Teacher: Act Two (A Hollywood Rock n' Romance Trilogy Book 2) (5 page)

“So tell us about the guitar in the case back there,” I asked.

He gave me a strange look, like he wasn’t sure why I was bringing it up. “The Les Paul? I played that one while we were on tour for our second album. I liked it so much I bought three more. By the end of the tour it wouldn’t stay in tune, so I donated it. That was the first tour we ever did of Japan and Australia. That guitar has certainly travelled quite a bit.”

“Ooo, Daddy can I go to Australia with you next time you go? I’ve heard it’s really cool there. We had a girl in our class last year from Sydney and she made it sound awesome. Her older sister was an actress on a TV show on the CW. I used to watch it with Mommy.”

“I’m not sure if we’re going there on this tour. We haven’t made any final plans yet, but what would you think about Spain? Nora, we’ve got to go see Roland. He’s been asking that we come to visit him.” He looked to me, wordlessly letting me know that he wanted me there, too. I smiled back.

“Spain sounds great. There’s a lot to see there, a lot of history," Nora said. "And I miss that old guy."

“I guess that’s cool, as long as we can go to the beach,” Jane said and went back to her sundae.

"When were you thinking of going,” I asked.

He shrugged. "I guess it would have to be a school break, right?"

"Assuming I have a job, it would have to be."

When we were all stuffed, we left the cafe, stopping in the shop so Jane could get a t-shirt. She told her dad that it was “an experience she really wanted to remember,” and elbowed me until we were both cracking up again. She was taking this so well. I hoped she continued to.

I was so sleepy on the ride back to Danny’s house, I started to nod off. When we got in the driveway, Danny had to shake me awake.

“You ok, honey,” he whispered.

“Sure. Just didn’t get much sleep last night.” He squeezed my leg and then I remembered. “Oh! Hey, can we drop you girls off? I need to pick something up at the store.”

He shrugged and Jane grimaced. She and Nora climbed out and Danny told them we’d be right back. When he backed out of the driveway, he turned to look at me before putting it in drive.

“Are you going to tell me what I missed?”

I cleared my throat and said, “I will. But you’re going to want a moment to process it. That’s why I’m making you take me.”

He turned to look at me looking completely baffled. “What is it?”

I took his hand in mine and said, “Jane started her period when we were at the restaurant. We need to go get her supplies.”

The confused look morphed into horror, then to sadness and finally to resignation.

“Fuck me. Alright.” He put the car in gear and drove quietly down the hill.

“She knew what it was, said Brooke told her it would be coming. She asked me to tell you. She thought you should know, but she was embarrassed to tell you.”

He nodded. “Thank you. Thanks for being there for her. Jesus! Poor thing! Isn’t this kind of young? I mean, I know it’s possible, but I thought she had some more time to be a little girl, you know?” He was starting to tear up a little and I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

“It’s perfectly normal. I think I was 13 but the average age is anywhere from 9 to 16.”

His eyes bugged out. “Nine! Are you fucking kidding me?” His hands strangled the wheel as he tried to get a grip on this information.

“Sadly, yes. She’ll be fine. She wasn’t in any pain and I told her if she needed to talk or needed anything to ask me or Nora. I hope that was ok.”

He glanced quickly at me and took my hand, bringing it to his lips. “Of course that’s ok, Jesse. I’m just so fucking grateful you’re here. What the fuck would I have done if she and I were alone together?”

“You would have handled it. You would have been great.”

We pulled up at a Walgreen’s and he stopped the car. He turned to face me and pulled me in for a kiss, then rested his forehead against mine.

“I fucking love you, Jesse. Thank you.”

I kissed his nose. “Don’t thank me yet. C’mon. You need to get tutored in the fine art of purchasing feminine products.” He laughed and we went into the store together.

We got funny looks from some of the other shoppers as we perused the aisle. Danny became thoroughly engrossed in reading the packages.

“This one says 'ultra-absorbency.' Does she need something this big? This fucking looks like a diaper! And what the fuck is up with the wings?”

I was cracking up. I put my hand over his mouth. “You don’t need to educate the whole store about this,” I whispered and he pulled my hand away.

“How about do we need 'dri-weave' or 'cotton overlay?' This one says it changes colors? What the fuck?”

I grabbed three different sizes of pads and a box of tampons, shaking my head at him.

His eyes bugged out at the tampons. “What the hell are those for?”

“Could you be any louder,” I whispered, my face starting to redden. “In case she wants to go swimming, Dad!”

He groaned. “I didn’t even think about that! I sure as hell hope you’ll show her how to use those. That’s just way too fucking complicated for me.” He shuddered dramatically. I grabbed his arm and tried pulling him out of the aisle when his gaze landed on the personal lubricants.

“Ah, now this is what I’m talking about! Hey, baby, do we need some of this?” I yanked hard on his arm. He pulled me closer to him. “This one says it gets warm. That sounds fun! How does it work? Honey, read me the label.” I turned and walked away from him and he ran to catch up to me.

“You are a shit, you know that?”

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me. “I am, I’m sorry.”

I bit his lip and he cried out, “Hey! I might need that later.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me as we reached the cash register. The young girl at the register obviously thought we were crazy. She rang up the four boxes of pads and tampons and Danny handed her his card.

“They’re for my mom,” he said. “She’s a real bleeder.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the bag. The girl just made a disgusted face at him and handed him the receipt. He laughed the whole way to the car.

“Are you always this crazy? Am I going to have to limit my outings to the local drug store with you?”

He shook his head. “No, I’ll behave if you really want me to. I just can’t help it when people start staring. Sometimes I want to give them something to stare at.” He was so funny, so cute. I could forgive him for just about anything.

“Do you want me to take you home from here or can you come back and give this stuff to Jane?” I told him I’d go over it with her and he thanked me profusely. “Then I’ll take you home and tuck you in.”

I liked the sound of that.

Danny went to the doctor Monday morning by himself, saying he wanted me to rest. He reported that the doctor would like him to wait another week before singing. He told me the doc's words were, “The swelling is down, but there’s still a little bit of redness that I don’t like. We need to ease into this, Danny. You can’t go blowing it out or all of this time will be for nothing.” I was glad the doctor was being so conservative about his recovery, but I knew Danny was frustrated. The longer he had to wait to find out what he had to work with, the tenser he became.

We worked diligently for the remainder of the week and by Sunday we were both exhausted. I even called in to the dance studio so we'd have as much time as possible to work. I promised Jane we'd start as soon as Danny finished school.

We read to each other until his eyes were bugging out and my voice was hoarse. His hands were cramped from all the essays and papers he’d typed. Jane sat with us most of the time, unless Nora had her at the ranch with her horse. She spent her time reading some books I found for her in Danny’s library. Nora kept us fed and cheered Danny on. Each night around ten o’clock, Danny took me home and we’d share a few minutes in each other’s arms before saying goodnight. Every morning at nine, he’d knock on the door and we’d start all over. It was grueling, but it paid off.

Sunday afternoon he handed me his final essay for World Literature and we were officially done with his credits.

“We absolutely need to celebrate,” he said.

I felt horrible about it, but I had to stop. “I want to, baby, but I need sleep. I’m not feeling well.”

His smile fell and he put a hand to my forehead. “Honey, you’re burning up! Nora,” he called out, alarmed. She came outside from the kitchen where she was starting dinner preparation.

“Jesse’s got a fever. Can you bring her some water and Aleve?”

Nora frowned and nodded, returning to the kitchen to bring me the items. I’d been feeling lousy that morning, but I didn’t want to stop. It was so important to Danny that he finished before he took the tests.

He knelt down beside the lounge chair I was on outside and handed me the pills and water. He ran his hand through my hair. “I’m so sorry, honey. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

I smiled weakly up at him and said, “I’ll be fine. I just need to rest.” I closed my eyes and barely felt myself being lifted off the lounge. When I woke up, I was in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar bed, and I heard tinny music coming from near my head. I rolled over slowly, feeling achy and sore, to find Jane and Danny huddled next to each other, sharing a pair of earbuds, and watching a show on the iPad.

Both of them had the same crease of concentration in between their eyebrows. I tried to peek and see what they were watching, but I couldn’t get my eyes to focus. I closed them again and fell back asleep.

The next time I woke it was dark and I could hear steady breathing. Jane and Danny were curled up next to each other on top of the comforter, with just a throw over them, fast asleep. I gingerly crawled out of bed and dragged myself to the bathroom. Nora had left my toothbrush there from when I’d stayed over all those weeks ago. I used the toilet and brushed my teeth. I was super sweaty, a good sign that my fever had broken while I was out, and I felt gross. I crept down the hall to Danny’s room to snag a new t-shirt and boxers, changed clothes, and snuck back into the guest room where they had put me earlier. So much for celebrating Danny’s accomplishment! I was such a party pooper.

I slid under the covers and got comfortable just in time for Jane to roll over and throw her arm around me. She was snoring softly, so was Danny on the other side of her. I smiled at the picture they made in the soft light from the hallway. I couldn’t believe how blessed I was to have these three caring for me.

Sometime in the night Jane must have gotten up to use the restroom because when the morning light woke me, I was lying between them. Jane was spooned up against my back and I was curled into Danny’s side. I blinked to clear my vision. Danny was watching the two of us with a worried expression.

“Hey,” I whispered. “I didn’t know we were having a slumber party! I would have stayed awake. Did I miss the toilet papering? Frozen undies?”

With a stern look, he leaned over and kissed my forehead. “How are you feeling, beautiful?”

I lifted my arm with a wince and gave him the so-so sign. Everything hurt from moving my eyebrows to whispering to taking a deep breath.

“Don’t worry, I texted Cosmo and told him you stayed. He said to tell you to listen to me and Nora and stay in bed.” This time he did smile and I discovered that even rolling my eyes hurt.

“I’m not even going to argue. I don’t think I could get up and around even if I wanted to.”

His crease got deeper as worry bled from him. “What can I do, Jesse?”

I brought my hand up to touch his chest lightly. “Nothing, baby. I just need to rest, drink lots of water, eat some pineapple and green veggies and take my Aleve.” I frowned. “I probably need to get some blood work done, too. It’s been a while since I’ve been to the doctor.”

He kissed my forehead again and said, “Whatever you need from me, whatever I can do, I will. Ok? It scares me that you aren’t well.”

I snuggled closer to him and he wrapped his arms gently around me, careful not to squeeze.

“You’re the best, Danny. I love you.”

He sighed. “I love you so fucking much. Now rest. Unless you’re ready for some breakfast?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. Will you just hold me?”

He let out a shaky breath and in a cracked voice said, “Anything, honey. Just get better.”

I slipped back into sleep with a sigh.

“Is she going to be ok, Daddy? She looks so pale. And she’s so skinny. I don’t want her to be sick.”

I tried to roll over, but it took all the energy I had to just move my head. “Ugh. Need a shower,” I groaned and I heard Jane giggle. I opened one eye and the two of them were sitting on either side of me, watching me like a bizarre science experiment.

“Are you still hurting, honey? Nora wants to call Connie.”

I shook my head. “No, not yet. Still hurts. Need shower. Gross.”

Jane giggled some more and kissed my forehead. “At least you don’t smell bad.”

“Jane, why don’t you ask Nora to get some fruit and water ready for Jesse. I’m going to help her shower. Then maybe she’ll feel more like a human and less like curdled milk.”

I made a face and said, “Thanks. Now I feel awesome.”

He chuckled and helped me sit up. Getting vertical was a challenge. My stomach lurched and I had to breathe through my nose for a minute to fight the nausea. Danny held me patiently until I was ready to get up. He tried to lift me, but it hurt worse than walking.

“I need to move, baby. Just help me.”

He looked so worried. I hated that I was causing him stress.

We shuffled down the hall to his room. He chuckled when he saw the mess I made.

“I see you raided my t-shirts. Why didn’t you wake me?”

I smiled at him. “You and Jane were so cute curled up together. I woke up all sweaty. My fever broke sometime in the middle of the night. I just wanted to get out of my nasty clothes. I hope you don’t mind I stole yours.”

“I already told you, what’s mine is yours.”

I gave him a weak smile and held onto his shoulders as he undressed me. The worry on his face intensified as he got his shirt off over my head.

“Jesus Christ, Jesse! I can see your fucking ribs! What the hell is going on with you?”

I shrugged and pulled away from him to move toward the shower, covering myself. I was sure the view of my backside was just as alarming. He cursed at himself and reached around me to turn on the water. He made quick work of taking off his own clothes and then he reached for my hand.

“I’m sorry, honey. Will you let me wash you?”

I didn’t want to make eye contact with him. His comments had me feeling vulnerable in a very unpleasant way. I took his hand and stepped into the shower out of necessity. I didn’t want to add a fall and head injury to my list of ailments. He eased me onto the bench seat and got on his knees in front of me.

“Jesse, talk to me. I’m sorry, I just don’t know what to do and I’m worried.”

I sighed and squeezed his hand. “It’s not your fault. I know I look like shit. I just hate being like this in front of you. I don’t like you seeing me sick, and I definitely don’t like you seeing me naked when I look like this. I should have just had you take me home." I thought I was too tired and sore to cry, but a few tears escaped.

“Jesse, I want you to look at me.” I lifted my gaze to his and saw determination there. “I’m not going to pussyfoot around about this, and I don’t really give a shit if I sound like a dick.” I blanched and tried to pull my hand away from him. “No! You’re going to fucking listen to me. I love you, goddamn it, and I told you what that means to me! It means I take care of you. In sickness and in fucking health, alright? So you better fucking get used to me seeing you naked whether you think you look like shit or not, which you totally don’t. The only reason I’m not hard as a fucking rock right now is because I at least have the decency to control my cock when I know you don’t feel good! And I wouldn't have taken you home anyway, so get over it! Now turn around so I can wash your gorgeous fucking hair.”

I tried to fight it but I snorted. “If that’s not a declaration of love, I don’t know what is.”

He cursed under his breath. “I’m fucking sorry. I know you don't like me cussing at you, but you’re fucking pissing me off.” He started laughing, too, and soon we both had the uncontrollable giggles.

His fingers felt amazing on my scalp. I relaxed against the wall, letting him wash every inch of me. His 'control over his cock’ mostly held. Maybe he lost it a little when he was washing my breasts, but I wasn’t going to call him on it. When he finished with me, I slumped against the wall and watched him do his shower routine. He shampooed and used the suds to quickly wash himself down. He didn’t bother shaving the three-day-old stubble, which was morphing into a long goatee again.

“You know, Danny, if I had a penis, I wouldn’t be able to control it watching you wash yourself. You’re lucky I barely have control of my limbs or you’d be in trouble right now.”

He chuckled, rinsing the rest of the shampoo from his hair, which was now about three inches long and looking shaggy.

“You having a penis might change things, honey. Although as much as I love you, I’d probably be into it.” I tried to laugh, but it turned into a coughing fit. The spasms hurt my ribs tremendously. He sat on the bench next to me and held me until I was breathing normally again.

“Better,” he asked and I nodded.

I tugged on his hair and asked, "What are you doing with this? It's kinda shaggy?"

He coughed out a laugh. "I guess cutting it? I don't know, I hadn't really thought about it."

“I’m sorry," I said hurriedly. "I didn't mean to make you..."

He shook his head. "No, you're right. I guess I just haven't really cared what I looked like in a long time."

My turn to frown. "You look great, Danny. And I'm sorry if I was difficult earlier. It's a bit of a challenge to not feel self-conscious around you, especially when I know I’m not at a healthy weight. I can’t help it sometimes. It’s hard to keep food down when I feel like this.”

His face melted into concern. “We’ll find something you can eat, ok? Nora will take care of it and I’ll take care of you. Please let me?”

I nodded and smiled shyly. “Ok. But you need to get enough rest, too. You’ve got your test tomorrow morning. Anything you want to go over today?”

He shook his head. “I’m really not worried about it. Well, maybe the essay, but I’ll do some practice writing later while you’re resting.” He grabbed towels for us and wrapped himself in one before carefully drying all of me. When I was dry enough, he wrapped my hair in a towel and walked me out to his bed, grabbed another t-shirt and pair of boxers, and helped me dress.

"Thank you, Nurse Danny, for taking such good care of me," I whispered.

He shook his head. “I like doing it. Now I’m going to go change those sheets so you just relax here for a minute.”

He sat me down on the bed and I laid back, feeling utterly wrecked. The shower was fun, but any energy I had was flagging, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

The next time I woke I heard voices speaking softly in the corner and opened an eye to see Danny and Jane both with guitars. Guess he figured there was no time like the present to start teaching her. She studied his hands intently while he spoke very patiently with her. I had wondered whether he could be patient enough to teach her. It seemed like I'd worried for nothing. I watched them for a few minutes and then went to use the bathroom.

I tried to avoid looking in the mirror because I knew what I’d see. Black circles surrounded my eyes, my skin was pale, and I could tell by the sandpaper-feel of my lips that I was getting dehydrated. I felt wobbly after using the toilet so I took a minute to lean against the counter, smiling to myself when I remembered what we had done in here not too long ago. But then I couldn’t get myself moving and realized I needed some assistance.

“Danny,” I cried weakly. No response. I tried to call a little louder and this time I heard him running.

“Hey honey... Oh, shit! Why didn’t you call me?”

“I did. I kind of got stuck.”

He shook his head at me and helped me walk out to the bedroom.

“I really need to drink water, can you bring me some?”

He nodded gravely. “And I’m bringing you some food so you can take some more medicine. It’s been over twelve hours since your last dose.”

He hurried to the kitchen and I watched Jane play a series of chords.

“Looks like you’re picking that up,” I said softly.

She turned to smile at me, put the guitar down on the stand, and hurried over to the bed. “Are you ok, Jesse?”

I nodded, smiling as best I could to cover the pain. “I will be. I just let myself get too run down and when that happens, my arthritis starts attacking my healthy tissue. I get fevers and have to stay down until I can get it under control. I haven’t been this bad, though, since I first got sick. Guess I really blew it this time,” I was saying as Nora and Danny came in with sustenance.