"What the hell, CeCe?"

I officially had a concussion. Rhys had dragged me out of his vomit-stenched car, along with a begrudged Lucas. If it wasn't for the fact that I felt like utter crap, I probably would have been embarrassed that I'd left a nice little upchuck pile in Rovey.

The nearest hospital to New River was almost a half-hour drive out of town, which meant that we'd had to drive with the windows rolled down, trying to rid the god-awful smell.

Lucas had kept his head out of the car the entire ride here, cursing me and Rhys for ruining his night. To be honest, as much as I despised the guy, I felt slightly bad that he had been forced to ride to the hospital with us. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn't want to come either.

So, here I was. Staying in the hospital for overnight observation. With a very angry Teagan glaring back at me from the end of the bed.

"Don't be mad," I cringe.

She sighs, placing a hand on her hip. When Teagan got really angry, the boys were afraid of her. I'd never really been on the tail end of her wrath, but right now, I felt as if I might be.

"It's too late for that," she glares, gritting her teeth. "Why would you get on Lucas Winter's boat in the first place?"

"Uh...free food?" I smile sheepishly at her.

When we had got here, Rhys had asked me if I needed to call anyone. Obviously, there was a high chance my dad was intoxicated and unable to drive, that the boys would literally kill me and then Rhys for what happened, which left the only reliable person in my life. Even if I did know she'd get mad.

"You're hopeless," she groans. "Free food? Really?"

She perches at the end of my bed, shaking her head. "You could have been seriously hurt."

"But I wasn't," I reassure her. "It's just a concussion, nothing to worry about."

Her withering glare makes me shut my mouth. Teagan was angry at me and when she got angry, it was better to keep quiet.

"Look, I know I said that you can do whatever you want with Rhys, despite him not being my favourite person. But—"

"Here we go," I mumble.

"I'm starting to agree with the boys. If you hadn't been with him tonight, you wouldn't be in this hospital."

"It wasn't his fault," I blurt, unconsciously defending him. The words felt foreign on my tongue, like a new language.

I knew it wasn't Rhys's fault. It just felt weird to defend him, like I was breaking some type of rule.

"I do respect him for not leaving you stranded in some hospital and for actually bringing you here. But...I don't know. I'm just worried about you."

"Don't be," I place a hand over hers. "I'm fine."

Tea raises an eyebrow, "Shit, CeCe. I think it's happening."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're falling for Rhys freaking Laderman," she sighs, covering her face with her hands.

"I am not!" I blanch, jerking out of bed to stand in front of her.

"CeCe, sit down. The doctors told you to rest up."

I ignore her, crossing my arms over my chest. "I am not falling for Laderman. I'm not, Tea."

"Whatever you say," her lips squish together at the side, apprehensively.

"You don't believe me!" I throw up my hands, exasperated.

"I think you're in denial," she states. "You don't want your feelings to be true because you know what it'll mean."

I groan, rubbing my forehead. "It would never happen, Tea. He's Rhys Laderman."

"You can't exactly help who you fall for," she expresses, staring at her nails. "I just wish it was someone who wasn't going to split our group apart."

"That won't happen!" I reassure her. "Rhys and I...it's nothing. Nothing is going on between us."

"Yet," she mumbles.

"Tea..."

"Look, I love you but you're being naive. Guys like him don't continuously hang around girls just to be friends."

"We're not even friends," I defend.

"He wants something from you, CeCe. I don't believe that it's just to help you anymore. Or if that was ever even the case."

"But— you said you thought it was about Libby," I answer softly.

"Maybe in the beginning it was," she shrugs, "but I'm not so sure anymore."

"I—"

A knock sounds from the door. Tea and I look up in unison, our eyes fixed on the person standing in the doorway.

Rhys leans against the frame, the artificial lighting acting as a silhouette around him. He wracks a hand through his hair and I notice the way the ends seem to stick up, as if he's been doing it too many times.

"Ah...hey," he nods at Tea. She gives him a small smile, which turns more into a cringe, before looking away.

"The doctors are asking for a contact number for your parents."

Tea and I stare at each other in alarm. My eyes grow with panic, trying to think of any possible excuse to stop my dad from coming down here. I'd always been afraid that if they saw how unfit he was as a parent, they'd put me in foster care.

"I, um—"

"Her dad isn't—"

"He's—"

"I gave them my mums. I told them she'd pick you up tomorrow," he says nonchalantly. "That cool with you?"

"Oh," I try to cover my shock but I can tell that I must look the same as Tea does right now. "Yes, that's... um. Thanks?"

"You're welcome," he snorts, rolling his eyes. "Wasn't that hard now, was it, Cadigan?"

I roll my eyes, a hint of a smile growing on my lips.

"I need to use the bathroom," Teagan mumbles to me. She bypasses Rhys without a second glance.

Once she's gone, he clears his throat, stepping into the room. He looks around, like he's examining the bare walls.

"Lucas left. Got a Taxi back to New River."

"Not surprised," I snort. "We aren't exactly each other's favourite people."

"No," he agrees with a smirk. "You aren't. Probably because you're so similar."

"Similar?" I croak.

"Stubborn as hell," he smirks, "self-righteous. Not ashamed to tell it how it is."

"I can't believe you just compared me to Lucas Winter," I scrunch up my nose in disgust.

"He isn't so bad when you get to know him," he shrugs.

"I could say the same about Ryan. But would you believe me?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Touché," he grunts.

He takes a seat in the chair by my bed, leaning his elbows against his knees. "Can I ask you something?"

"Depends what it is," I eye him warily. My legs dangle off the bed as I face him sitting opposite me.

"Why haven't you called your dad?"

Oh, fuck. The conversation I had avoided having with him.

"He's...busy," I speak. It wasn't exactly a lie. Dad was busy. Busy forgetting about the world around him, drowning in his sorrows.

"Bullshit, Cadigan," Rhys shakes his head. "I call bullshit."

"Rhys," I sigh, "I'm not in the mood for a fight right now. My head is on fire, I feel like I've just been hit by a truck and there is also the pressing and rather embarrassing issue that my vomit is still sitting in your car."

"I'll get my cleaner on it tomorrow," he waves it off, sitting back in the seat.

"You have a cleaner for your car? What— nevermind. I shouldn't be surprised."

"It's not the first time something like that has happened," he shrugs.

"You mean you've had plenty of girls throw up in your car before?"

"I mean, I wouldn't say plenty, but..."

"Oh god," I groan. "That is disgusting. No wonder you handle this so well. You've had experience, you womanizer."

He eyes me carefully, shaking his head. "One thing I've realised you're really good at is changing the damn subject."

I watch the clock above Rhys's head as it ticks by, the only sound filling the quiet room.

"Is something going on with your dad?"

I flop back on the bed, staring at the sterilised, white ceiling. "My life is a lot more complicated than you know."

"Are you at least...okay at home?" he asks, almost tentatively.

"Aw, is big old Rhysie worried about me?" I mock.

"For fuck's sake," he suddenly snaps. "Not everything is a joke, you know."

I sit up suddenly, glaring at him. "You think I'm not aware of that?"

He scrubs his face harshly. "I just wish you'd stop dodging with this facade you keep up."

"Don't try to analyse me," I snap, crossing my arms over my chest. "You don't know a lot about me."

"I—"

Teagan suddenly comes barging in through the doorway, a lock of panic on her face. She shuts the door behind her, breathing heavily.

"Tea?" I frown, walking towards her.

"You're going to kill me," she cringes. "Ryan was asking about whether I had spoken to you in the past few hours because you'd been ignoring his texts. He rang me, CeCe. You know how bad of a liar I can be when I'm asked something directly."

"Please tell me you didn't say where I am," I groan.

"Um..."

"Tea! He is literally going to slaughter me."

"I'm sorry. I know it was dumb but he just kept talking on the phone and I just blurted it out and—"

My phone suddenly begins to ring. Ryan's name pops up and I cringe as I reach for it.

"Hey, Ry," I bit my thumb, ready for the onslaught.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"No. I mean, I have a concussion but I'm fine."

I hear rustling on the other end of the line, before he answers. "Is he is still there with you? I want you to put him on."

"What?" I choke. "Ryan—"

"Do it, Ceeks. Put Rhys on the phone."

I pull the phone apprehensively away from my ear. I pass it over to Rhys who stare dubiously at it, like he's never seen a phone before.

"He, um. He wants to talk to you?"

Rhys doesn't question me further. Instead, he takes the phone from my hand, his fingers lightly brushing over mine.

"It's Rhys," he booms, "what do you want?"

I look up at Tea nervously, wondering what the hell this could be about.

"Right," Rhys says. "Never doubted it. Uh-huh. Oh, really, big boy? Okay. Fuck you. Ta-ta for now."

Rhys passes the phone back to me, his jaw ticking. "I think I better go. I'll see you tomorrow, Cora."

"Wait, Rhys—"

He's out the door before I can stop him. Teagan moves her head back and forth, from me to the door.

"What just happened?" she questions.

I stare down at the phone, noticing that Ryan was still on the call. "What did you say?"

"Nothing that concerns you," he sighs. "He's a jerk and I just made sure he understood that."

"Ryan..."

"Stay away from him, Ceeks. You have no idea what he's like. I've had to deal with him plenty of times over the years in football. I know how he can be."

"What does that even—"

"He doesn't respect women. He's never had a serious girlfriend in his life. He just likes the chase and that is exactly what you're giving him."

"Excuse me?" I scoff.

"He thinks you're playing hard to get, which guys like him fucking froth over. He's just reeling you in so that you can put out and that's it."

"What did you say to him, huh?"

"Why? Couldn't he handle it?"

"Ryan..."

"I just told him the truth, Ceeks. That I'd had something that he'd never get."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You. I had you. I had everything he wants. To sleep with you and—"

"Oh my fucking god!" I practically shout. "So you just wanted me for sex, is that?"

"No!" he snaps. "You're twisting my words. That's what Rhys want from you."

"I can't believe you right now. You're talking about me as if I was your possession. Like you owned me."

"That isn't—"

"I don't want to talk to you right now. I'm sick of constantly having the same fights," I hang up the phone, anger rolling off me in waves.

"CeCe, what just—"

"I need to find Rhys before he leaves," I rush past Teagan, walking down the long corridor towards the exit.

I didn't know what the time was but I could guess that it was pretty late. The moon reflected on one of the few cars left in the parking lot, namely Rovey.

I jog over to the Range Rover, tapping on the passenger window. Rhys looks over at me, his hands idling on the keys in the ignition.

"What?" he says, rolling down the windows.

"For what it's worth, just ignore Ryan. He's being an idiot."

"You came all the way out here, just to tell me that?" he cocks his head to the side. "Why?"

Why had I? Why did I need to even defend Ryan to Rhys? I didn't like him. We weren't friends.

"I don't— I don't know," I mumble.

Rhys watches me for a moment, his arm draped over the wheel. His eyes flicker across my face before he looks away, out the windscreen.

"Go back inside, Cora. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Rhys—"

Before I can finish, he's winding up the window and driving off into the night, leaving me barefoot and alone in the quiet hospital car park.