Changes

“Let me walk with you.” Jimmy said as his deep voice floated over me.

His eyes scanned my face to see if I was going to say no, but that wasn’t the case. Not only would this mean that I wouldn’t have to walk alone in the rain, but it would also give me another opportunity to crack Jimmy’s tough exterior. I smiled graciously at him and nodded. A slight twitch on the corner of his mouth was just barely noticeable but I saw it nonetheless. Before I stepped out into the downpour Jimmy quickly took off his jacket and threw it around my shoulders. His face held no emotion as he avoided my gaze when I looked up at him. As soon as we were off the porch everything that wasn’t covered by Jimmy’s jacket was soaked. Shorts were a poor choice today as my legs instantly broke out in goosebumps and my teeth began chattering. Amazingly Jimmy took the rain in stride. It was just like he was taking a walk through the park on a bright sunny day. I saw no living soul on the street because no one would be stupid enough to go out in this.

“Th-thanks for walking me ho-home.” I said through the shivering that racked my body.

“I would’ve felt bad if I let you go out alone in this. It’s nothing really so don’t think too much of it.” he said quietly.

“Who lives in the house we were just at?” I asked curious because the guys and I were the only people there.

“Brian does.”

It struck me as obvious and odd at the same time. When Brian said that he didn’t really have a family I thought that he was in a similar situation that I was. But seeing no signs of anyone else there made Brian’s answer painfully true. Feeling that this wasn’t a subject I should be concerning myself with at the moment I didn’t bring it up again. Every step that I took I wanted to hurt my parents for buying a house that was a great distance from any place that I wanted to go to. We turned on the block that my house was on right when I lost feeling in my legs.

“Are you alright Colie.”

“Yes-s.” I said.

“Well, you’ve been weaving for a bit now. Can you walk?” He asked with a little hint of care in his voice.

“I can m-manage.”

The only way I was able to tell that my feet were off the ground was because I actually saw Jimmy pick me up and hold me in his arms. I stared at the ground and then at Jimmy utterly confused.

“Colie, your legs are turning blue.” he stated as if it was nothing.

Glancing down at my legs I laughed to myself. I almost looked like the girl from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Jimmy cast a worried look down at me but kept on walking. Luckily we were on my block so he didn’t have far to carry me.

“Right there, the white one with the tan mailbox in front of it.” I directed.

He walked around to the backyard as I told him to and managed to open the door with an elbow. Refusing to put me down I had to point out how to get to my room. He sat me down on my desk chair and walked into the bathroom that was attached to my room. Yes, the perks of being an only child. He came back with my huge fluffy towel. I managed to strip his jacket which had decided to cling to my skin like Velcro. Jimmy wrapped the towel around my shoulders and took a couple steps toward the door and stood there. A soft meow came from my feet and the thin fur of Mr. Crowley came in contact with my frozen legs.

“Bad Mr. Crowley! I don’t want your fur sticking to me.” I whined.

His soft purring was soon replaced by an angry hiss. I looked at my cat to see that he was arching his back and glaring at Jimmy. All Jimmy did was stare back at my cat like it was insane.

“Be nice, you big pussy. If it weren’t for Jimmy I wouldn’t be home right now.” I said to my cat before nudging him away.

“Do you always talk to your cat?” Jimmy asked amused.

“Maybe.” I murmured, very embarrassed that I just did that in front of someone.

The room turned silent again. Only sounds from the storm of the century broke it. I was slightly ticked that I had lost my chance to pick at Jimmy’s brain because I never knew when I would have another chance.

“Thanks again for walking and carrying me home tonight Jimmy.”

“I said it wasn’t anything. I hate having a guilt ridden conscience.” he said lowly.

Gripping his jacket in my hand I walked over to Jimmy and handed it to him.

“Hopefully this keeps you from getting wetter.” I suggested.

He shrugged as he took his jacket back and slipped it one. I’m not sure what else I was supposed to do at this point. My thought was that he was going to drop me on my doorstep and disappear. But here he stood like he was waiting for something. I still felt like he personally went to way to much trouble to bring me home so I did the only thing that came to my mind. My head only reached his chest as I wrapped my arms around him in a hug. Jimmy became extremely tense and I felt horrible for being so stupid right now. Right as I was about to pull away his cold and wet arms lightly fell around me and returned the hug. For some reason I didn’t want to pull away. His touch seemed to warm me up even though he was extremely frigid. Jimmy became more relaxed and seemed to melt into the hug.

“Like I said before, I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.” I said into his chest.

“Your welcome Colie.” he whispered.

We both pulled away at the same time. Without another glance Jimmy strode out of the room and the soft thud of the back door met my ears telling me that he was gone. I exhaled shakily as I began to undress. Jimmy had some effect on me but I didn’t know what it was. All I knew was that I was glad to know more people than Kourtney now at school. A pair of thick socks, sweat pants, and two sweaters later I was dressed for bed. The sheets enveloped me in their warmth as I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I woke the next morning with a scratchy throat and the feeling like I had slept in a deep freezer. That’s what I get for being in the rain last night. I sent a quick text to my mom telling her to call the school so that I wouldn’t be counted as skipping. Reluctantly getting up from my nest of sheets I fed Mr. Crowley quickly and dove back into mounds of purple fabric. My eyelids felt like they were made of lead and I was instantly back asleep. A distant scuffling met my ears as I began to stir awake. Multiple voices were whispering around me and I started to panic. I slowly opened one eye to see who was in my room and freaked out even though I knew the people.

“Why the hell are you guys in my room?” I screamed, well, tried to.

My hoarse voice barely came out as a loud whisper and I’m surprised the guys even heard. Matt, Johnny, Zacky, and Brian looked as if they just woke a sleeping bear. Jimmy shot me a brief look of sympathy saying that he was sorry for the unnecessary intrusion.

“Matt snuck into the office and the messages said that you were out sick today and we wanted to visit you.” Johnny explained for the group.

“Yeah, and I brought soup!” Zacky said cheerily.

“Did you really?” I asked in shock.

“He did,” Matt said, “but it’s still in the fucking can. Dumbass pulled it out of your cupboard.”

“I was going to make it for her shit for brains.” Zacky informed.

I watched as all of them left for my kitchen but Jimmy. He stood in the same spot as he was in last night. Shifting around in my bed I made room for him so that he could sit on the edge. After a few seconds he slowly eased himself to the mattress but sat as far off as possible.

“Jesus Christ, Jimmy, just sit on the bed.” I said in a huff.

The bed shifted a bit as Jimmy finally settled his full weight. I was going to say something to him but a another wave of deep coughs attacked me. A minute later I had my coughing under control just in time to hear Jimmy speak.

“I’m sorry they’re here to bother you. I tried to tell them not to come but they wouldn’t listen to me.” he apologized.

“It’s ok Jimmy. I don’t mind and I’m kind of glad to have some company other then my cat.” I smiled.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly.

The smile on my face grew as he asked me this. From the brief history that we’ve had Jimmy has never shown feelings towards anything, even to his friends. For him to be asking how I felt left a weird sensation in the pit of my stomach.

“I’m not going to lie Jimmy. It feels like my bedroom is in the North Pole and that I swallowed a cactus whole.”

He leaned towards me slightly and reached his hand out in the direction of my face. The warmth that flowed from his fingers as they touched my forehead was very soothing.

“Fuck Colie, you’re burning up. I’m getting you out of here.”

“No Jimmy, I’ll be fine. I need to get some rest that’s all.” I whispered.

“What you need is a hospital.” he said in a deathly serious tone.

Jimmy stood up quickly from the bed and walked out of my room. Distantly I heard his firm voice above the din in the kitchen which soon stopped. I heard a couple pairs of footsteps exit my house while Jimmy came back alone. My eyelids began to drop again as I found myself once again in Jimmy’s arm being carried away. Sunlight met fell as I saw outdoors for the first time since yesterday. Jimmy’s concerned gaze was the last thing I saw before I fell back asleep.

A sharp pinch in my arm jolted me back into reality. The strong sterile smell hit my nose and the bright white room was sort of blinding. My eyes stayed on the doctor who was inserting the IV into my vein.

“What’s going on?” I asked in my loud hoarse voice.

“You have a dangerously high fever and need proper care and rest.” the doctor informed me.

One look into the far corner and I found Jimmy’s hiding spot. I’m not sure if he liked all the people in the room but he was concentrating on the doctor who was working on me.

“Ok Ms. Schulz we just need to take a few blood samples so that we can test to see if you could have something else in your system that is making you sick.” the doctor said like it was no big deal.

“You’re going to take multiple samples?” I whispered in horror.

Very few people knew how afraid I was of blood especially my own. Back in kindergarten I had a panic attack when I had a freak accident with my safety scissors. The doctor saw the fear etched onto my face and rolled his eyes.

“Young man, please come over here and comfort your friend so she won’t fight as much when we draw the blood.”

Following the doctor’s instructions he walked over calmly and stood by my side. Without realizing it I grabbed Jimmy’s hand that was resting on the bed rail as I saw the doctor bring the needles out. I made it through the first time they took a sample but I began to feel sick as I felt another needle slide into my arm. Jimmy squeezed my hand reassuringly causing me to gaze up at him. His thin lips formed into a smile which relaxed me quite a bit. I was stunned that he had this power over me but it confused me at the same time. He looked at my arm as the last of my blood was being drawn. Instantly his face became rigid and fierce as he stared down at me. What was happening on Jimmy’s exterior worried me.

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What goes on with Jimmy?

1. He just runs out of the room without a word.
2. Colie notices Jimmy’s eyes darken significantly.
3. He stays but becomes very distant and dark.