Chapter V

Chapter V – Wednesday April 2^nd 2014

A few days had passed since the accident. Grant and Rita hadn’t left the hospital; they stuck to their word of sleeping there until James was released. He’d had his arm surgery and it was a success. He would have to wear a sling for a couple of weeks then a cast for a few more weeks after that. He lay asleep while Rita was watching Grant who had his eyes firmly fixed on him. He looked up to see Rita watching him, they exchanged a tired smile and Grant threw his eyes back on James. Rita cleared her throat.

‘’Grant’’

‘’Yeah?’’

‘’You’d never lie to me, right?’’

‘’No… why what’s up?’’

‘’Something about all of this… it’s just confusing is all’’

‘’What’s up?’’

‘’Well you told me and everyone else you weren’t in the car, but James told me you were right next to him when he crashed’’ Grant thought to himself, he wasn’t sure how he was going to lie himself out of this one, he had completely forgotten to find a way to tell James to give everyone a bogus story.

‘’Yeah… yeah we were in the car together’’

‘’Why did you lie to everyone?’’ Rita asked.

‘’Cos I didn’t get hurt… I didn’t want people asking questions’’ Grant replied.

‘’Well, genius, that plan’s gone to shit cos I have plenty of questions’’ Rita barked without trying to wake up James.

‘’Rita –‘’

‘’No, how about we start with this. Explain to me how you were in the car together, James gets all  these broken bones and stuff, and you don’t even have a scratch to show for it all’’

‘’I just got lucky I guess‘’ he said in an uneasy tone. Rita looked deeply into his eyes, this was the method she used to squeeze James and Grant for information over the years, he couldn’t maintain eye contact with her, he knew if he kept it up any longer he would end up spilling the beans.

‘’Lucky?’’

‘’Lucky’’

‘’Grant?’’ Rita said through her teeth.

‘’What? I told you I just got lucky?’’ Grant said as he rubbed his chest, he would be lying if he said Rita’s tone didn’t frighten him a little bit.

‘’Bullshit, Grant. I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re lying’’

‘’I’m not lying, Rita. Just drop it. James is gonna make a full recovery that’s all that matters’’

‘’James has broken bones all over his body, his arm snapped clean in half and his brains were like… pouring out the side of his head. You were sitting right next to him, but you got up and dusted yourself off like nothing even happened? It makes no sense at all. I want the truth and I want it now’’

‘’Rita, I –‘’

‘’The truth!’’

Grant cupped hands and buried his face in them for a moment. He then rubbed the back of his neck again and looked Rita deep in her eyes. Rita shrugged then opened her arms in frustration ‘’Well?!’’

‘’Rita, look, I –‘’

‘’Grant, stop wasting my fucking time and tell me the truth!’’

‘’What truth?! There’s nothing to tell, Rita!’’ Grant said trying to be stern, he didn’t want to shout too loud and risk waking James up. He needed his rest.

‘’Why are you lying to me like this?! We’ve been friends for years!’’

‘’You need to let it go, I got lucky, the car only really hit the ground on –‘’

‘’A car crash, Grant. You guys were in a fucking car crash and you barely even have a scratch?’’ Rita said, interrupting Grant.

‘’I don’t know what you want me to say, Rita’’

‘’How about what really happened? You know you can tell me anything’’ Rita said, trying to coerce Grant into revealing what really happened on that road. Grant sighed deeply, he really didn’t know what to do or say at this point.

‘’Just drop it, please? James is gonna be alright and everything will be normal soon enough, isn’t that good enough for you?’’ Grant was starting to get desperate, but Rita wasn’t letting up. Rita glanced down at James to make sure he was still sound asleep, she then looked Grant deep into his eyes, Grant tried to look away slightly but her burning gaze was too hard for him to avoid.

‘’Grant, I’m only gonna ask you one more time’’

‘’Just leave –‘’

‘’Listen, the two people I love the most on this planet were in a car crash today, and they both could have been taken away from me… just like that. When two people that mean that much to me go through something like this, don’t I at least deserve to know what really happened?’’ Rita pleaded, she was a lot calmer now. Grant ran his hand over his face in frustration and sighed deeply. He looked at Rita’s beautiful, clear face for a few moments then spoke.

‘’Alright, Rita let’s go for a walk’’ he said as he stood up slowly, clearly frustrated.  Rita nodded her head, and she too stood up. They walked out of the hospital into the car park and sat under a bus shelter.

Grant couldn’t believe it. As much as he trusted and loved Rita, he never imagined himself telling her his biggest secret. He steadied himself and began to speak. ‘’Look, for as long as I can remember I’ve had… these abilities. Call them powers if you will.’’

‘’Powers?! What –‘’

‘’Rita… let me finish, this is hard enough as it is’’

‘’Sorry. Carry on…’’

‘’Thanks’’ He said as he chuckled lightly ‘’Alright, so for as long as I can remember, I’ve had these abilities… I can move faster, deal with more pain, lift ridiculous amounts. When I first realised I had them I was about six, and when I was like ten Jimmy helped me train myself to control it all so I wouldn’t stand out in school and stuff. After that I sorta… I sorta taught myself to be able to call on them whenever I needed them, in a short burst.’’ Rita was speechless; all she could do was stare at Grant in awe, so he continued speaking. ‘’So it’s because of this that when the crash happened, I was fine. But when I got out of the car James was wedged in on the other side cos the metal had been busted up real bad and it trapped him in. He was covered in his own blood, I thought he was gonna die’’ Rita’s eyes began to widen in shock, still not saying a single word, she continued to listen to her friend speak. ‘’He told me, he said ‘Dude, you gotta rip the car apart, I won’t make it otherwise’ so I did, I tore it apart with my bare hands and saved him.’’ Rita’s tears disappeared, she scoffed and finally spoke.

‘’You expect me to believe that you have powers? Grant no more lies! I wanna know what happened that day and I wanna know now’’ she snapped.

‘’Everything I’ve told you is one hundred percent true, Rita’’

‘’James is lying in hospital… just about alive. Now isn’t the time for jokes. I want the truth’’

‘’I’ve told you the truth’’

‘’No you haven’t, you expect me to believe that you have these… these powers? No way, tell me what really happened.’’

‘’Rita, I literally just – ‘’

‘’Ugh, I can’t do this, whatever, Grant’’ she said as she got up to walk back into the hospital.

‘’Jesus Christ’’, sighed a frustrated Grant. ‘’I figured you wouldn’t believe me. Follow me’’ he said. He spotted an eighteen wheel lorry sitting in a dark corner of the car park. He led Rita over to it ‘’If you’re too stubborn to believe me, I’ll prove it to you’’ Grant said. He placed his right hand under the front of the lorry and effortlessly lifted it upwards. Rita watched in awe as Grant stood with the front part of the eighteen wheel lorry hoisted high above his head. He then let it go, and as he did this, he extended his left hand and caught it perfectly before it hit the ground. He then slowly let it hit the ground, once he was finished he turned back to Rita.  ‘’Well, now do you believe me?’’ he asked. Rita’s eyes and mouth were still wide open.

‘’That was so cool, Grant!’’ She yelled.

‘’Listen, you can’t tell a single soul, this secret stays between the three of us, okay?’’ Grant said frantically, desperate to calm down his excited friend.

‘’Grant, you can trust me’’

‘’No seriously, like you can’t tell anyone at all, don’t even hint at anything’’

‘’Come on, I still haven’t told anyone you slept with a night light until you were fourteen, this stays with us’’ she said cheekily as she grabbed his cheek. ‘’Wow, well I guess that explains why you’ve always been so cut’’ she said as he poked his rock hard stomach playfully.

‘’I guess so… Well that’s it, really. Now you know’’ he replied.

‘’I always knew something was different about you’’ Rita said as if she always subconsciously knew that Grant had powers.

‘’What makes you say that?’’

‘’Well I’ve known you for years, and I’ve never seen you with a scar or a cut, not even a playground knee graze’’

‘’Well yeah, my skin is pretty much impenetrable’’

‘’That also explains why that Adrian kid completely wrecked his hand when he punched you in the face’’

‘’What? When…?’’

‘’Middle school freshman year, remember? He was being all mean to me and James got involved to protect me, Adrian started wailing on him then you stepped in’’

‘’Oh I remember that. Yeah he smacked square on’’

‘’Yeah, you barely even reacted and his hand was completely wrecked… I shoulda figured’’

‘’I would have just denied it anyways to be honest’’

‘’Grant Friday… powers, huh?’’

‘’Well yeah, I guess so’’

‘’This is so cool, you’re basically a superhero?! You can have a suit and everything!’’

‘’Ugh, Rita I knew you’d react like this! Stop okay? No superhero stuff, nothing. I’m just Grant.’’

‘’But –‘’

‘’I said I’m just Grant!’’ he snapped, there was an anger about his tone now. ‘’Look, I’m sorry okay. I didn’t mean to snap. I didn’t ask for this, but I gotta deal with it, I just don’t want any complications, or for anyone I care about to get hurt because of me’’ he added.

‘’I understand, don’t worry, Grant’’ she said as she pushed him affectionately. The two of them returned to the room about ten minutes later, James was awake now; he was struggling to eat a cup of frozen yoghurt that the nurse had left him. It was rested on a tray that was sitting his lap. He was trying to eat the yoghurt with one hand but it kept tipping from side to side. Rita walked over and sat down by the bed.

‘’Let me get that for you, baby’’ she said. She picked up the cup of frozen yoghurt and the spoon and began to feed him one spoonful at a time.

‘’So er, where’d you guys go?’’ he asked.

‘’We just went to get some air, it’s good to see you awake and stuff… how do you feel?’’ Grant answered. James opened his mouth to receive another spoonful from Rita.

‘’I feel better I guess, my arm is gonna be a pain for a while but the doc’ said they’re gonna give me some stuff for it. My leg feels a bit stiff too, they were gonna operate on that  as well but they reckon it’s just a sprain, so it’ll heal in like three weeks, tops’’ James explained, when he finished he looked at Rita and opened his mouth to signal that he wanted more frozen yoghurt.

‘’That’s cool, so when do you get out?’’ Grant asked eagerly.

‘’What day is it today? Wednesday, right?’’  James asked.

‘’Yeah it’s Wednesday’’ Grant replied

‘’Erm, well the doc’ said I’d need at least ten days’ worth of rest, so I’m guessing I’ll be out next Sunday’’

‘’Next Sunday huh?’’

‘’Yeah… look you guys don’t have to stay here, you’re missing so much school because of me… it’s not fair’’ James said.

Rita looked at Grant for support; he shrugged and rubbed his forehead.

‘’What if we went to school, but got a lift here after every day?’’ Rita suggested. James scratched his chin.

‘’Aight, if you insist on that, I’ll cover it. This place is far from school so you’ll need stability’’ James said as he gestured to Rita for his iPad. He used the customized casing to stand it up on the tray the hospital had given him, he then went online to the website of a car hire business.

‘’These guys will be able to pick you up and drop you off every day until I’m outta here. And I’ll cover all of it’’

‘’Dude, you don’t have to pay for it, me and Rita can split it’’ he said.

‘’Nah, least I can do for everything you guys are doing, you can’t argue with a guy in my state, it’s immoral’’ James replied as he laughed lightly.

Grant nodded his head and smiled.

The ten days that James had to spend in the hospital seemed to last a lifetime. James was so used to things going his way, so he was always a bit tentative when put in tough situations. It was different this time, he didn’t complain much. He sat there and let the doctors and nurses do what they had to do. Grant and Rita successfully balanced school and staying at the hospital they were both at a level of intellect that meant it didn’t mean much if they missed a few days of school. They returned having missed the first three days of the week but almost seamlessly fitted back in. Word of the crash had travelled around school fairly quickly, and Grant was on the receiving end of a lot of questions about the accident, many people amazed at the fact that he had left without any injuries, while James had more than enough to deal with. The only thing that had spread faster than that news was that news that James and Rita, the undisputed power couple of Terminal High school had gotten back together. This meant Rita too was on the end of a lot of questions from nosy teenagers and even a few teachers that quite clearly were overstepping their limits.   

It was now Sunday and James had finally been discharged. He sat in his wheelchair, Grant and Rita stood either side of him and they waited for Leonard and Elena to pick them up. They arrived shortly in a rented seven seated people carrier.

 ‘’My baby is finally coming home’’ Elena exclaimed happily as she planted a big kiss on James’ cheek,  he smiled from ear to ear, then he and Leonard engaged in eye contact and shared one of their regular firm handshakes. Grant helped James into one of the back seats while Leonard folded the wheelchair and put it into the boot. Elena elected to sit in the back seat with James and Rita while Grant rode shotgun with his dad. Rita and James exchanged a look and mumbled to each other, Elena immediately sniffed this out and questioned it.

‘’What’s going on?’’

‘’Ask her then?’’ Rita said shyly. James took a deep breath

‘’Alright, Ma look, you obviously have a lot on your plate already, taking care of me will only bring more stress to you, Rita here has spoken to her parents and they’ve said it’s okay for her to sleep at the house and take care of me until I’m fit enough to fend for myself and stuff’ he explained.

‘’Rita can stay for as long as she likes’’

‘’You’re the best’’ James said tenderly as he grabbed her left cheek and kissed her right cheek.

There was minimal traffic on their way back; they arrived at Grant’s house after about twenty five minutes on the road, he got out the car and said his normal goodbyes and walked into the house.

‘’I’ll be home soon, Grant. I have to take these guys home too’’ Leonard called out to him. Grant threw up a thumb as he walked into his house. He didn’t waste time on greetings; he kicked off his shoes and walked down to the basement to empty his rucksacks of the dirty clothes from the last two weeks. He walked all the way back up to his bedroom and fell down onto the bed like he’d been shot. He was exhausted, but above all he was over the moon to finally be back in his own bed. He slept for a while, he didn’t have a dream as such, it was more of just a tranquil state of having peace of mind for the first time in what had felt like an eternity. He felt as if he was happy for once, with every aspect of his life. James and Rita were back together, his powers had started to develop to be even more potent than they previously were, and for once in his seventeen year old life he felt like he could finally carry himself with a little bit of confidence. However he didn’t want to be led into a false sense of comfort, he was a firm believer in the thought that if things were ever too good to be true, then they probably always were. He woke up a few hours later and checked his phone, he saw a text from James inviting him over to the house tomorrow after school, he replied saying he would go, put his phone back down and went back to sleep. He hadn’t slept properly in weeks, at the hospital he had let Rita use the more comfortable furniture as a bed, meaning he was confined to fourteen days of itchy chairs and sleepless nights. He woke up the next morning with an unusual spring in his step, he knew school would be different now with James being in a wheelchair, but he reckoned that between he and Rita dealing with the added burden wouldn’t be a great hassle. He dressed himself and left the house, James’ injuries meant that he couldn’t drive anymore, so he had to take the bus. The journey was something of a memory to him, James had been driving for about a year now and since he started Grant had gotten rides to school. He sat alone on the bus ride; he got off when it arrived at school and walked over to his locker to see James sitting in a wheelchair, being pushed by Rita.

‘’You alright, James?’’ Grant said as he stuck out a fist, James winked back at him and hit the fist with his own.

‘’You cool?’’ he replied. Grant nodded as he smiled at Rita, she smiled back went into her locker and filled her bag with the books that she needed for the day. She turned and began to wheel James towards his class as Grant followed.

‘’So, erm, it works out well because James has at least one of us in each of his classes, so I figured that whenever you guys have a class that I’m not in, you can wheel him around’’ Rita said. Grant nodded once again.

‘’Sounds good enough, should work out fine’’

‘’I knew you’d be on board’’ Rita said as she squeezed one of his cheeks. James scratched the back of his head.

‘’Guys, I’m not a charity case… you know that right?’’ he said with a slight frustration in his tone. Rita leant over the chair from behind and planted a kiss on his cheek.

‘’Babe, we know. We just wanna take care of you, we know it can’t be easy for you to be in this state’’ she said soothingly. James sighed.

‘’You’re right, I guess’’

‘’Of course I am, I’m a girl’’ she said confidently. Rita went off to her Spanish class; Grant put his hands on the chair and wheeled James to their chemistry class. The class was spent with James receiving unwanted attention from his fellow students. The large majority of everything he said was ‘’Yeah, I’m fine’’ or ‘’It was a car crash.’’ He left the classroom seemingly annoyed.

‘’Dude, I don’t even mind this broken arm, I just want my leg to heal so I can come out of this fucking wheelchair’’ he said angrily.

‘’Calm down, Jimmy, your leg will be fine soon’’ Grant replied. James sat in silence, slumped in his chair allowing himself to be wheeled to their bench by Grant, they arrived to see Rita already sitting there, waiting for them. She walked over to James opened arms and planted a kiss on his lips

‘’How was chemistry, babe?’’

‘’It was alright, honey’’ Grant replied jokingly, much to the amusement of he and James. Rita tried to disguise her chuckle by rolling her eyes, she playfully slapped Grant’s arm and asked her question again.

‘’James, how was chemistry?’’

‘’Yeah it was okay I guess, a lot of people asking about the injuries obviously, got real boring after like ten minutes’’ he said dimly.

‘’Aww, baby’’ Rita said as she twirled her fingers through the curls in James’ hair. ‘’You know something, James. You’re easily the hottest guy I’ve ever laid my eyes on, your body is fantastic and you’re captain of the football team. But when we weren’t together the thing I missed the most was your hair I swear to God’’ she said as she playfully grabbed a handful his golden brown locks. James scoffed and rolled his eyes.

‘’Yeah I’m sure that’s what you missed the most’’ he said as he winked at Grant who began to chuckle lightly.

‘’What’s that supposed to mean?!’’ Rita snarled as she eyed the two of them. They both instantly stopped laughing.

‘’Nothing, babe’’ James said quickly, he was secretly frightened of Rita; he would never admit it to her though. Rita grunted and took her phone out, she was texting for a couple of minutes before her phone began to ring, she looked at the phone and her faced was dressed in an expression of frustration and annoyance, she ignored it and put her phone back in her bag.

‘’Who was that?’’ James asked.

‘’What?’’

‘’Who called you?’’

‘’What? No one’’

‘’Cassidy, don’t lie to me’’

‘’James Delgado, are you accusing me of lying?’’ Rita asked light-heartedly, trying to somewhat divert the subject. James sighed deeply

‘’Rita?’’

‘’James, there’s nothing for you to worry about’’

James looked deep into Rita’s eyes and scanned her gorgeous face for any specs of doubt; he showed no signs of believing her, but instead of pursuing it any further he nodded his head then continued his conversation with Grant. The bell went and the trio made their way to their maths class.

The day ended and the three of them waited for the taxi to take them back to James’ house. On their arrival they entered the house to find it empty, his dad had been in on a business trip for the last three months and his mother had started her new job, so they had the house to themselves. They made their very short trip to James bedroom, James lied down and sprawled his body on the bed.

‘’Argh, oh my god man that chair is a prison’’ he said with his eyes closed. He looked to Rita. ‘’Babe help me get this shirt off it’s killing me with this sling’’ he said to her as he gestured to his broken arm. She began to unbutton his shirt; Grant looked at them both uncomfortably.

‘’I er, - I’m guessing that’s my cue to leave for a bit, I’ll be downstairs, guys’’ he said as he left the room. He sat down on the couch in the living room. He turned on the TV but lost interest in what was on within in a matter of minutes. He was happy; he still hadn’t gotten over the joy that came with James and Rita being back together. Rita being around again made him delighted, and even though James’ current physical state made him a bit snappy, but he didn’t mind because he knew in due time his friend would heal and he would have his old life back completely. The only thing he needed now was patience. He returned to James bedroom about half an hour later with a bottle of soda. He sat down one of the gaming chairs; he turned on the Xbox and set it all up for him to play. Halfway through James’ conversation with Rita her cell phone rang again; she glanced down at it and gave it the exact same look that she did when it was ringing in school. James noticed this and instantly questioned her.

‘’Rita, who keeps calling you?’’ Rita waited for the phone to stop ringing then put it face down on her lap. It was clear to Rita and Grant that James was serious, he seldom addressed Rita by her first name.

‘’Babe, I already told you it’s no one’’ she replied. Before James even had the chance to speak, the phone rang once again and this time without even asking, he swiped the phone from her fingers to see who this mystery caller was.

‘’Thomas?! The guy who keeps calling you is Thomas?!’’ he roared, the whole room seemed to vibrate whenever James spoke at a volume of this height.  Rita opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. ‘’Well are you gonna explain yourself?’’ James asked aggressively, he winced in pain slightly as he did this, his arm was bothering him.

‘’James, please. Calm down, your arm’’

‘’Fuck that, I’m fine. What the fuck’s going on with you and Thomas?!’’

‘’I didn’t exactly break it off with him completely. I was with him when Grant texted me about the accident. I told him I wanted nothing to do with him anymore and left to see you at the hospital.’’

‘’That’s fantastic’’ Grant muttered under his breath as he sighed.

‘’Grant, shut up’’ James snapped. He then turned his attentions to Rita. ‘’So this asshole has been calling you ever since? Have you even tried to do anything about it?’’

‘’Not exactly, it’s been real hard with you at the hospital and –‘’

‘’Don’t even try to use that as an excuse! If you wanted this sorted then it would have been sorted ages ago.’’

‘’Baby, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for it to get this bad, I figured he would just give up if I ignored him for a couple days’’ Rita pleaded. This only made James chuckle sarcastically.

‘’Obviously not’’ he said as he slapped his forehead mockingly.

‘’Please, I know you’re angry but I’m yours, and only yours’’

‘’That’s not the point, I know that. The fact this you could have had this sorted so long ago, we’ve been back together for like two weeks now’’

‘’James. James listen to me –‘

‘’I don’t wanna hear it, stop talking. You’re meeting him this evening and ending it for good.’’

‘’Today?’’

‘’Is that a problem?’’

‘’No, no not at all’’

‘’Text him, tell him to come to the diner on Royston’’

‘’Alright, I’ll do that’’

‘’We’ll come with you’’

‘’You and Grant? Really?’’

‘’Me and Grant’’

‘’Do you really think that’s wise, James? You’re in a wheelchair you need to rest’’

‘’You’ve proved that you’re incapable of handling this on your own, so to be honest I don’t think I have much of a choice.’’

‘’But, James –‘’ Rita began her sentence just as James caught her with a strong glare. She knew straight away she had been given her cue to stop speaking. Rita knew she was in the wrong. In their relationship it was known that the two of them had a mutual respect for each other that meant that there wasn’t any dominance, but whenever James was in a mood like the one he was currently in, Rita knew that arguing back would not be wise. So she didn’t, all she did was nod her head and stroke James’ face.

‘’I’m sorry about all of this, James’’ she said sincerely. James moved her hand quickly.

‘’Text him right now and tell him to meet you at the diner on Royston’’ He said bitterly.

‘’James?’’

‘’Rita, don’t piss me off more than you already have’’

‘’Baby, I –‘’

‘’Text him. Now’’

Rita’s eyes watered slightly, she casted her eyes down on her phone and began to text quickly, a few minutes of silenced passed, she wiped away a tear and sniffed.

‘’So it turns out he can’t meet me until the twenty eighth because he’s going away with his Dad on a business trip for a little while.’’ Rita said as she looked at her phone screen. James slammed his bedside table; the whole room seemed to shake when he did this.

‘’Stupid rich kid’’ he grunted. Grant looked over at an angered James. He switched off the Xbox, stood up and sat down his bed.

‘’James, stay cool. Look on the bright side, at least this way you’ll be out of your wheelchair when we go to see him’’ he said calmly.

‘’Why don’t I just break it off with him over text?’’ Rita suggested.

‘’No. I wanna see this guy’s face when you end it with him the right way. He won’t stop otherwise’’ James replied firmly. He then looked over and nodded at Grant, who had a full expectation of what was about to happen.

Two weeks had passed since Grant and James learnt about Rita’s situation with Thomas. Since then James’ leg had recovered, he’d gone back to the hospital to return his wheelchair. He had further treatment and had a lightweight leg brace fitted to finish off his recovery. The doctors told him that his leg would be good enough to walk on and drive with normally within a week. He took the fact that he was out of a wheelchair as a reason not to waste any more time in getting his fitness back up to its usual abnormal level, weeks of inactivity due to the hospital and then the wheelchair made James feel weird. He was back on his feet now and even though his arm was still in a sling, he still felt as if he was at a capacity to be somewhat active. It was after school on the Monday that Rita was due to end things with Thomas. James lay on his bedroom floor doing sit ups while Grant scribbled away at homework and Rita tapped away at her phone. The three friends seemed to have grown even closer following the accident, particularly James and Grant; how many guys could say they ripped a car apart with their bare hands to save their best friend’s life? James and Rita appeared to have a new found appreciation for each other after their short break up. Life seemed regular for the three of them, and the three of them loved it. James got up, wiped the sweat off his sculpted body then sat down on a chair next to Grant.

‘’So, I was thinking, right?’’ he said while panting, seemingly tired from his workout. Grant put his pen down and Rita looked up slightly from her phone.

‘’And?’’ Grant asked.

‘’I was thinking, maybe me and you get ourselves out there and look for a pair of jobs’’ James responded as he stood up. He fished out a white vest from his closet and sat back down, this time next to Rita.

‘’Cassidy’s sorted because her parents’ got her in line for these high paid modelling jobs, but me and you? We gotta do something for money now, man. We’re seventeen, we can’t sponge off our parents for much longer’’ he finished. Grant picked his pen up, jotted down the answer to the last question on the sheet and then responded.

‘’Come to think of it, there’s this courier company based on 6^th Street that’s hiring, they need a pair of guys to work together on jobs because there’s a lotta heavy duty carrying involved, I think we’d be perfect for it’’

‘’Slow down, what would we be delivering?’

‘’Pipes, tools, that sorta thing. It’s a plumbing business’’

‘’That’s perfect for us? You can handle the carrying for now’’ he said, gesturing to his injured left arm’’

‘’Dude, you’re not in any shape to drive yet, and I haven’t got my licence. Half of the job is driving and carrying… you’re barely up for any of that’’

‘’I’ll be able to drive properly in a week. By the time we apply and everything my leg would’ve finished healing. When that all happens, I’ll handle the driving and you’ll move everything’’

‘’That’s fine, we’ll do the application tomorrow?’’ Grant said finally as James nodded in response. James went for a shower while Grant and Rita sat in his room; Grant turned on the Xbox and shot away at zombies while Rita carried on tapping at her phone. She put it down on the bed and addressed Grant.

‘’Grant, do me a favour?’’ she said.

‘’What is it?’’ he replied.

‘’James tends to get really violent when other guys agitate him, and we’re going to meet Thomas soon, so can you just –‘’

‘’You want me to make sure James doesn’t hurt Thomas, right?’’

‘’Look I don’t want this situation to get messier than it already is, you guys can come and I’ll end it completely but I’m gonna need you to keep James calm – can you do that for me?’’

‘’Rita, look I –‘’

‘’Grant! Listen to me, James is the toughest guy I’ve ever met, even with one arm he’ll still be able to smash Thomas, and I don’t want that to happen, there’s no need for it!’’

‘’Alright, alright. Look I’ll deal with it, okay?’’

‘’Promise me, Grant?’’

‘’I – I…’’

‘’Grant?!’’

‘’Alright, I promise’’

‘’Thank you’’ Rita said uneasily.

Shortly after this, James came out of the shower and got himself dressed. James left his sling on the bed and headed for the door.

‘’Jimmy?’’ Grant called.

‘’What? Let’s go’’ he replied.

‘’Your sling?’’

‘’Nah, bro. Don’t need it’’

‘’Are you sure about that?’’

‘’Hundred percent, my cast is strong enough. Let’s go’’

Grant and Rita both exchanged a look of doubt as James made his way out of his room, neither one of them said anything though, instead they followed him out his room.

 The three of them made their way downstairs and walked up James’s street until they reached the bus stop.

‘’Guess we gotta take the bus, right?’’ Grant said.

‘’Yup, no car’’ James responded as they arrived at the bus stop.

‘’Hey, boys, it’s this one here’’ Rita said as he gestured towards a blue and grey bus that was approaching them. They all got on and sat down, the bus journey consisted of limited conversation, the three of them for the first time in years felt awkward, the situation at hand was a weird one and it had to be handled properly. The bus reached their destination after near enough twenty minutes. As they got off the bus, Rita grabbed James’ hand.

‘’James, no violence, okay?

‘’Yeah, alright’’

‘’James, I’m being serious, no violence, let me just handle it’’

‘’I get it, I’ll let you handle it’’

Rita kissed him affectionately on the lips then held his hand as they made their way. They were now in Drayton, the higher class sector of their area. They walked up to a car park near the bus station to see Thomas standing there, leaning against a white Grand Cherokee Jeep, keys in his hand. He didn’t even notice that Grant and James were approaching; he saw Rita and immediately a bright smile beamed across his face and he opened his arms to greet her with a hug. She held him off, and that’s when he noticed Grant and James behind her. He took a step back and fear slapped his face like a wet fish.

‘’Hey… be easy now, fellas’’ he said as he continued to move back slowly with his hands up in front of him. ‘’I just wanna talk to Rita’’ he said as he tucked the keys into his pocket, the bravado he’d shown several weeks ago at the diner was as good as gone.

‘’They’re not gonna lay a finger on you okay, stop quivering, it’s pathetic’’ Rita barked.

Thomas stood up straight and cleared his throat.

‘’Rita, what is all of this?’’

‘’We’re over, Thomas, don’t make this harder than it has to be’’ Rita replied, she looked behind her, and peered deep into James’ eyes for a moment. ‘’I’m in love with James. Always have been and always will be. There’s nothing between you and I, simple as that.’’ She finished. Thomas became frantic, he rubbed his face and hair aggressively until his dark fedora hat fell to the ground. He shuffled around then reached into his pocket and took out the keys to the white Jeep.

‘’These, these keys, they’re for you, I went out and spent damn near sixty grand on this car, for you!’’ he said in a piercing tone. Rita didn’t reply, she stared deep into his face and scanned it. ‘’I’ve paid the freakin’ insurance six years in advance!’’ he added as he dropped to his knees. He held the silver car keys up towards Rita like it was a priceless diamond ring. She snatched it from his hand and tossed it behind her to James who caught it. He jingled it around then looked up at Rita, before he had a chance to speak she broke in.

‘’I’ll accept your gift, but I have no use for it.’’ She turned around once more ‘’Babe, how’s your leg? Can you drive us home?’’ she asked.

James limped lightly towards the majestic car and opened it.

‘’Yeah, I got it, we’ll have to go at about twenty though my leg isn’t at a hundred percent yet’’ he said as he and Grant slid onto the plush cream colored leather seats. Rita looked down once more at Thomas who was now sitting on the hard gravel, head in his hands.

‘’Goodbye, Thomas. Don’t call or text me anymore’’ she said sternly as she walked towards the brand new white car. As she made her way, Thomas got up onto his feet and chased after her. ‘’Get back here right now’’ he shouted he grabbed her arm forcefully. ‘’I’m Thomas Butler, how dare you disrespect me like this?!’’ he said in a seething tone as he squeezed Rita’s arm, his eyes sticking out of his skull sadistically. Rita tried to wriggle free but she couldn’t.

‘’Thomas, get off you’re hurting me!’’ she pleaded. Before Thomas could even say anything, the driver’s door of the Jeep flung open, like his leg wasn’t even injured James shot over and smashed a firm fist against Thomas face, there was a soft popping noise and Thomas’ nose oozed thick red fluid as he fell backwards.

‘’Cassidy, get in the car’’ James said as he rolled up his sleeves. Thomas struggled to his feet; Rita grabbed James shoulder with one hand then put her hand on his face with the other

‘’James, leave it! What did I say to you about no violence?!’’ She exclaimed. James tensed up his face, looked from Rita to Thomas, then back to Rita and finally gave in.

‘’Ugh, alright, fine. Get in the car, we’re leaving.’’ James and Rita got in the car and he drove off.

After a few minutes of driving Rita regained her bearings and started on her rant.

‘’I knew it, I just knew it! James Delgado can’t go a single day without pulling out his fists!’’ Rita shouted angrily.

‘’Was I supposed to just sit there while he put his scummy hands all over you?’’

‘’Of course not, but there’s other ways to do things, James! I told you, no violence, no violence, no violence! But what happened? You come around and nearly break his nose! What is wrong with you, have you got a mental condition? Are you addicted to violence?’’ She was really angry, angrier than she had been in a very long time. The car hobbled slowly along the road, James still couldn’t push down on the pedal that hard because his leg hadn’t fully recovered.

‘’Rita, look I swear to you I’m so –‘’

‘’No! Don’t you dare tell me you’re even remotely sorry. You completely ignored what I asked of you, and now I’m just totally pissed!’’

‘’I, Rita I –‘’

‘’Just take me home, James’’ she said softly, she had lost the will to continue scolding him, now all she wanted was some distance. James nodded his head and sighed as he took a left on Bryson Lane to go towards Rita’s house. The car journey was silent; Grant hadn’t said a word all day. He was upset, the whole situation had happened so fast. He wanted to protect Thomas from James, but considering how quickly James reacted, the only way to stop him would have been to use his powers, and did he really want to do that in front of Thomas?

‘’Rita, if you’re gonna be mad at anyone, it’s gotta be me. I promised you I would make sure James didn’t hurt Thomas, and I broke that promise. So I’m the one to blame, okay?’’ Grant said finally. Rita stayed silent, looking out the window. About five minutes later she spoke.

‘’James, take Grant home first, I want to talk to you privately at my house’’ she said. James glanced over at Grant who nodded in approval of Rita’s request. James turned the car around and made his way towards Grant’s house now. On arrival he simply nodded at both James and Rita before exiting the car. He was making his way to his front door and his phone started to ring, before taking it out he pondered for a second, he had just left James and Rita, and he’d texted while in the car and told him to tell his parents that he was nearly home. That was everyone covered, so who could possibly be calling him? He took his phone out of his pocket and saw that it was an unsaved number calling him, he answered it cautiously.

‘’Hello’’ he said

‘’Hello? Is this Grant? It’s Layla from the Hospital’’ a gentle voice replied.

‘’Erm, hey’’ he said shyly, he thought back to the beauty that captured him back the hospital. He opened his front door and made a beeline for his bedroom.

‘’So, I’m gonna assume that you know about me and James’’

‘’I do’’

‘’I figured. So, erm how is he? I heard about the car crash... bad news travels I guess’’

‘’Yeah, I guess it does’’

‘’I wanted to call him, but as you know he wants nothing to do with me. He’s in love with Rita and I respect that. I just wanted to make sure he’s okay’’

‘’Jeez, you’re almost too nice’’

‘’I have my moments’’ she said as she chuckled lightly. The conversation changed course and they ended up speaking for hours. For the first time Grant had felt comfortable with someone else other than James or Rita. 

‘’So I was wondering, would you maybe wanna go out? Like to eat or something?’’ Grant asked.

‘’Erm, I dunno, I –‘’

‘’Shit, never mind, that was a stupid suggestion, I’m sorry’’

‘’Grant, shut up. I would love to go out with you. It might just be a bit weird because I went on a date with your bestfriend’’

‘’I honestly don’t think James will mind... but, erm if you don’t think it’s a good idea, that’s okay’’

‘’Aww, Grant you’re so sweet. I wish you were the one who approached me at the hospital. Of course I’ll go on a date with you’’

‘’That’s real nice of you’’ he said while smiling

‘’I mean it, I really do’’

‘’Thank you, Layla. So this, this date, should we say tomorrow? Six o’clock outside the town centre, I’ll plan something.’’

‘’That sounds great, Grant. I’ll be there’’

‘’Perfect. Anyways I’m pretty tired Layla, do you mind if I crash?’’

‘’Yeah, go ahead’’

‘’I’ll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Layla’’

‘’Goodnight, Grant, sleep tight’’