Chapter 14

“Oh shit! What did I do?” Jason gripped a pillow over his head. He could feel the warmth of his ears.

‘How could he do something so stupid?’

Jason couldn’t believe he kissed her forehead. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. The stress and worry he’d felt had bubbled out in that one moment. He may have enjoyed it, wanting that moment to last forever, but what would she think?

She was his boss. This had to breach his contract. Surely there was some clause about kissing your employer. Although he speculated about his impending termination, what he really feared was Michelle’s reaction itself.

‘Would she hate him?’

He picked up the pillow and threw it against the wall.

This action woke Oscar up from his nap. The dog jumped onto Jason’s bed and nestled up to him.

“Hi boy.” Jason scratched behind the dog’s ear, to which he responded by leaning further into Jason’s hand. “What am I going to do?”

Oscar responded by licking his own nose. He didn’t understand a single thing his owner was rambling about.

“So what you are saying is that I should face my fear, confess how I truly feel and offer a sincere apology?” Jason asked the dog.

The dog had no idea what his stupid owner was saying. He just wanted scratches.

“Alright, I guess I’ll confront her about it tomorrow after she is discharged.”

Oscar licked Jason's hand the moment he sought to withdraw it. A subtle prompt to keep patting.

Jason let out a huge sigh.

“Maybe I should prepare a treat that properly expresses my feelings.”

Hearing the word ‘treat’ caused Oscar to climb onto Jason and bork excitedly in his face.

Jason made his way into the kitchen and began whipping up the perfect cupcakes. He poured in enough sugar to kill a horse. Secretly, he was terrified of what that would do to Michelle. She was hyperactive enough as it was. He hated to imagine how the hospital staff were dealing with her at the moment.

Although adding so much sugar was probably a bad idea, he committed to making this snack. He promised her he would make her sweets, so that’s exactly what he was going to do.

Anything to distract him from the memory of his kiss.

He decorated the cupcakes with a swirl of colourful sugary frosting. Then covered the icing with meticulously placed sprinkles.

Once he finished, he took a bite to test it. Instantly, he wanted to vomit it up. It wasn’t bad in the slightest; he made it after all, but it wasn’t good enough for Michelle.

‘How could he think of serving something so awful to her?’

He tossed the entire batch, much to Oscar's dismay, who wanted any food, before Jason decided to bake another batch. He wouldn’t settle on anything but the perfect treat for her.

Meanwhile, whilst Jason spiralled into an existential baking crisis, Michelle was processing the kiss in a very different way.

“Stop standing and lie down immediately!” screamed the doctor.

“But I’m so happy,” Michelle replied, spinning on her injured leg.

“Please stop! You’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t cease this reckless behaviour immediately,” the doctor warned, trying to persuade her to hop back into bed.

Michelle stopped spinning and wagged her finger at the doctor.

“Tch… tch… tch... Pain means nothing when you are a maiden in love.”

“Michelle! Back to bed. Now!” scolded her mother as she entered the room, still holding a latte.

“But…”

“Now!” she replied firmly.

“Alright then.”

Michelle obliged, slipping back under the blankets.

“Is this because of the drugs you’ve given her?” Her mother grabbed the doctor by his coat. Glaring menacingly at him from beneath her sunglasses.

“Of course not!” The doctor replied.

“Then why is she thrashing about like that?”

“We have no idea. We found her like that.”

Olivia eyed him suspiciously, eventually waving him out of the room.

“Michelle. What the hell has gotten into you?”

Michelle pulled her covers up to hide behind.

“Jason,” she mumbled, not worried in the slightest about how her comments could be misconstrued.

“He did what?!” Olivia's eyes were bursting from her head.

“I-it’s too embarrassing to say,” Michelle mumbled in response.

“Is that right?” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Michelle’s brain was fried beyond what it normally was. Simply thinking about the kiss made her snicker like a child. She knew he’d only kissed her out of worry. There was no chance he’d feel the way she did for him. Regardless, she was still ecstatic to have that moment. As brief as it was, it meant the world to her.

She would treasure it more than anything in the world.

Olivia put her hand on Michelle’s head, rustling her hair. “I’ll have to have a little chat with little lover boy tomorrow.”

Michelle began humming cartoon openings as Olivia stepped out of the hospital room.

She let out a heavy sigh.

She should never have trusted Jason. To do that to an injured girl. He was a monster. Even if her daughter seemed over the moon, as a mother, she would never allow it.

A loud screech came from Michelle’s room.

Olivia rushed back inside to see Michelle awkwardly lying on the floor in the middle of the room.

“What are you doing?!” Olivia screamed.

“My leg hurts!” Michelle replied, tears falling down her face.

“That’s why I said to stay in bed!” Olivia scolded.

A doctor quickly came to investigate the noise, pressing the nurse alarm as he examined Michelle’s condition. Some additional nurses came in and assisted her back to bed. The doctor injected her with pain relief, and she drifted off to sleep.

Olivia was beginning to develop a migraine. She had no idea what Jason saw in her daughter. That said, she was going to make sure he was held accountable for his actions.

Michelle slept like a baby. Jason, on the other hand, didn’t get an ounce of sleep. He was up all night baking the most extravagant cupcakes he could make.

Ten batches in, he was still unhappy. Another batch in the bin.

“Eleventh times the charm,” a sleep-deprived Jason cackled. Much to the dismay of a very grumpy and sleepy dog who still didn’t get any treats.

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End of Chapter 14