(huge sigh of relief
G’morning!)
I didn’t get much done in Drama class that afternoon. I was too busy thinking of Paris, thinking of Angelo… It was a relief when the bell finally rung, signalling that it was time for the final class of the day, even if it meant I’d have to be with Mercutio.
Biology was the one class I didn’t have any friends at all in. I didn’t really mind it, I could go an hour without talking to anyone, but today….. I found myself paired up with Mercutio before long.
(Good morning! Today is insanely busy.)
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat as Juliet sat down next to me in bio. I kept my phone out on my desk, waiting impatiently for the text from Romeo saying he’d gotten into some deadly situation and come out unscathed as per usual. I tried to focus on my notes, but it was almost an impossible task. Every quiet buzz had my eyes flashing over to the screen. I didn’t get any messages until the last twenty minutes of class. Romeo’s contacto photo showed up, a dumb picture we took together when we were twelve.
ROMEO: Sent a photo
I stared blankly at my lock screen before sighing quietly in relief. I kept my phone on my desk, in Juliet’s line of sight. I unlocked my phone, expecting the usual heroic photo. But what I saw next I never would have imagined. Not from whatever stupid adventure he had taken.
My best friend was in a hospital room. I could see the machines behind him. The wires attached to his arm. The color drained out of my face as I eyed the gauze wrapped around his head and the glazed look in his eyes. “Fuck.” I breathed shakily, my gaze shifting to the cast on his left arm that stretched up to his fingers. “Holy fuck.” I didn’t even know how to respond. He didn’t text anything else, and if it weren’t for the stupid lopsided grin his was giving his phone, I would’ve assumed he was being held hostage.
What do I text back to that? Should I leave now? Tear apart hospitals across the city until I found him? The pencil in my hands snapped. I turned to Juliet accusingly. “If you lured him into this, I swear to god.” My hands were physically shaking. I had yet to pick up the phone. I wasn’t even sure if I could.
“What the fuck do you want now?” I snapped at Mercutio, but my voice was weak, trembling. I turned to face him, peered down at his phone—and the blood drained from my face. “That’s—I swear, I had nothing to do with that.”
I was upset—why the hell was I upset? I should be glad to see him in that state, I should be gloating. But I wasn’t, I was doing the exact opposite.
(Ah, good luck with your busy day)
I woke up to my phone ringing, and realized I had temporarily passed out in the pile of pillows. It took me a minute to register what was going on and actually reach over to grab it, fumbling clumsily and dropping it on my lap once or twice. I managed to answer it, smiling as I saw the picture on the screen. “Hey, buddy! What’s up?” I croaked, my voice raspy from sleep. I heard Mercutio sigh on the other end of the line.
“Are you okay? Where are you, Romeo? I need you to tell me.” Mercutio sounded extremely anxious. I smiled softly. This was some classic Mercutio. Always the stressed one out of the two of us.
“No clue. All patched up though, so that’s good. You should come visit. Pillows are soft.” I rambled, leaning back while I talked. “Is Juliet with you?” I added quietly, silently hoping that she was.
“Yeah. We’re in class.” I heard Mercutio’s begrudjng response. Before I could ask a question, Mercutio sighed in exasperation . “I’ll ask if she wants to talk to you.” He muttered, somewhat bitterly.
I listened in on the conversation, focusing on the snatches of Romeo’s voice audible from where I stood. What.. the fuck?? How had any of this happened?? What had he done to bring it upon himself?? And why wasn’t I happy about it?
I would have to be the one to do that to him one day. That was a fact. So I had to be prepared, I had to hone my hate and use it as a weapon.
What is wrong with me?
I looked over at Juliet, half listening to Romeo’s meaningless babbling. “Do you want to talk to him or not?” I held out the phone to her, slightly hoping she would decline. The last thing Romeo needed was for the Capulet to get inside his head while he was like this. “He might not be coherent. Just a warning.” I continued flatly, hoping she would back off.
Romeo wanted to talk to me? On the phone? While I was in the middle of fucking Biology class? I felt oddly torn—dangerously so. I couldn’t afford to be torn over a goddamn Montague. I couldn’t afford to be torn over Romeo. And I couldn’t afford to be heard speaking to him.
So, I mustered a vaguely disgusted expression and shook my head. “He has my number, if he wants to talk to me, he can just text me.” I turned back to my worksheet, shaking my head.
The rest of my conversation went pretty much exactly like this: “What did you think she said? No, Romeo the opposite. Fuck— don’t get upset. You’re fine. I’m on my way. I know, Christ, please leave the nurse alone. Yeah, dude, I know. I’m coming.” I stood up, grabbing my books and ignoring Juliet. “Yeah, can you read the sign in front of you then? What do you mean it’s blurry?” I picked up the pace, rushing out of the classroom with the teacher yelling after me. I knew I shouldn’t have let him do this…
I watched him go, maintaining a blank expression with much more difficulty than should have been possible. What the fuck has gotten into me? My knuckles were white as I gripped my pencil. I shouldn’t be worried about Rome fucking Montague. I should be happy he was hurt.
So why wasn’t I?
I watched Mercutio from where I was lying down, just out of earshot tolisten in on whatever the nurse and him were talking about in low tones. At the moment I was flicking through channels on TV, bored as all hell. My phone sat on my lap, where I’d been hoping Juliet would text me with her number since I woke up.
I skipped last period, unable to face Joe and the others. Instead, I practically ran from the school and to the nearest bus stop, boarding the bus and riding all the way to the farthest edge of town, where I got off and walked twenty minutes to Greg’s Ice Cream Parlor.
Whoever said that Demetre’s sold the best ice cream was spewing bullshit, Greg’s was open year round with the best gelato and ice cream I had ever tasted. I pushed open the front door after sending a quick text to my dad, telling him I was going over to Marina’s to study. I couldn’t handle being at home right now, and I couldn’t handle being around other people, so Greg’s was where I went.
Ten minutes later, I was sitting at a table with a huge bowl of five different ice cream flavours, staring at my phone.
Should I text Romeo? went my traitorous mind, to which I decided definitely not. If he wanted to talk, he would text first.
It took me ten minutes. Ten whole minutes to text Juliet with my nondominent right hand, which shook like a leaf the entire time. I knew she hadn’t heard of my condition yet. Or at least Mercutio hasn’t mentioned her at all since he got here. Everything from earlier was blurry. I groaned at my lame message, but sent it anyways, desperate for something to do.
ROMEO: Sorry I wasn’t in today Jules. I’ll try to be in tomorrow
My phone buzzed just as I was finishing off all the salted caramel scoops. I glanced over hurriedly, and upon seeing who it was from, unlocked my phone and opened my messages app without thinking.
JULIET: Don’t call me that. And do you really think it’s a good idea to come to school in your current condition?
I smiled at my phone screen as it lit up quickly with Juliet’s response. However, her text confused me. I buried myself further in the pile of pillows, texting her back.
ROMEO: How’d you know what my condition is?
JULIET: Mercutio showed me the picture you sent me. Threatened me and some shit.
Greg, the owner of the place and one of the only people who was friendly with her and not an acquaintance of her father, glanced over and winked. “Boy troubles?” He’d noticed the definite change in my demeanour, how I was shaky and skipping school, and was evidently teasing to try and cheer me up.
“No!” I protested, mortified.
I stared at the message, a bit shocked. That meant not only had Juliet been willing to tolerate Mercutio, but that Mercutio had be willing to show her a picture of me.
ROMEO: Please forget you saw that. I’ve been on heavy painkillers all day and I need this to haunt me as little as possible.
JULIET: You owe me an explanation. What the fuck happened to you?
Greg chuckled, shaking his head in an amused fashion. “Of course, it’s never a boy.” This kind, amazing man was the one person I felt I could be soft with. I was more open in demeanour towards him than I was with Marina… of course, she didn’t know that. No one knew. This place was my little, secret safe haven, and I intended to keep it that way.
I grimaced, rereading her message. If Juliet was here I probably woukdbpve spilled everything in an instant. But over text? Where there could be evidence?
ROMEO: Not ready to talk about it yet.
JULIET: Bullshit. Would that have been your answer if I’d accepted your offer to talk to you on the phone in class?
I couldn’t risk being soft towards him, couldn’t risk betraying the fact that I felt a bit sorry for him. I just had to act harsh, fake it ‘till I made it, and scrub myself clean of these stupid emotions.
“Yeah, not with me,” I muttered, suddenly reminded of Paris. Greg chuckled quietly. “What, you haven’t picked up a boy yet?”
Juliet wasn’t even here, yet my cheeks still flushed red with embarrassment. The heart monitor next to me picked up in speed a little bit.
ROMEO: Promise you’ll delete the messages after I send them?
JULIET: Depends on the content. Probably.
My eyebrows drew together as I blinked down at my screen. Why would he want me to delete them? Embarrassment? Shame?
I sighed, smiling weakly at her text. I could practically hear her teasing me.
ROMEO: Need you to promise me. Could get both of us into some serious shit if this gets out.
Greg noticed my perplexed expression and laughed. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”
My phone buzzed, cutting my reply short, and this time, my expression was one of shock. What was going on?
JULIET: What the fuck?? I promise, now explain yourself.
I didn’t hesitate before typing again. I felt safe around Juliet. If anyone understood this, she would.
ROMEO: You brought up the war yesterday. How I didn’t know how it started? And you were saying Rafael lied to me and all that. Well, he went on some business trip thing this morning.
JULIET: Oh my god. Please don’t tell me you looked through his stuff.
I gaped down at my screen, dumbfounded and not bothering to cover up my emotions. That wasn’t possible—had he really tried something that stupid?
My smile turned sheepish even though I knew she couldn’t see me.
ROMEO: You might have been onto something when you said I was born stupid.
JULIET: Oh my god. You idiot. Who did that to you?? What happened after?!
My concern was now leaking into my texts, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. Oh my god..
Despite feeling awful, Juliet’s sudden compassion warmed me up from the inside out. I took a moment to respond, trying to stop myself from blushing.
ROMEO: I did everything I was supposed to! There must be some extra alarm I don’t know about. My mom came in, gave me the disgraced son speech, and cracked me off the head with a roller. The nurse thinks I’m nearsighted now since she hit me so hard. Might need glasses.
JULIET: Explain to me how you got that beaten up with a rolling pin. And next time you want to do something stupid and life-threatening, fucking ask me what happened again first.
I felt like I was about to punch something. I would have chosen Romeo for that task had he not been beaten up and hospitalized already.
