âââ
"Hey, do you know what's all this commotion about?"
Ridge gives me a sideways glance, shrugging his shoulders. "Beats me. We all just got here."
"Oh, right." I nod slightly. As soon as Tanner, Em and I entered the school building and reached our usual meeting spot with the group, we were all summoned in the auditorium by the announcement Mr. Turnings made over the speakers. He did not reveal anything, so everyone is equally confused about this sudden gathering.
We all stand in between the crowd when my eyes land on Erica who's standing between Em and Ashton, speaking something, throwing her hands in the air as if she's explaining something very interesting and important. I call for her and wait till she notices my presence.
"Yeah?" She gives me a small smile, craning her neck to look at me.
"You are the Student Body President so you must know about this, right?"I ask her, swinging my bag over my shoulder.
"Unfortunately, I know nothing about this assembly or whatever announcement this is." She shakes her head, lips curling up in a frown then puts her attention back towards Em and Ashton, resuming their conversation.
Ridge throws his arms around my shoulder, bringing me close to him. "Turnings is here." He gestures with his face, making me look in the front.
Mr. Turnings enters the room, walking with authoritative steps. The room grows silent when he climbs up the stage and takes his position behind the podium, lightly tapping the mic twice.
He gives us a polite smile. "Good Morning students. I hope you had an amazing one. So, today we are all gathered here for an important announcement."
"I got an anonymous letter the other day, stating that the students of the Academy wanted to go on trip before their senior year ends. We still don't know who the person is but we'll get to the bottom of it soon. But whoever the person is, has not done anything wrong so they can come to me in my office whenever they want to confess. Im not going to give you detention, I promise." Laughter rumbles through the room at that. "Yeah, so on that thought, to make your senior year more memorable, the school authorities have decided to organize a trip for you."
Murmurs start circulating around the room, making the room grow noisy.
"You all have three options : Dubai, Bali or Hong Kong. Everyone has to mention their preferred destination and write it on the form and submit it in the multipurpose room by the end of the day. The forms are in the multipurpose room itself. The most chosen destination will be your trip destination. So, choose wisely. After the decisions are made, further planning will be done. You guys are dismissed for now. Go back to your respective classes and study."
I squeal in delight, jumping in excitement, turning towards Ridge. "We'll be going on a trip. A trip. How awesome is that?!"
He chuckles at my enthusiasm, wrapping his arms around my middle. "Very awesome. I can already see that."
Before I can reply, everyone else from our group joins us laughing and squealing in delight and enthusiasm. And now, seeing all of us together, I cannot wait for the trip.
âââ
My uterus is playing karate in my abdomen, I swear.
I clutch my stomach as another wave of pain hits me, making me close my eyes and take a deep breath. I walk out of the history classroom and head straight to the bathroom to put on a pad and then head back. Opening the door, I step inside and lock the door behind me. Searching through my bags, I try to find a pad or a tampon but come out empty handed. Shit.
I groan, clutching my bag tightly, closing my eyes. This pain is unbearable. I take out my phone from my bag to call Em or Tanner and ask them to drop me home. But they don't pick up. So I decide to call Ridge. He picks up on the third ring.
"Hey. Why are you calling me right now? Aren't you supposed to be in history?" His questioning voice travels through the phone as soon as he picks it up.
"Can you drop me home? I have an emergency." I whisper, biting my bottom lip to stop myself from groaning too loud due to the pain in my stomach.
"Sweetheart, is everything alright? Why do you sound like you're in pain?" He asks softly. I hear shuffling in the background, then the sound of chair scraping through the floor.
"I'm fine. Where are you now?"
"In the library. Where are you?" I can hear his footsteps through the phone.
"In the bathroom on the ground floor. I'll meet you near the entrance of the school." I answer, then hang up. Because I cannot speak that much. These cramps are too much to handle. I pick up my bag, step out of the bathroom and head straight to the main gates of the school in quick steps. I spot Ridge almost immediately, hands in the pocket, foot tapping on the floor, as he waits for me patiently. When I'm right in front of him, I announce my presence. "Hey."
He jerks his head up immediately, walking towards me in quick strides, his eyes scanning my body in concern. "Are you hurt? Did something happen?"
I shake my head. "I'm fine. Just period cramps."
"Oh." He nods his head, biting his lip. Taking hold of my hand, he walks with me out of the school. "Do you need something on the way? Food, chocolates or ice cream?"
Even though I'm in pain, I chuckle. "No, just drop me off and I'll sleep through it. It'll wear off by tomorrow."
He nods his head. "Okay."
Silently, we walk towards his car. He opens the door for me and I slide inside, putting my bag on the dashboard of the car. Since, I didn't bring my car today, I don't have to worry about picking it up later. He gets in too, peeling the car out of the driveway, heading straight to the road.
I close my eyes, wincing slightly. "Ouch."
I feel Ridge's fingers grasping my hand softly. "Is it that bad?"
"Very." I whisper.
Within the next few minutes we are parked in the garage, and then I'm out of the car, dashing straight to the front door and opening it with the spare key in my bag. I hurry inside, removing my shoes in the process, climbing up the stairs hastily, and run inside my bathroom to clean up. I hear footsteps behind me indicating that Ridge's following me. I put on the pad, change into some comfy sweatpants hanging on the hooks and step out to find Ridge standing by the doorway, typing away on his phone.
I close the door behind me, a little too loud which catches his attention. He slips his phone into his pocket and walks towards me, clutching my wrists in his hands. "Do you need me to get you something?"
I shake my head, giving him a small smile. "No, thank you. You can go back now. I'll be fine."
"Shut up, I'm not leaving you alone in this state. I already texted Emilia and told her that you won't be at school anymore because of your cramps and asked her to inform your dad and others about your absence." He tells me. "Also, she has an important class so she couldn't talk to you right now but she'll call later to check on you."
My lips curl up in a big, grateful smile. I wrap my arms around him in a hug, burying my head in his neck. "Thank you so much."
He chuckles, pulling me close. "Come on, you should take a nap. I'll be right by your side when you wake up."
Pulling away, I nod sliently. I walk towards my bed and slide into the covers, settling inside the warmth. I pat the side of my bed, gesturing Ridge to get inside. He shrugs, and removes his shoes and gets inside the covers so we are lying face to face.
Placing a soft kiss on my forehead, he whispers, "Sleep."
I close my eyes, ignoring the pain. And soon enough, I fall asleep, Ridge's scent and warmth surrounding me.
I feel fingers running through my hair softly, the touch waking me up from my sleep. I stir in my position, fluttering my eyes open to see Ridge smiling down at me. "I have something for you."
I sit up straight on the bed, rubbing the back of my palmagainst my eyes to rub off the sleep. "What?" My voice comes out a little rough and groggy due to my sleep induced state.
"It's Ginger honey tea. It helps my mom at times like these so I figured it might be good for you." He answers, holding a warm cup in front of me. My heart soars with happiness and gratitude on knowing that he did something like that for me. Something my mom used to do for me.
I blink up at him, trying to keep my tears at bay. Taking the warm cup from his hands, I thank him. He sits in front of me, watching me sip on the tea silently. This tea, the warmth and the care reminds me of my mom. Whenever I got sick or had my period, mom would make me this tea and sit with me, running her hands through my hair until I would eventually fall asleep. And when I would wake up, she would make me something nice for dinner. Something that I liked a lot, mostly just to piss off dad because my mom had the habit of making vegetable lasagne, which he doesn't like at all. He prefers chicken.
"You're crying." Ridge states, snapping me out of my wandering thoughts.
I bring my hand up to my face to realize that I was indeed, crying. I wipe my face, giving him a small smile. "I just miss my mom. So much."
"You can talk to me if you want to. Talking helps." He suggests, his voice soft and filled with hope.
"My mom died when I was sixteen. Cancer took her away from us. Leukaemia, she had leukaemia - last stage. We tried everything, best doctors, any treatment necessary, but we couldn't save her." I start, then take a deep breath, "She was the best mother in this world. You know, whenever I got sick or had any problem, she would take care of me, make me anything I wanted and then we would sit together until I would fall asleep."
"This ginger tea, she used to make me some whenever I had my period because it's my favourite. And now you made this for me, I just got a little emotional. Sorry, but I didn't mean to cry. I'm not usually this weak." I chuckle humorlessly, taking small sips from my tea, relishing in the sweet taste of honey.
He takes hold of my face in his hands, wiping off the remaining tears. "You don't have to apologize for crying because you miss your mom, okay. You are crying because you miss your awesome mom, not because you're weak. You are strong. You are the strongest person I know. And your mom will be proud of the women you're becoming into." He kisses me on my lips softly. It's just a peck but right now, it means so much more.
Don't mind me. My hormones are all over the place.
I bite my lip, smiling at him. "Thank you. For everything."
"You're welcome." He grins, then removes his hands from my face and getting up from the bed. He stalks towards the couch and picks up the laptop that's lying on it carelessly. He puts in front of my, pulling the covers around me closer. I observe his movements in confusion. He holds his finger up in a wait manned and then runs out of my room. A few seconds later later gets inside, a family pack of Oreos and Cheetos in his arms.
I'm confused.
"Are we watching a movie?"
He shakes his head, getting inside the covers with me, throwing the snacks between us. "We're having a Teen Wolf marathon."
And here I am, trying not to fall too hard.
And I'm failing.
Like I do in calculus.
âââ
Hey beautiful readers! How are y'all?
Hope you guys liked the chapter! Next few chapters will be fun, I promise. But, I might update a little late this time because I have exams coming up.
Also, pray to god that I do not die during these exams :(
Also, if you guys liked the chapter, please don't forget to
VOTE and COMMENT!
It makes me really happy. And I wanna be really happy.
Can you guys make me really happy?
Next update not so soon! <3
Till then,
Stay Happy!