~Part Nine~


Hamilton turned on the small shower faucet, letting the warm spring run down his back, a few small streams trickling their way down various paths along his face. He stood under the spray, letting it pierce through the nostalgia, forcing him awake. The weekend had finally arrived and he was grateful to be rid of the utter chaos of the last few days.

After pulling himself from the soothing shower and getting himself dressed, Hamilton wandered downstairs, pushing wet hair back from his face. “Hey mom,” he said, spying his mother pulling cereal from one of the cupboards, after walking into the kitchen.

“Morning sweetie. You’re up awfully early for a Saturday, aren’t you?” she asked, jokingly.

“Ha, ha...No, I wanted to go spend the day with Jake,” he replied, looking at her for permission, giving her his best pleading face.

“You know that doesn’t work with me,” she said, as Hamilton tilted his head and raised one eyebrow at her. “Okay, not always anyway.” his mother laughed.

“So can I go, please?!” he asked aloud, dramatizing his request.

His mother just smirked at him, “Oh, you already have me so you can dropped the puppy dog look.”

Hamilton just grinned, giving his mom a quick kiss on the cheek, “Thanks!” Then he headed out the door.

. . .

“I thought I was going to die from laughter when Bella almost ran us into that really old, cranky man on the third floor, it was so funny!” Jacqueline said to her mom, laughing through her words.

Monica looked at her daughter, trying to stifle her own laughter, “Well, if you keep racing down the halls like that, you’re going to...” She was abruptly cut of by the sound of someone knocking on the door. “Come in. You’re going to need that...” she turned towards the door as Hamilton stepped inside, smiling at them both. “Hamilton, it’s good to see you. I heard you’ve had quite the busy week.”

“Um yeah, we just finished the repairs on the school, so the classrooms will be opened back up on Monday for the students.” he said, walking to the end of the bed and tucking his hands inside of his pants pockets, looking straight at Jake.

“Oh fine, I’ll leave you two alone.” Jacqueline’s mom said, looking back and forth between the two of them, rolling her eyes and chuckling to herself. “I’ll go get some breakfast and be back in an hour.” She picked up the small purse lying next to her on the floor, draping it over her shoulder and walked towards the door. “I’ll see you guys later,” she stated, shutting the door behind her.

“Hey.” Hamilton said, walking over to the side of the bed.

“Hey handsome.” she replied back as he leaned over, drawing her in for a long, deep kiss. After a few minutes he pulled away and looked at her, with a seemingly sullen expression on his face. “What was that for?” Jake asked, wrinkling her eyebrows, with a small grin. “Does it have anything to do with why you’ve been so distracted lately?” she asked as he sat down next to her.

“I’ve just had a lot on my mind,” he stated, staring down at his leg, “...and I missed you.”  Hamilton forced a smile to his lips and looked back up at her.

“Well, I’ve missed you too.” she replied, leaning forward and giving him another soft kiss. “So how was the open house?” she asked, straightening herself up.

“Ugh, I thought I was going to die from boredom!” he said, rolling his head back. “Talk about the perfect way to put me to sleep. I swear if it weren’t for Finn being there, I would have bolted.”

Jake chuckled to herself as she watch Hamilton overdramatically fall back onto the bed then drape his arm over her legs, propping his head up onto his hand. “Well, I’m glad you at least had some company.”

“So what have you been doing to keep yourself busy?” he asked, taking her hand.

“Well, aside from the phone calls I’ve been getting from you every night,” she said as he grinned, “I’ve been making frequent ice cream runs to the cafeteria. Bella stopped by too, the other day, and I think we almost gave one of the nurses a heart attack racing down the halls.”

“I’m glad you’ve had something to do then.” Hamilton replied cracking up at the last statement.

“Yeah, but I still can’t wait to get out of here.” Jake stated, reaching over and pushing back a small strand of hair that had fallen into his eyes. “The last time Dr. Blake was here, he said that I should be able to leave on Wednesday. So my mom said that she was going to go talk to your dad on Monday and arrange everything.”

“That’s great,” he said, forcing his smile to stay in place. After just a couple of moments Hamilton sat back up and pushed himself off of the bed. “So, you want to go scare some more nurses?”

Jake just laughed, looking at the mischievous glare he was giving her. “Let’s go Batgirl.”

. . .

Jacqueline stared at the small, gray laptop that was now sitting in her hands, running her fingers over the top of it. “This is so great, Mom!” she said as she opened it, revealing the flashy screen. “It’s like the latest version too.”

Monica smiled at her daughter, thrilled that she was happy with the gift. “Well, I knew you would need one for school when you go back this week, so I had Justin find one for you and send it express mail. Since I, of course, know close to nothing about computer brands I thought it would be better if he picked it out.”

Jake set her expensive, new computer down onto her lap and looked up at her mother. “Thanks mom, I really do appreciate this,” she said, leaning over and pulling her mother into a warm hug.

Monica held on tightly to her, happy they were a family again. After a few minutes they pulled away, wiping at the invisible tears that were forcing their way to the surface. “I’m glad you like it...but no more hacking into my e-mail, deal?” she said, raising one eyebrow while she tried to stifle her laughter.

“Deal.”

“I’m sorry to intrude upon you Miss Pratt, Jacqueline.” Dean Fleming said while walking through the door.

“Dean Fleming, not at all. Come in.” Monica said smiling.

“I understand they’ll be releasing you soon, so I thought I would stop by to discuss the situation at hand.”

“I was planning to drop by, so I’m glad you came,” Monica said, after standing up and shaking his hand.

 

“Let’s sit down,” the dean said, pulling an extra chair from the wall and seating himself across from mother and daughter.

 

“Miss Pratt,” he began, turning towards Jacqueline, “I have never had to deal with a situation quite like yours before. You broke countless rules, and that can’t go unnoticed.”

Jake could feel a small lump in her throat that was slowly starting to grow. Throughout the entire time she had been in the hospital, she had forced the idea of not going back to Rawley to the back of her mind, hoping that if she didn’t think about it...it wouldn’t happen. Now her fears were resurfacing, swirling into a sea of confusion and chaos, as she felt her heart fall.

“I am especially upset with the fact that my son knew about this, and you asked him to keep it from me.  It was his decision, I will grant.  But you both should have known better, and he has to learn that rules are rules.  I’ve been thinking a lot about the situation, whether or not to admit you back.”

 

“You cannot continue attending Rawley Academy...”

. . .

“Mom I’m home!” Hamilton shouted from the living room as he walked through the front door.

“I’m in the study!”

Hamilton walked through the living room, trudging up the stairs to find his mom shuffling through paperwork, occasionally making marks on one with a red pen. “Where have you been?” his mother asked, looking up from her busy work. “I’ve been trying to find you all day.”

“I just needed some time alone to think. I was up in Jake’s old room.” he replied, sitting down on a box against the wall.

“I thought there was already another student in that room.” she replied, ruffling her eyebrows.

“No they don’t come in until tomorrow.” Hamilton sat there in silence as his mother went back to putting a few red marks on one of the papers. “So why were you trying to find me?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh, right.” she said looking up again. “Jake’s been calling for you.” His mother looked down again, twisting the pen in her hands.

“Thanks mom, I’ll go give her a call,” he said, standing up and turning towards the door.

“Your father got a phone call from the hospital today.” Hamilton stopped in his tracks, forcing himself to turn around, a stricken look plastered on his face. “He left a few hours ago. The hospital released Jake early this afternoon and...”

Hamilton didn’t wait for her to finish, bolting straight for the door.

. . .

“Jake!  JAKE!” Hamilton yelled, skidding through the door of her hospital room. The room was completely vacant, with no trace of its former patient, save for one single, dried up rose resting on the bed on top of a small folded piece of stationary.

Hamilton stood there for a moment, catching his breath, then turned towards the doorframe, resting his head on his arm. “No!” he scowled, pounding his fist against the wall.

After a brief minute Hamilton pulled himself up, turning towards the fate that awaited him. Forcing himself towards the bed he reached out, gently caressing the fragile stem, then carefully pulled the small note from beneath it.

Dear Hamilton,

   I’m sorry I couldn’t stay and wait for you to get back. My mother was offered a part in a production a few days ago and had to leave for the airport this afternoon. I have to make this note short as I am being ushered out, but I’ll get in touch with you as soon as I can. I love you.

~Jake~

Hamilton slid down the side of the bed, clutching the letter in his hands. How could his father do this to him?! How could he tear away the best friend he’d ever had?!