The next thing I'm aware of is overwhelming brightness. I open my eyes and look around, feeling confused. As I scan the room, I realize I'm in the hospital. I'm propped up in a stiff, uncomfortable bed. My mom sits in the corner on a plastic chair, looking at her phone.

"Mom?" My voice cracks as if I haven't used it in a while.

She immediately looks up from her phone and rushes to my side. "Hey, honey, how are you feeling?" she asks as she brushes my hair back from my face. She looks worried and relieved at the same time.

I think about her question for a moment. My thoughts are muddied. "My head hurts," I tell her, reaching up to touch it. It's then that I see an IV coming out of my hand. A heartbeat monitor is attached to my index finger. "What happened? Why am I here?"

"David? She's awake!" Mom says loudly. I wince at the volume of her voice. On the other side of the bed, my dad is waking up from what looks to be a very uncomfortable nap. "Sorry," she says, noticing my reaction to her words. "You don't remember, do you?"

"No, what's going on?" I ask. I look back down at the IV in my hand, then back up at her.

"You were in a car accident. You were T-boned at the intersection on Main Street," she says as she takes my hand. "You're pretty bruised up, and you have a mild concussion, but there's nothing broken."

"Fuck," I say, surprised at the news. "Oh, sorry," I apologize for the language.

"It's fine. We're just glad you're okay," Dad says as he steps up to the bed. "You've been out for a few hours. We weren't sure when you would wake up."

"I was supposed to work today," I say, and Dad shakes his head.

"They already know what happened. Actually, all of your friends are here. They're out in the waiting room."

"They came here for me?" I ask.

"Of course they did. They've all been a mess. Especially JJ," Mom says, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Can I see him?" I ask. "Well, I want to see everyone, but him first."

"Yes, but after the doctor comes in. He told us to let him know when you were awake. I'll send your dad to the waiting room to let them know you're awake, and I'll get the doctor. Then you can see everyone."

I nod as she and dad exit the room. Mom returns moments later with the doctor.

"Hi, Sunny. I'm Dr. Cullen. Can you tell me where you are and what happened?" he asks.

"I'm at Kildare County Hospital. I was in a car accident. I don't remember the accident, though," I tell him truthfully.

"That's to be expected. You hit your head pretty hard upon impact from the other vehicle. Your seatbelt bruised you up pretty good, as did your driver's side door when you slammed into it. You're going to be pretty sore for a few days. How does your head feel?" the doctor asks.

"Like I have a really bad hangover," I tell him, and he chuckles.

"How is your vision?"

"It seems normal. I feel like my eyes are moving slower, though."

He nods. "Let me look at your pupils," he says, holding up a small flashlight. He nods and writes something on his clipboard after he shines the light at my eyes. "Dilation is a little sluggish, but within reason given your condition."

"What is this for?" I hold up my hand with the IV line in it.

"Some pain medication. We also gave you a mild sedative earlier when we did your brain and body scans. Everything came back normal on preliminary readings except the concussion, obviously. And like I said, you'll be bruised and sore for a while, but nothing is broken, no internal damage. You came out very lucky."

"Who hit me? Are they hurt?" I ask.

"You were the only one brought in, so I assume the other person was either not seriously hurt, or not hurt at all. The police can give you the other person's name once they've finished the accident report," Dr. Cullen explains.

"So when can I get out of here?" I ask.

"I want you to finish this dosage of pain medication," he says, eyeing the bag hanging on the IV pole. "So maybe another hour and a half? Could be slightly less. See this button here?" He points to a red call button on the side of my bed. "When the bag is empty, you hit that button and call for me and we'll get you discharged. In the mean time, I've heard you have some visitors. You're well enough to see them, as long as you're feeling up to it."

"Okay, thank you, doctor." He walks out of the room with a wave. Mom moves from beside the bed and heads toward the door.

"I'll send JJ in," she says as she leaves the room.

As I wait, I look around the room again. I see my backpack in the corner. Guess someone managed to grab it for me when they took me out of the Jeep.

"Sunny," JJ's voice comes out like a whisper. I turn my head to see him in the doorway, looking like he's aged a thousand years in only a few hours.

"Hey," I reply weakly, feeling self-conscious all of a sudden.

He crosses the room quickly and crushes me in a hug. I grunt in pain as he squeezes against the bruises I haven't even looked at yet. "Sorry," he huffs when he realizes he's hurting me. He releases me and sits down on the edge of the bed, his eyes wet and red-rimmed. "I'm so glad you're okay," he says shakily. He takes my IV-clad hand in his gently, briefly looking up at the medicine hanging on the pole.

"Yeah, me too, although I don't really remember what happened. I just know I was t-boned," I say softly. "Do you know anything about it?"

He shakes his head. "No, no more than you I guess."

"I don't even... how did you find out? All I know is I've been blacked out for a couple hours."

"You were out for almost four hours. It's the middle of the afternoon," he tells me.

"Fuck. Okay." I look down at our intertwined hands. "So what all happened while I was out?"

He quickly wipes his eyes with the back of his hand when a few stray tears spill over. "I guess after the police got a hold of your parents, your dad called the restaurant to tell Mr. Carrera what happened. He told Kie, and she called me. Worst phone call of my life," he says with a humorless laugh. "I got here first, and the others met me here. We've been sitting in the waiting room since 11:00." He sighs. "We were all really worried about you, Sunny. We didn't know if you were okay. All we knew was that you were in an accident and you were hurt." Another tear rolls down his cheek and he wipes it away quickly, sniffling. "I've never been that scared before."

I reach up with my free hand and wrap it around the back of his neck, pulling him towards me. He presses a gentle kiss to my lips, and the heart monitor beeps faster. I feel his lips quirk into a smile before he pulls away. "See? I'm fine. Same reaction as always when you kiss me."

He rolls his eyes. "You're not fine. I can't even imagine what you look like under your shirt." He grimaces at the thought.

"I'll be okay," I assure him. "I'll just have to rest for a few days."

"I'm gonna stay with you tonight," he says. "I already talked to your parents about it."

"They agreed to that?" I say, surprised at this.

"Surprisingly, yes," he says with a chuckle. "The doctor told them you need twenty-four hour care  for the next few days, and when I told them I was going to take care of you, they didn't even try to talk me out of it."

"Wow," I say in disbelief. "You'll be like my little butler," I joke.

"At your service," he jokes back. "The others are anxious to see you."

"You can go get them. I'm ready."

JJ leaves and returns quickly with John B, Pope, and Kiara in tow. They all wear the same concerned look on their faces as they cautiously approach my bed, using low voices to speak to me to keep my headache at bay. The five of us chit chat and hang out in my hospital room until my pain meds run out, and JJ shoos everyone out so I can call the doctor in to get discharged. He gives me a swift kiss on the forehead as they leave. "I'll see you when you get out," he promises.

The doctor comes in and gives me a final once over, removing my IV and giving me instructions to take it easy for the next few days. Lots of rest, keep someone close by 24/7, and a promise that my head should start feeling better in another day or two. He hands me a stack of papers on post-concussion care as he leaves me to gather my things.

I walk out of my hospital room with my bag slung over my unbruised side, moving gingerly since I can feel how stiff I am from the sudden jolt from impact. I make my way to the waiting area where my parents and JJ wait for me.

"I'm free," I tell them. JJ takes my bag for me.

"Let's go home, kid," Dad says, putting an arm around me.

"Where's my Jeep?" I ask as we walk out of the hospital and into the parking lot.

"The salvage yard," Dad answers.

"Can we go see it?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I guess. If you're not too tired."

"I took an impromptu four hour nap. I'm good for now," I joke.

"Okay, then," he says as we arrive at his truck. The four of us climb in, and I wince as I have to use my muscles and joints to pull myself up into the cab.

"You good?" JJ asks me.

"Yeah, just a little sore," I say, waving him off.

We head over to the salvage yard, which isn't super far from the hospital. Dad talks to the guy behind the fence, and after he explains who we are and why we're here, he opens the rolling gate and lets us drive through. "Down that second aisle to the left. It's towards the front, you can't miss it," he says as we drive past. "The other vehicle involved is back there, too. Big diesel truck. Same aisle."

"Did you guys ever find out who hit me?" I ask as we drive further into the salvage yard. We make a left down the second aisle as the guy instructed. I hear my mom gasp. Dad stops his truck and we get out to look.

The whole passenger side of my Jeep is crumpled inwards, like a soda can someone crushed with their hand. The tires sit at an odd angle; the hood is popped and folded like an accordion; the passenger mirror is gone. The windshield looks like a shattered phone screen. All of the airbags have been deployed. Whoever hit me was going fast when they plowed into me.

I feel myself getting emotional as I stare at my destroyed vehicle. "How... how did I... survive?" I ask, my voice cracking. A few tears spill over and I don't bother to wipe them off my cheeks. JJ wraps his arms around my shoulders from behind and leans his head against mine.

"This is... wow," Dad says, surveying the damage. "If I just saw this vehicle by itself, I would've thought the driver wouldn't have made it. And yet, here you stand, bruised and concussed, but otherwise fine. Absolutely amazing," he marvels.

"The guy said the other vehicle was here. A diesel truck," Mom says, looking around. "Front end should be tore all to hell."

JJ releases his hold on me and takes my hand as we walk further down the lane of destroyed vehicles. "Diesel, diesel," he mutters to himself as we look through all the twisted metal. "Here," he says, stopping in front of a black diesel truck with a crushed front end. "This is probably it."

The four of us look at the truck. White paint is scratched and embedded along the entire front end, indicating we're looking at the correct one. A Kildare Academy logo catches my eye, and then the football sticker with the number 85 inside of it makes a rock form in my stomach.

"I know who's truck this is," I say, and everyone turns to look at me. "I'd know this truck anywhere. It's Tyler's."

*********************************
Sheriff Peterkin confirms it was, in fact, Tyler who hit my car. She sighs as she hands over the accident report to my parents when she visits the house that evening.

"Sure was Tyler Mason. Drunk as a skunk at 10:30 in the morning. He's looking at a handful of charges: underage drinking, DUI, wreckless driving, cause of injury while driving under the influence of alcohol... this boy is gonna spend some time at Wadesboro," Peterkin tells us.

"Drunk driving on a weekday morning?" my dad mutters as he looks over the report in his hands.

"Wadesboro?" JJ repeats.

"The juvenile detention center," Peterkin explains.

"Yeah, I know that. But how long would he go there for?" he asks.

"Twelve to eighteen months. With the request for the restraining order already on his record, he'll probably get the full eighteen.  Now, Sunny," she says, turning towards me. "That temporary order will stay in place until his sentencing, but they won't grant a permanent one if he ends up in Wadesboro. Won't be any reason to if he's locked up."

"Yeah, that makes sense," I say, trying to wrap my head around everything. My head still hurts from the crash earlier, and I expect it to be that way for a few days. It makes all of this hard to process.

"Now, you take care of yourself, and you'll get a new letter in the mail with the court date for the hearing about the accident. You don't have to go, but since you were involved, they'll notify you of the proceedings." She adjusts her gun belt. "I'll see you folks later."

After she's gone, I'm feeling tired again, so my parents suggest I go lay down. My eyes flicker to JJ as I stand up from the couch. "Are you coming?" I ask.

"Uh..." he stalls. We both look at my parents.

"It's fine. Just don't make me regret saying it's fine," Mom says.

I feel my cheeks redden. I clear my throat. "Right. Uh, good night."

JJ grabs his backpack and we head upstairs to my bedroom. I shut the door behind us.

"I'm surprised we get to sleep in the same room," JJ says as he sits on the edge of my bed.

"Me too. She probably figures I'm too beat up to try anything," I say with a laugh.

"How does it look?" he asks.

I shrug. "I haven't looked yet, but we're about to find out." I unceremoniously pull my shorts off and remove my T-shirt. I hear JJ gulp as his eyes examine my body. I look down. Large purple bruises are dotted all over my left side from the top of my shoulder down to my thigh. Extending diagonally from my left shoulder to my right hip is a dark bruise from my seatbelt locking upon impact. I move to my mirror to get a better look.

"Shit," JJ says as I examine myself better. "He really did a number on you."

"Yeah," I say, taking a final glance in the mirror. I take a T-shirt and cotton shorts out of my dresser and pull them on.

JJ looks at me again once I'm dressed. "How many shirts of mine do you have?" he asks.

I look down at the faded Pabst Blue Ribbon shirt I've put on. "Um, I dunno," I say sheepishly. "The Pelican Marina shirt is clean if you want it back."

He smiles and shakes his head. "I don't care if you wear my clothes. I just didn't know you had any until that one time. Now I see you have more."

"Sorry," I say, but I'm not sorry. He knows this.

"Yeah, okay. I'm gonna change, too."

After he's changed, we both climb in my bed and get comfortable while I load Netflix and navigate to The Office. "We're picking up with the next episode after Casino Night," I tell him as I scroll through the episodes to find the one I need.

We lay there in comfortable silence watching The Office, and at some point I fall asleep. I don't even realize I've fallen asleep until the next morning, when the feeling of being watched wakes me up.

"Were you dreaming about me?" JJ asks with a smirk.

"When? Just now?" I ask. I rub my eyes to try to unblur my vision.

"You woke me up twice talking in your sleep," he says.

"What did I say?"

"Most of it was just mumbles, but I heard my name," he says.

"I don't remember any of my dreams. You're in most of them, though," I admit.

"Am I, now?" he says, a shit-eating grin spreading across his face.

"Not like that," I say, swatting at him. "My dreams are usually super random and don't make any sense. For instance, the last dream I remember having, we were on a pirate ship and Derek Jeter was our captain, and you brought me a plate of sushi when I said I was hungry."

He gives me a weird look. "What goes on in your mind?"

I shrug. "I have normal thoughts during the day, but once I'm asleep, all bets are off."

"I'll say. How do you feel today?"

"My head still hurts, but not as bad. And I'm afraid to get out of bed to see how bad the rest of me hurts," I say with a chuckle.

"I'll help you," he says as he starts to get up. He holds his hands out to me. "Come on." It's slow and painful to get out of bed, but I manage to do it without too much help. "Congratulations. You aren't totally useless dead weight that I have to carry around."

"You'd carry me around if I needed it," I say, pushing up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

He wraps his arms around me gently and kisses my forehead. "Yeah, I'd do anything for you," he says. "Now, let's go downstairs and show your parents that you aren't as frail as they think you are."