I'll leave you alone."
"I don't have to tell you anything, you should've got the hint long ago that I don't want you near me." I said, my internal emotions creeping through my mouth.
"Pure, it's a simple question. Do you like the blonde asshole or not."
