Chapter 133 Do You Have a Boyfriend?
With a quick call from Katniss, Sophia's hand twitched, and the electromagnet hooked up to the computer made a couple of beeps.
Matilda slammed the emergency button, and in no time, a bunch of doctors and nurses stormed in.
It was a Saturday, so Terry was off, but his assistant, Efrain Hubbard, was on duty and knew Sophia's case inside out.
After a speedy check, Efrain grinned at them, "This is good news, your mom's reacting!"
Hearing that, Katniss and Matilda's eyes welled up with excitement, and they stared at Sophia with even more hope.
"Keep chatting with her, and holler if you need anything," Efrain said.
After a few more instructions, Efrain rushed off to share the good news with Terry.
Katniss and Matilda spent the whole afternoon holding Sophia's hand and talking to her, finally crashing late at night when they couldn't keep their eyes open anymore.
The next day was a repeat.
Even though Sophia didn't show any more reactions, Katniss and Matilda were still over the moon.
That evening, Katniss got a surprise call from Jesse.
"Ms. Grey, I think I'm in a jam. Can you help me out?" he asked.
"Spill it," Katniss said softly, moving to the window to take the call.
Jesse hesitated for a few seconds before saying, "The parents of the kids I'm tutoring are on my case. Despite several sessions, their test scores are still tanking. I feel like I'm doing something wrong and don't know how to boost their scores."
As night fell and the neon lights flickered on, Katniss's slim figure was reflected in the window.
She frowned a bit. "Have you switched up your tutoring methods and zeroed in on the stuff they don't get based on their report cards?"
"Yeah, but for some reason, their scores just aren't budging. Maybe my teaching method is off. Ms. Grey, can you give me some lessons on weekends on how to break things down for them?"
Jesse's tone was a bit desperate.
But Katniss instinctively glanced at Sophia and firmly said, "Weekends are a no-go, I've got stuff to handle."
On the other end, Jesse went quiet.
"If you're cool with it, I can walk you through it from Monday to Friday nights, around nine after my sessions. It won't take long, a week should do it, and I'll pay you for the extra time."
Katniss could only offer this arrangement.
Jesse jumped at the chance, "Absolutely, and you don't need to pay me extra. It's my bad for not being good enough. I'm just stoked you're willing to help."
"Alright, no time to waste. Let's kick things off tonight. Meet me at the tutoring center after work. I'll be there around eight."
Katniss checked the time; it was already past six. After hanging up, she and Matilda grabbed dinner and chatted with Sophia for a bit.
Then she reluctantly got ready to leave. "Matilda, if Mom shows any signs, hit me up immediately."
"Don't worry, if Mom wakes up, you'll be the first to know!" Matilda could tell she wanted to stay but had too much on her plate.
After a bunch of reassurances, Katniss left the hospital and headed straight to the tutoring center.
It was pitch black outside, except for one lit room on the second floor of the center. When Katniss walked in, Jesse was on the phone.
Seeing her, Jesse quickly said, "Mom, I gotta work late for the next few days. Don't stress, I'll try to get home early. Okay, okay!"
He hung up in a hurry and smiled at her, "Sorry, Ms. Grey, my mom just worries about me."
"I get it. Now, fill me in on your students' situations." She hung her bag on a chair and sat down across from Jesse.
Jesse pulled out some test papers the kids had done and, after sitting down, asked softly, "Ms. Grey, are you married?"
Katniss was caught off guard and shook her head. "Nope."
"Got a boyfriend?" He cautiously watched Katniss.
His gut told him someone as stunning as Katniss must have a boyfriend.
But Katniss shook her head again, "Nope, why?"
Jesse's eyes flickered, and he quickly shook his head with a smile, "No reason, just thought if you were working late with me, your boyfriend or husband might get jealous. But since you don't have one, it's all good."
Tristan's image popped into Katniss's mind. She raised an eyebrow, feeling a pang of bitterness.
"Let's get to it," she said.
She broke down the strengths and weaknesses of Jesse's students, explaining everything in detail and pointing out some flaws in Jesse's teaching methods.
Two hours flew by, and Jesse felt a bit embarrassed. "Ms. Grey, I didn't expect you to be so patient with me."
Katniss replied, "It's no biggie. If you're serious about learning, I'm serious about teaching."
Jesse's earnest attitude made Katniss want to give her all in teaching. She said, "Let's wrap it up for tonight."
She packed up her stuff and reminded Jesse, "Your phone's been buzzing a few times. Your family's probably worried. You should head home."
They walked downstairs together and only realized it was drizzling when they hit the door. The rain was light but dense, and the wind blew it right into their faces.
"Ms. Grey, let me walk you to your car," Jesse said, taking off his jacket and holding it over their heads.
In an instant, they were super close. Katniss instinctively pulled away, but Jesse kept moving closer.
With his arm raised high to hold the jacket over their heads, it looked like he was practically hugging Katniss.
"Let's go," Jesse said, taking a step forward and gently nudging Katniss's back, making her move.
She had no choice but to quicken her pace toward the car. After a few steps, she suddenly noticed a G-Wagon parked behind her car.
The interior light was on, and she could vaguely see Tristan's chiseled profile in the passenger seat.
A pair of deep eyes stared straight at her, locked on her.
Because she suddenly stopped, Jesse couldn't avoid bumping into her, bringing their bodies even closer.
The car door opened, and Ryan, holding an umbrella, got out and walked to the passenger side to open the door for Tristan, who also got out.
The two of them walked over slowly, looking at Katniss and Jesse sharing a jacket in the rain, their posture intimate. Ryan silently lowered his head—this was bad.
"Tristan?"
Just as Katniss's mind went blank for a few seconds, not knowing what to say, she suddenly heard Jesse speak behind her.
She turned around in shock to look at Jesse, whose clean, handsome face was filled with joy, his clear eyes looking at Tristan.
'They know each other?' Katniss wondered.
Tristan nodded in response, his ambiguous gaze falling on Katniss.
Their eyes met through the drizzle, making it hard to see each other's expressions clearly.
But Katniss could still sense that his gaze was sharp and indifferent.
"Tristan, what are you doing here?" Jesse asked again, his tone still filled with joyful surprise.
Ryan explained, "Ms. Grey is Aaron's tutor."
Jesse was even more surprised, looking down at Katniss. "Really? I only heard that Ms. Grey took on a tough student. I didn't expect it to be Aaron. Ms. Grey, you must have a hard time; he's a handful."
"It's not hard, it's my job," Katniss said lightly.
Tristan showed no intention of leaving.
Katniss stood still as well.
Until Tristan spoke again, "It's getting late, you should head home."
This was directed at Jesse.
"Okay." Jesse hesitated for two seconds, then realized Tristan was there for Katniss.
He draped the jacket over Katniss, noticing her pale face and unsettled emotions.
He added, "You don't need to be scared of Tristan. He might seem cold, but he's a good guy."
Then he turned to Tristan, "Tristan, you better not mess with Ms. Grey!"
The black umbrella covered Tristan, making his features even more pronounced, his jaw tightening.
Katniss was startled and instinctively tried to take off the jacket, but Jesse held her shoulder.
"You're dressed lightly, keep it on," Jesse said, then quickly turned and ran to his car.
In no time, the drizzle had dampened Katniss's long hair, leaving a thin layer of wetness.
She gathered her hair, feeling the jacket on her shoulders was heavy, unsure whether to take it off or not.
As she lowered her eyes and bit her lip, feeling a strange discomfort in her heart, a shadow suddenly appeared over her head.
It was Tristan, holding an umbrella, looking down at her with indifferent eyes. "Stay away from Jesse."
His simple, cold words carried no emotion, and his gaze was filled with mockery.
Katniss felt as if a giant hand had gripped her heart, making it hard to breathe.
"What do you mean?" she asked, her red lips parting, her gaze stubborn and filled with resentment toward his attitude.
"Exactly what it sounds like," Tristan said. His tone was cold and suffocating. "Don't play dumb."
She had always been so well-behaved with him; he didn't believe she didn't understand his words.
Katniss's face turned even paler. Was he suspecting she had a close relationship with Jesse?
She forced a smile, looking away. "Mr. Forbes, I'm no longer your subordinate, and even if I were, you have no right to interfere in my personal affairs!"
Tristan suddenly grabbed her wrist, causing her to stumble and press against the car. Her eyes filled with anger as she looked at him.
"I didn't realize you were so disobedient," he said, tightening his grip on her wrist, making her face turn white with pain.
Katniss gritted her teeth, enduring the pain as she stared at him. "Let go! If there's nothing else, I'll leave."
"What's the rush?" Tristan raised an eyebrow. "You can stay upstairs with a guy for so long, but you can't stand being here in public?"
His gaze fell on Jesse's jacket.
Clearly, he had misunderstood something. But Katniss had no intention of explaining; it wasn't necessary!
She laughed in anger. "Mr. Forbes, can't you see? I don't want to be around you."
The sudden reunion had disrupted her peaceful life.
The emotions she had suppressed for so long finally erupted at this moment.
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