REBECCA'S POV

I woke up when there was a light tap at my door and first noticed Ryan sleeping right next to me all huddled in my blanket and rest his hand on my head where he was playing with my hair before.

"Aw look how cute!" Kate whispered and snuck through the door quietly with Mason right behind her. "How are you feeling!? You're definitely looking better..." Mason rolled his eyes with a smile and took the seat next to the bed before poking Ryan who just stirred a bit and snuggled up next to me sweetly, not quite waking up yet.

"I'm feeling much better. I can't wait to go home though." Kate nodded and carefully sat on the edge of the bed.

"I brought some nail polish and hair stuff if you wanted to do any of that – otherwise we can just watch TV or hang out. Up to you!" I felt my smile before my brain even made up its mind.

"I'd love to but you'll have to help."

"Of course!" Kate was no longer whispering (I mean come on... it is Kate) and Ryan's gray eyes flew open. He took in the room before turning back to me with a lazy smile.

"Hey," he whispered – ignoring the fact that Kate and Mason are in the room with us.

"Hi." He leaned forward and kissed my lips softly.

"That was a good nap," he said and I smiled. "I guess I have to get up now though huh?"

"You think? Big weirdo," Mason mumbled from his chair.

"Alright, well I love you." He kissed my lips again quick and then climbed out of the bed taking all his warmth with him.

"So, a braid?" Kate said excitedly while holding up some hair ties and a brush. I nodded happily and she got to work.

Mason and Ryan chatted about football and how the coach was glad to hear everything's good now though he wished Ryan said something to him before, and then he wouldn't have been so upset at him for missing practices. Kate did my hair and nails, painting her own afterwards as we watched some sad lifetime movie on the television. Thankfully, Matt came in and chatted to everyone before allowing me to have pizza that the group was planning on ordering in. I couldn't wait to actually eat! Ryan joked that he should order an entire pizza just for me but I seriously might need it.

Mason and Kate stayed until about seven since they had school tomorrow and had to drive back home tonight. I almost forgot about the real world and school!

"Aren't you going to school tomorrow?" I asked Ryan after he snuggled up next to me once everyone left.

"No. I'm staying with you." That was sweet but it was already my fault he missed so much...

"Ryan, you should really go to school. You are going to be behind and it will be completely my fault."

"Becs don't be ridiculous. It isn't your fault and I'll catch up fast anyways."

"But you'll have to help me once I go back so you can't be behind!" He tucked some hair behind my ear since he couldn't run his hands through my braid.

"I want to stay with you Becs. I missed you so much when you were gone, I don't want to leave."

"I know. What if you stay the night and just go for classes then come back? I don't want you to miss anymore Ryan. Matt will be here anyways so he can help me if I have any problems." I know his mind flashed to when we showered together because he growled at the fact of Matt helping me. I brought my hand up slowly to caress his jaw-line that was full of brown stubble. "You can stay if you want, I just feel bad keeping you from school and practice and stuff."

"If you want me to go to school then I will Becs but I'm skipping practice and coming back right after." I nodded with a small smile. "I'll leave tomorrow morning then. If I don't wake you up, I love you and I'll be back soon," he said sweetly and kissed my cheek.

"I love you too."

We stayed in bed, called his parents, Alex, Landon, and Bentley, snacked on leftover pizza, and fell asleep early from the prior week's exhaustion. I wonder if I'll ever catch up or if I'll just be tired for the rest of my life...

---

I heard Ryan sneak out of the hospital room right after his lips kissed my cheek softly. I was glad he was going to school and not missing anymore but sad that he was leaving at the same time. Matt is on shift until ten and will stay and visit with me until Mike can come in around noon. Ryan must have planned everything out and texted it to me before he left because there was not once second of the day where a Bradley wouldn't be in the hospital just so I would feel more comfortable. I already felt better since Kirk was no longer in the same town as me and he was locked up behind bars. The officers we talked to, Torrez and Hannah's dad, seemed confident that there would be no problems in my case so Kirk should stay behind bars for a long time.

Matt came in to see how I was doing around seven and brought me some pancakes and yogurt for breakfast from the cafeteria, promising to check back in soon. Dr. Kellar stopped in before his shift was done at eight for a quick check up. My ribs were still sore but I could lean forward or lift my arms without if hurting too much. He did some stretched on my and rotated my neck and shoulders before whishing me well and saying he would check with me tomorrow morning.

At quarter after ten, Matt strolled into my room wearing normal clothes instead of his blue scrubs.

"So, what have you been watching all day?" he asked, trying to make conversation so I wouldn't feel awkward just hanging out with him.

"HGTV. I like how they take something so worn-down and make it beautiful."

"My mom likes this show – well I think all girls like these types of shows. Do you just like to watch those twins? Be honest?" I giggled while he pointed out the Property Brothers on the TV.

"I do like the show but they don't hurt the eyes," I admit and Matt chuckles. He looks really tired from his long shift and would usually be home sleeping by now so I stay quiet, only talking when he asks direct questions and soon notice him snoozing in the chair.

I really don't need to talk; just having someone Ryan and I trust close by is enough for me. Besides, Ryan starts texting me around eleven-thirty when his fourth hour slows down and the lunch period will begin soon.

___

|Becca Hanson > Ryan – 11:33am|

Received: Hey beautiful. How are you doing so far?

Sent: I'm good :) How's school?

Received: Boring without you. We missed a lot in Chem but I have all your homework and there's no rush on it. We'll have to see about Bio :(

Received: How's sitting with Matt? Is he boring YOU yet?

Sent: He's sleeping... lol

Received: What? Lol he's supposed to keep you company!

Sent: He looked tired and HGTV wasn't exciting enough for him! It's nice just having him close though. Thank you.

Received: Of course Becs. If Mike is too annoying when he's there just tell him to wait for me in the hall :) alright?

Sent: Ryan!

Received: Yeah, yeah. Did you eat yet?

Sent: I had some pancakes before.

Received: No lunch?

Sent: No. I'm not too hungry though.

Received: Oh. Well if you get hungry tell Mike to get you something from the cafeteria okay? Or just call a nurse if you don't want to ask him.

Sent: Okay.

Received: Landon misses you a lot. He's not in school yet but stopped at home because I left a little too early... traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Sent: How's he doing? Did you tell him I miss him too??

Received: I told him to call you but to wait until Mike was there since I know you'll be all awkward.

Sent: ...yeah.

Received: Lol cutie pie. And Landon's looking good – getting his color back, not so pale anymore. He wishes he could have come to visit you more but my mom has him on a leash... he's not used to that so if he's cranky when he calls it isn't your fault.

Sent: Okay :)

Received: Bentley says hi too. She's reading over my shoulder but pretending not to.

Sent: HI BENTLEY!!! :) !!! :) !!!

Sent: Is lunch almost over?
Received: Yeah. I'll have to go soon so I can pay attention in Bio and catch you up! We'll have a tutor session ;)

Sent: Lol okay. That sounds good. I love you!

Received: I love you more baby. See you soon.

___

I looked at the clock and noticed it was almost twelve-thirty but Mike wasn't here yet! I guess it was a good thing I let Matt fall asleep or he'd be dead tired for his next shift... Soon enough though Mike strode through the door carrying brown paper bags.

"Hey girlie! How you doin?" He said charismatically, waking Matt up suddenly from the volume of his voice. "Wow what good company my brother must be huh? Sleeping on the job Matthew?!" Matt just rolled his eyes and got up so Mike could have the chair.

"Sorry I fell asleep Becca," he apologized but I shook my head.

"No, it's okay. You looked really tired." Matt shrugged and talked quietly to Mike for a bit before waving and disappearing through the door.

"I brought you some lunch!" Mike announced happily. "There's some grilled cheese, tomato soup, a side salad, and some brownies in here... I was going to grab some sodas from the vending machine but I wasn't sure what you liked."

"Pepsi is good. Thank you!" He started pulling out the homemade meal with a smile.

"You're welcome. Ryan told me you didn't eat yet and I usually don't cook – that's why I was running a bit late, but it looked like Mr. Grouchy didn't notice since he was in snooze land." I chuckled and his smile brightened – it reminded me of Ryan's. "Alright, I'll be back with the sodas but dig in!" He left and I was going to be polite but I was literally starving so I started shoving my face as soon as he was out the door. When he reappeared, I had half my sandwich and all of my salad gone.

"This is really good. Thank you."

"It's no problem Becca. I grabbed some chips too," he tossed a few small bags of chips on the end of the bed and plopped in the chair beside me. "Do you mind if I turn on ESPN?" I shook my head no since I wasn't really watching TV anyways. "Thanks." Mike quietly watched TV, mumbling to himself about whatever the guys on the screen were talking about with replays showing once in a while, and ate his packed lunch. I didn't know Mike well yet but I was getting used to his personality. The outgoing thing just throws me through a loop when guys have the trait, I don't know why.

My phone vibrated loudly right after I finished my soup and Mike reached to turn the television down.

"Want me to step out?" he asked politely.

"No, it's just Landon." I answered right away and Mike's face turned somewhat passive before his attention went back to ESPN.

"Hi Landon!" He chuckled into the phone.

"Hey Becca. How are you feeling?"

"I'm better but I want to be home... How are you?" He sighed heavily and I knew he wouldn't tell the truth.

"I'm good." He was lying.

"How are you for real though?"

"How do you do that Becca?" I eye rolled so hard he had to have felt it through the phone.

"Because I know you... don't change the subject."

"I'm okay. I'm just not used to this."

"Used to what?"

"I don't know, having people take care of me and stuff." He was too sweet. I don't know how many times I'd have to tell him that he's loved but I would repeat it until he understood.

"Landon you were shot! Of course people are going to look after you." He huffed in the phone but didn't reply. "Hey, Sheila loves you like you're her son. You can't be upset that she's trying to help make things a little easier for you right now." I noticed Mike glancing at me now and again with different emotions displayed on his face but I pretended I didn't.

"I'm not upset Becca. It's just weird." I sighed sadly.

"I know. Well soon I'll be home with you so we can be invalids together." He barked out laughter and it echoed loudly through the phone.

"I love you Becca. I miss you too."

"I know, I love you too." Now I couldn't hide my reaction when Mike's eyebrows practically flew into his hairline. I'd have to explain that later. "Hey, did you talk to Bentley? Ryan's been keeping me out of the loop... unless he doesn't know either."

"Yea, I talked to Bentley," Landon said with cheer evident in his voice.

"And???"

"We're together."

"You're together!? YAY!!! Wait, you have to tell me more than that! What the heck Landon!"

"Becca I'm not a chick."

"Oh knock it off. I know you're not as badass as you let on you big softie. Tell me the details." Mike chuckled but kept his eyes on the television.

"She told me how much it hurt her that I kept pushing her away... then I, uh, almost died and it really shook her."

"It really shook all of us Landon, if I was conscious I would have been devastated! I can't even imagine what she was feeling."

"Yeah, well we just talked when I came out of surgery and she stayed with me overnight. Everything's going good now – more than good – but I'm feeling guilty for pushing her away before and putting her through all this."

"You did push her away before but I know why you did it Landon. You're such a sweetheart and you didn't want to hurt her, especially knowing her past. But everything else was out of your control – don't feel guilty for that."

"Well..."

"Well what?" He stayed eerily silent. "What Landon?"

"Ryan didn't, uh tell you?"

"Obviously not... what didn't he tell me?"

"Becca, he can tell you if he wants okay?"

"Landon..."

"No." What was he playing at?

"Okay... I'll ask Ryan later." Landon released a soft sigh and quickly changed the subject.

"So how's hanging out with Mike?" I knew Mike and Landon had their issues but I wasn't sure why... Landon always seemed courteous to Mike but Mike was usually rude to him.

"It's good! He brought me some lunch; grilled cheese and tomato soup and stuff." Mike's attention snapped to me now that he knew he was the topic of discussion.

"I'm glad. Is he staying with you until Ryan gets back?"

"Yep!"

"That's nice of him. I'm glad you aren't alone Becca." Mike was still watching me thoroughly and I decided to wrap up my conversation with Landon.

"I am too. I better get going though so he doesn't get too bored and leave me."

"Nobody could ever get bored with you Becca," he said with a chuckle. "Alright, text me if you're bored okay? And let me know when you're coming home as soon as you find out!"

"I will," I giggled. "Love you Landon."

"Love you too Becca. Bye."

I hung up and noticed Mike trying not to eavesdrop as his eyes pointed towards the TV.

"Why don't you like Landon?" I asked getting straight to the point. I felt like Mike wasn't one to skirt around the subject either.

"It's not that I don't like him..."

"Yes it is. Why don't you?" He thought for a few minutes and turned to me looking somewhat embarrassed.

"I don't know. And I know that's stupid – it's just too much to explain."

"Well, try to then." I softened my voice and tried to back down about protecting Landon. Maybe that's why I didn't get along with Mike so well... because I loved Landon and he definitely didn't... I don't know.

"Well now I know that you love him so you'll hate me for talking bad about him." He scratched his head awkwardly like Ryan does sometimes.

"No I won't. Just try to explain it. Please?" Mike sighed and muted the TV to look straight at me for this conversation.

"He just seems so stuck up. Doesn't that bother you?" What? Landon is the farthest from that!

"Uhm, what do you mean?"

"He walks around like he owns the place. Just glares at you until you give him what he wants, it's pathetic!" I thought for a bit and the only explanation is that Mike never knew what Landon's been through or never took the time to learn.

"He doesn't do that on purpose, Mike."

"I'm learning that now. He acts so different with you and it's strange to me." I was trying to maintain eye contact with him but it's just so weird talking face to face about this. "You said on the phone that he was a big softie..."

"I did," I smiled, "because he is. The tough guy is just a front so he can protect himself."

"Protect himself from what?"

"Well, there are things he's been through that aren't what anyone should have to endure. He tries to let everyone think he's okay."

"But you saw through it..." Mike said with realization dawning in his eyes. "Because you've been there too," he said softly and lowered his eyes. "Wow. I'm so stupid."

"You're not stupid Mike." I leaned over without too much difficulty and awkwardly patted his shoulder. I figured something like this was the reason they just didn't see eye to eye. "Just know he isn't actually a bad person."

"I already saw that." I nodded but wasn't quite sure what he meant. "Remember when you were sick and Alex brought you to my place so Matt could check up on you? I've never seen Landon act like that... ever. It threw me through a loop."

"That's okay," I smiled. "He doesn't hate you either you know – just put off by how you react towards him."

"That makes sense." The conversation was too thick so I reached over and started a new subject.

"Now what I want to know is who the hell likes these horrendous chips?!" I mentioned while holding out a small bag of sour cream and onion chips. Mike chuckled and shook his head.

"I take it you do not."

"That'd be correct. Now grab me some barbeque from down there and explain to me what you've been watching." He did as I asked and scooted his chair a little closer to my bed before attempting to explain what was happening on ESPN right now. There were replays that they were judging and then scoring to see what team comes out better or something... I don't know. I'm just glad that Mike and I won't have this strange animosity hanging over us anymore so we relaxed and snacked until Ryan arrived.