The doctors said the swelling is going down, and things are looking more positive. My mum is stable, but still not awake. My dad’s vitals are improving. Slowly. They said we’re “headed in the right direction.”
But when is he waking up?
I look at him. He’s pale. Still. He’s my father, the strongest man I know, but he’s completely motionless.
“So, Dad... Hayden’s been here. Every day. Like... he hasn’t even questioned it. Just showed up. Stayed. He held me when I broke down in the hallway. He held me.” I bite down on my lower lip to stop it from trembling. “We’re together now. I mean, he looks at me like I’m the only person in the world, and for someone like Hayden Crawford, that means everything.”
I blink hard. A tear lands on the back of my dad’s hand.
“His family’s been here, too. Well, they come to the waiting room. Mason brought me food yesterday. Miles checks in more than I can reply to, and his mom, she held me while I cried until I couldn’t breathe. They didn’t have to... but they did. It’s like they’ve been holding me up when I couldn’t do it myself.” My throat closes. “They’ve been more of a family to me than I deserve.” I squeeze my dad’s hand gently. “I need you to get better, okay? You and Mum. Because I want to show you who I’m becoming, who Hayden’s helping me become. I want you to see that I’m not broken anymore.”
A few more minutes pass in silence. Then I press a kiss to his forehead and whisper, “I’ll be back soon. I promise.”
I can’t stay at the hospital all day, like Hayden tells me to. I have to study, work, eat, and spend time with him. I know he's joking about the last thing, but being around him helps me forget what's happening, even for a little bit.
The parking lot is mostly empty when I pull into campus. I kill the engine and reach over to grab my bag off the passenger seat, when another car pulls in fast, beside me.
I don’t even have to look to know who it is.
The red Camaro. Leo. Asshole.
My heart rate spikes instantly.
I open the door slowly, trying not to panic. I don’t want a scene. Not here. Not now.
He gets out, adjusting his jacket and running a hand through his messy hair like he’s about to go on a date.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he says, leaning casually on the side of his car like he hasn’t made my life hell.
“Fuck off, Leo,” I mutter, walking around the back of my car.
“You really think he’s better than me?” he calls out. “The great Hayden Crawford? Come on. Look at you. You’re all... soft again. I liked you better when you had a little fire.”
I don’t respond. I keep walking toward the dorm entrance.
Then I feel it, his hand wrapping around my arm.
“I said look at me?—”
CRACK.
Leo’s head slams into the side of his own car, and I scream.
“Miles!” I gasp.
Miles has him by the collar, slamming his head into the metal one more time for good measure. Mason steps beside him, laughing with that wicked glint in his eyes.
“Give us one reason,” Mason says, voice low and amused. “Just one.”
Leo’s face is pale, blood trickling from the corner of his lip as he stares at the two of them. “These are the creeps you want to be with, Olivia? These psychos?”
He spits on the ground and walks off without another word.
I don’t breathe until he’s gone.
“You okay?” Mason asks, stepping closer, less teasing now.
I nod, though my hands are shaking. “Yeah. I’m good.”
