I rubbed the bridge of my nose in frustration before focusing back on my video call with Brandon. "God, Brandon, everything's such a mess," I grumbled as I lifted my phone camera closer to my face.

 "Well, no shit, you're in the hospital," Brandon snorted, his eyes alight with amusement. 

I looked around at the bare hospital walls with a sigh, the action making me feel even more miserable than I felt before. "God, I hate it here," I mumbled as I sunk lower down into the bed.

"Well, then you should have thought about that before throwing yourself off the horse like an idiot," he lectured.

I rolled my eyes. "You sound exactly like Nathan." 

Brandon's eyes softened. "Soph, that's only because the two of us both care about you," he explained gently.

I swallowed thickly, hating to be reminded that Nathan felt something for me. I mean, yeah, it felt good in the moment when he called me his friend, but after I took some time to think, all I felt was guilty. It meant my plan had worked, and I wasn't sure if I was all that happy that it had.

"Where is Mr lover boy, anyway?" Brandon hummed as he waggled his brows.

I gave him a deadened look as he spoke the words 'lover boy', but I was too lazy to comment on it. I rolled my eyes. "He's in the bathroom. And believe it or not, it's the first five minutes he's actually left me alone all day," I spat drily. 

"He keeps looking at me like he thinks I'll drop dead at any second, and he won't let me do anything myself. For fucks sake, he literally opens packets of food for me, like I'm some kind of child. It's humiliating!" I cried.

Brandon's brows knitted together. "Well, what do you expect, you scared him. And I'm not going to lie, Soph, but you scared the shit out of me too. When your parents called yesterday and told me what happened, I-I honestly didn't know what to think," he mumbled, his words leaving tightly out his throat. 

It was only at that moment, did I realize how shaken Brandon looked, and behind the amusement of his eyes, there seemed to be a hidden air of fear.

"Oh fuck, I'm so sorry, Brandon," I groaned, hating that I had made him feel like crap.

 His lips pricked up into a comforting smile. "Hey, don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault; accidents happen," he reassured kindly.

I returned his smile, and relaxed feeling happy that he wasn't mad at me. "You might be the only person who hasn't gotten mad at me," I said with a distant chuckle. 

Brandon cocked up an amused eyebrow. "Why? Who else have you pissed off?" he snorted.

"My parents," I said flatly. "Nathan got hold of my phone and called them, and now they've been calling me on and off all day to lecture me. My dad literally drove to my mum's hospital, so he could team up with my mum to yell at me," I spat out miserably.

"Ooph," Brandon winced. "They didn't know you went to Greece, did they?"

"Nope," I said bluntly. "And they weren't exactly thrilled to hear that I went to a random country without telling them. Especially with some random guy," I mumbled. 

"Well, it wasn't some random guy, it was your new boo," Brandon said, winking playfully.

I snorted. "Yeah, well, that's exactly what my parents thought," I snorted. "After their long heartfelt yet threatening speech, they swiftly moved on to the topic of Nathan. And let me tell you, that was not fun," I muttered darkly.

"Oh really, tell me more?" Brandon said as he leaned forward in intrigue. He was clearly getting a kick out of listening in on my embarrassment, and I could hardly blame him.

"Well, first off, my mother asked, and I quote: 'That new boyfriend of yours has got you pregnant, hasn't he?'" I repeated in an overly falsetto voice.

"Holy, shit," Brandon sniggered.

"Don't even laugh yet it gets worse," I sighed. "My dad then decided to pipe in and talk about how it wouldn't be that bad if I were pregnant because he thinks being a grandpa would be 'fun' and how 'Nathan sounded like a nice chap.' Then both of them decided to torment me by arguing about baby names. And the worst part of all was that they said all this shit on speaker, while Nathan was sat right on the fucking chair beside me!" I cried out hysterically. 

I sunk lower on the bed as I got cringey flashbacks to the horrible conversation that had only happened mere hours ago. Throughout their whole conversation, Nathan couldn't even look me in the eyes. He sort of awkwardly looked around the room and pretended that he couldn't hear all the humiliating crap they were sprouting out.

"That's it, I officially remember why I love your dad," Brandon cackled, his shoulders still shaking steadily.

"Well, I'm glad one of us finds it funny," I spat down at my phone screen sarcastically. Brandon attempted to stifle his sniggers, but he failed miserably and instead ended up looking like a demented Cheshire cat.

"Sorry, Soph, I shouldn't laugh," he chuckled.

Before the conversation could continue any further, I heard the door creak before it slowly started to peek open. I widened my eyes in panic and turned back to my phone. 

"Shit, Nathan's coming; I'll talk to you later," I whispered out manically before quickly hitting the hang-up button and shoving the phone under my pillow.

As soon as it was safely switched off, Nathan appeared at the door and gave me a soft smile in greeting. He walked over to my bedside table before placing a cup of something hot down onto the surface.

"Hey, you alright? Who were you talking to just now?" he asked curiously as his eyes flickered over my figure.

I broke eye contact nervously, knowing I couldn't say Brandon since he was supposed to be my ex. "Oh, it was my dad, again," I said with a laugh. 

Nathan immediately raised an eyebrow at this, and I knew trouble was brewing when a small dangerous smirk appeared on his face.

"So, has he come to a final decision on the names of our kids?" he teased.

A fierce burn overtook my cheeks, and I unwedged the cushion from behind me before throwing it at Nathan. 

He caught it with a laugh before walking closer to the bed and tucking it back behind me. "Hey, you need this back support, don't throw it," he said softly.

And like that, overly concerned Nathan was back.

"Erm...Speaking of your parents, you're not mad I called them, right?" he asked cautiously. "I promise, I had no idea they didn't know you were in Greece. I didn't mean to get you in trouble," he muttered sheepishly.

"Yeah, yeah, no worries. It was my own fault for lying to them anyway," I shrugged. Looking a lot more relieved, he smiled before sitting back on the chair.

"Oh, I also got you this," he said suddenly as he leaned forward to grab the cup from the table. He cleared his throat dramatically. "The finest hot chocolate, my lady," he drawled in an over-exaggeratedly posh voice.

I accepted the drink with an amused smile and snorted at his attempt to put on a heavy accent. "I don't know why you're putting on a posh voice, you already sound like that, rich boy," I teased as I took a sip of my drink.

He frowned. "No, I don't," he spat out defensively. "Erm, yeah, you do. You sound one hundred percent posh, trust me," I snorted.

"Hmm, not sure you're a reliable source," he muttered cheekily. 

"Fair point, I did get my head knocked in, didn't I?" I snickered.

 All humor was suddenly lost from Nathan's face. "Does your head still hurt?" he asked softly as his eyes started to fan over my face in concern.

I slammed my cup back down on the table with a groan. "Nathan, I've been telling you I'm fine all day, you don't have to worry," I laughed lightly.

He let out a frustrated breath. "Yeah, I know that, and I believe you. But... sometimes people can seem fine even when they're not. I don't think it's a good idea to be too relaxed," he explained, with a strange kind of desperation behind his tone.

Before I could ask for more clarification, the hospital door suddenly swung open, and both Nathan's dad and a male middle-aged doctor walked in.

A big smile stretched on his dad's face as soon as he saw me. "Aww, Sophie, you're looking better already," his dad pointed out cheerfully.

"Yeah, that's because Nathan over here's been spoiling me," I chuckled. 

"Hmm, I'm not surprised, I bet my boy's used to looking after you in all kinds of ways," he drawled as he shot a sly smirk in Nathan's direction.

The doctor's eyebrows immediately shot up at this, and he blinked rapidly as though he wanted to vanish from the vicinity of the room. 

"Dad!" Nathan hissed.

"Sorry, bad joke, inappropriate timing. I'm deeply ashamed," his dad chuckled, not looking the tiniest bit guilty.

The doctor cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've actually come in here to deliver some good news. Our nurses have been monitoring you carefully, and everything's looking great. All your vitals seem normal, you've got no broken bones, no fractures, no inflammation. So, as far as I'm concerned, you're free to go home," the doctor explained happily.

An excited grin stretched over my face. "Oh my god, yes, that's amazing. Thank you so m-"

"No!" Nathan snapped abruptly, completely cutting me off. He stood up from the chair sharply and glared at the doctor as though he had been told the worst news of his life.

"You can't make her leave. She's better here. She needs to be monitored, something could still be wrong," Nathan rattled off passionately.

The doctor observed Nathan with kind eyes and slowly nodded his head. "I understand how you feel, I really do, but it's highly unlikely that anything will happen to Sophie," he explained soothingly.

Nathan scoffed. "Highly unlikely? Is that all you can fucking give me?" he spat darkly.

"Nathan, that is no way to speak to a professional," his dad scolded angrily.

"Well, I'm sorry, dad, but this is ridiculous! She fell off a horse. I saw when she hit her head, it was...it was...it was horrible," he choked out. "She's been knocked out for twenty-six fucking hours, and now I'm supposed to believe that she's fine. That's bullshit!" he yelled. 

"Nathan, sit down, it's fine, okay," I pleaded, desperate for him to see reason. He was really starting to scare me.

He swerved around to face me, and I was even more shocked to see his eyes were reddened with unshed tears. He looked at me for a long while, his mind deeply consumed with something, and then he suddenly snapped his eyes away from me as though it hurt to look at me.

Suddenly, his dad marched over to him and gripped his shoulders tightly, so he was staring at him square on.

"Nathan, this won't be the same. I promise you this won't be the same," his dad whispered, his eyes widened and mirroring the pain in his son's.

Nathan was practically shaking as though he was desperately trying to hold in tears. He slowly nodded his head and let out a shaky breath before looking down to the floor. "Yeah, yeah, you're right, I'm sorry," Nathan said softly as he pulled away from his dad's hold.

"I'll be back in a second to help Sophie get ready. I just need some air," Nathan swallowed. Then like that, he marched out of the door, letting the door swing heavily shut behind him,

The room was left in deafening silence, and soon enough, the doctor gave the two of us a tight smile before departing the room.

His dad turned towards me with a heavy sigh. "You're going to have to be patient with my son over the next few days, Sophie. He's erm...," he swallowed. "-He's been through a lot," he explained gently.

I nodded my head. "Yeah, of course," I murmured weakly. 

As my mind wandered away in thought, his dad's ominous words kept circling round and round in my head - This won't be the same. 

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Author's note:

So...what do we think is up with Nathan?

Thanks for reading

Next Update: Wednesday (6-8 PM -UK time)