Playing His Games

10.

*Ryleigh*
I groaned as I felt a sharp pain in my chest and a heavy a head. I blinked open my eyes to see a mop of hair leaning over on my bed. I felt an unconscious smile form on my face as I realized who it was.

"Birthday that bad, huh?" I croaked, my voice hoarse. His head shot up and spun towards me.

His eyes had bags sunk in around them, like he hadn't slept in days. His skin was pale, lacking any color. His clothes were wrinkled, like he'd slept in them maybe a couple times.

"Ryleigh?" He whispered, almost like he didn't believe it was me. I looked around at the room, gathering that I was in a hospital.

"Yeah, what happened?" I asked, turning towards him. He looked down at his hands, like he was in trouble.

"Um, you fell and hit your head." He explained and I nodded, listening. I knew there was more. There had to be. Why did I fell just out of the blue?

"Why? What happened? Am I sick?" I asked and his eyes immediately flashed to mine, looking sad and broken.

"Um, they don't really know. At first they thought it was heart attack, but then they said it wasn't. You were too young. They didn't know what it was. They've never seen anything like it." He explained and I nodded, though I didn't really understand.

"Where's Grace?" I asked and he nodded.

"I'll go get her for you." He said, heading into the hall. Grace walked in soon, her eyes wide in surprise and excitement as she practically ran over.

Her arms wrapped around me and I groaned. She pulled quickly away with a frown.

"Sorry, are you okay?" She asked and I nodded, wincing a bit as I situated myself in the bed.

"Yeah, I'm okay." I nodded and she sighed, sitting down next to me. She shook her head with a laugh. "What?"

"Nothing, I just. You have a lot of people who've been waiting to see you. A couple have been here the whole time. One I'm not particularly too fond of." She narrowed her eyes at me and I scrunched my eyebrows up in confusion.

"Who?" I asked, needing to know.

"Remington." She said and my eyes widened immediately. He was here? He's been here the whole time? What was he doing here? Why was he here? I told him to stay away, to leave me alone. But why did part of me want to see him.

"Remington... Mendoza?" I asked, and she nodded, giving me a look of confusion. I looked down at my hands and realized I was fidgeting with them.

"Care to explain?" She asked and I looked up at her, not sure what to say. I didn't even know how to explain it.

"Grace, how do you know when you like someone?" I whispered and her eyes went wide. She looked confused for a second before giving a small smile.

"It's different with someone you like. You get nervous that you're gonna say the wrong thing. You get scared that you're going to get hurt." She went on and I nodded, listening carefully. "Why? Do you think you like him?" She asked and I had to think about it. My mind wondered to him a lot. Sometimes he was even in my dreams. I sometime felt things I couldn't explain. I was immediately drawn to him, despite my past. I don't know what I felt for him, but it definitely scared me.

"I-I don't know." I whispered, looking down at my hand. Then, I looked up at her again. "Is that bad?"

"I mean, he was your teacher. But I guess he was just a sub. I mean, the guy is twenty-three. He doesn't even have a teaching degree. He's like, eleven years younger than me. And he's five years older than you. Which, I don't know how I feel about that." She said, giving me a look. I nodded, biting my lip and looking down at my hands.