We sat in front of my house for several minutes, Jamie's car was still running. "I did tell you we would talk. Should we go somewhere and talk? I can buy you dinner or something."
"That sounds really nice, but if my mom gets home and I'm not here she will be furious. I am grounded forever it seems like."
Jamie looked over at me, and then cut the engine. He took a deep breath and said. "I really wanted to talk to you when we had more time, because it's kind of a lot."
"You don't think I can handle it?" How bad could it be?
"I don't know honestly." He seemed like he was trying to figure out how to explain it to me. "Actually is there anyway we can talk tomorrow?"
"Like after school?"
"Yeah that could work. I just really need to get back to my mother. I don't really want to but if I don't she won't go back home."
"Back home?" I was wondering.
"Yeah, my mom lives on the upper east side of New York. She flew out here without warning and decided she was going to pay me a visit because my dad told her about you, and who knows who else knows."
I had so many questions now, but his phone was ringing. He looked at the screen, I briefly noticed the name Hollie. He ignored the call, and said "I guess I'll see you in the morning. We have a lot to talk about tomorrow."
    I got out and made it to the front door before I noticed he was still sitting there waiting for me to go inside. Was he making sure I made it inside safely? Why did that warm my heart so much.
    On the other side of the door I slid down to the floor and listened to him start his car, pull away and then silence. After a while I went upstairs, and just felt thinking how much I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
    I ended laying in bed for hours all these questions floating through my head. By time I fell asleep it felt like my alarm clock was going off. I hit snooze, and then again, and again.
    When it went off again I slapped at the alarm but it wouldn't shut up. Groaning I climbed out of bed and realized that it was my new phone ringing.
    It was Jamie. I picked it up and sat down on the edge of my bed. "Hey, good morning. Did you already leave for school?"
    "No I'm inside." I tried to reach the part of my back was bothering me already this morning, but I couldn't reach it. "I just don't feel great."
    "What? Are you alright?"
    I felt really tired. I laid my head down on my pillow, the phone still to my ear. "I guess. Just feel sore and exhausted."
    "Oh, how about you come out and I'll take you to the doctor."
    "Why would I need a doctor? I'm just tired."

    "Because, Peyton, it's one of the things we needed to talk about today." He seemed worried.
    "I'm just gonna sleep a while. You can go home." I had my eyes shut now.
    "Peyton, are you still there?"
    "Huh?" I opened my eyes again. I was still on the phone.
    "Tell me the code to get inside. I'm at the front door."
    I rambled off the number for the security system my mom had installed, and then closed my eyes again. The next thing I know Jamie is pulling me up into a sitting position on the bed.
    My head fell into the curve of his neck and shoulder. He smelled so nice, and his hair was tickling my face.
I was so confused about what was going on, but I felt too weak to process it all clearly.
He started to pull up the back on my shirt. "Hey, don't!" I managed to get out.
"It's not like that." He murmured and that was the last thing I remembered before I was waking up in a hospital bed.
I looked around the room. The walls were a stark white color, and I could hear a beeping noise. Finally my eyes settled on Jamie sitting in the chair next to my bedside sleeping with his arms crossed over his chest.
I didn't know what to think. I just looked over at him so peaceful.
I was startled by the nurse coming into the room with a tray of stuff waking Jamie up in the process. He immediately straightened up. 
The nurse gestured for him to come over, and then as if I wasn't there she proceeded to tell him how to apply the bandages to my back.
    "What's going on?"
    Jamie looked at me weary. "I'll explain everything soon okay?"
    "Okay." For some reason his voice eased me a little.
    After a few minutes the nurse had me sit forward and reapplied a bandage to my back, then after some paperwork, she let me get dressed and said I could leave.
    "Am I okay?" I wanted for the nurse to leave then I asked Jamie standing in the middle of a hospital room.
    "You will be. Come on." He held out his hand. I took it and followed him out of the hospital, to the car. The whole way he walked slow and I wondered if it was because of me.
    We sat in the car in silence for a while He never seemed like he was quite sure what he wanted to say to me. I was surprised when he leaned toward me a little. "I'm really sorry."
    "For what?"
    "For not telling you everything right away. I guess I didn't expect you to be so," He looked up at me, before he leaned forward more and opened the glove compartment pulling out some papers, and a small bag. "So nice."
    I was confused by the compliment. "Thanks?"
    He held up the papers. "You're gonna need these. It explains your injuries, and the medications you're supposed to be taking for the next month or so."
    He handed everything over. It sat on my lap in a pile.
    My mind was reeling. I was remembering what I could from this morning, how he came in and everything. The smell of his skin, the touch of his hand on my back.
    I guess he knew something was wrong with me this whole time and brought me here in my pajamas. I looked into his green eyes. "Are you going to tell me what happened now?"
    He took a deep breath, and looked out the windshield at the hospital parking lot. "It all started about three weeks ago."
"I've just been super overwhelmed with school. See I've been in college since I was your age, my dad was really persistent on me taking these business classes. Anyways I wanted a short break to be free before my life is completely booked. I took it as a chance to talk to this girl that broke my heart."
"That sounds depressing." I murmured. I was joking but he obviously was still not in the mood for smiling. Then it hit me what he had said. He was in college, and had a girl that he obviously still had feelings for. This made me wonder about a few things: How did she hurt him? And how the heck did I get mixed up in this?
He stopped looking over at me. "Are you sure you wanna hear all this?"
"I do." I admitted.
"Okay, well, the first couple of days in town I tried to get ahold of Hollie, my ex girlfriend but she didn't want to talk to me. I kept calling anyways like a pitiful fool..." He trailed off but took a breath starting again. "I feel like I'm rambling. Are you feeling okay? Are you hurting?"
"I feel okay. Just sore." I couldn't help but feel worried about him. He looked really overwhelmed trying to talk to me about all this stuff. I wanted to know, but I didn't want to push him to his limit.
I felt sad for him. He really seemed to love this girl. I wonder how she could treat a guy like Jamie like complete crap. He seemed like a pretty good guy from what I've witnessed so far.
"I was stupid. I was sad, and mad, and drunk. I cried, yelled, and made a fool of myself. I made the mistake of asking her to marry me. She told me I was insane and refused to answer my calls again."
By this point I didn't know how to feel. I couldn't process why he married me if he wanted her. Obviously he said she refused but still. Why me? I was looking down at my hands in my lap and trying to piece his story together with what little I knew already, which happened to be very little.
I was surprised when his hand slipped into mine. I just looked down at them and didn't dare look up at the jade eyes that were on me no doubt. "I left the restaurant after talking to her not thinking clearly. I couldn't keep my sight straight, there was this whole thing with the parking garage and before I knew it I had hit you."
I looked up in alarm. "You what?"
"I hit you with my car." He said it and I could tell he was sorry. "Luckily I wasn't really driving. I had backed up and..."
I didn't know what to say. First we're married, then he's in love with another girl, and now he hit me with a car. I felt bewildered. I wish he would clear things up better, quickly, before I find out he really is a crazy person or something and this is all a joke.
He squeezed my hand. "I freaked out to say the least, and called an ambulance."
"I  just remember thinking that luckily it was late and not many people were out when I drove home after getting rejected again by Hollie. I had gotten these chocolates I was going to give her but she just wanted nothing to do with me. I sat there and ate them all even though they were alcoholic and then drove the like five minute drive back to the hotel. I thought it would be okay."
He was still holding my hand. I was wondering what it meant to him. Was he just trying to comfort me?
"I remember hearing this thump and I stopped immediately getting out of the car. I rounded the car and found you on the ground unconscious. I  dropped to my knees right there and tried to make sure you were okay."
He closed his eyes, still squeezing my hand. "You had blood trickling down your forehead. I just kept repeating Are you okay? I remember my hands trembling, but I called an ambulance, and I tried to wake you. I thought you died. I was in tears by the time they got there."
He opened his eyes again, and they were teary. "I just kept thinking Please be okay. You were struggling to breathe. I rode in the ambulance to the hospital with you, but they wouldn't let me go back with you."
I just stared at him, tears falling down his cheeks. I didn't know what to think. It was a lot to take in at once. "I-I was dying?"
"You were close to it. If you hadn't made it to the hospital when you did..." He was saying but I cut him off. I felt sick.
"I can't believe I believed all this marriage stuff. Was this all some scheme to confuse me?" I pulled my hand away from him, and he actually looked a little hurt by it.
"I'm really sorry, Peyton. You have no idea how sorry I am."
I wanted to believe him for some reason. I didn't really know him. Maybe my first reaction to him was accurate. He was a crazy person and I didn't feel safe being alone with him right now.
"It was an accident, but that's no excuse. I still take full responsibility for it all. It was reckless, it was..."
"I don't care. Please take me home."
His lips parted slightly, and without a word he put the car in drive, and drove me home. I looked out the window the whole ride holding onto all the papers he gave me.
When we got to my house he parked in the driveway, and I got out without looking in his direction. I slammed the door shut and started toward the front porch.
He rolled the window down, and said my name. I didn't want to respond, but I turn toward him a little. "Please leave me alone. Don't come here again, don't talk to me. Just leave."
"Okay." He looked really upset. I turned and went inside. My eyes filled with tears immediately listening to his car pull away.
Part of me was so mad at him, even if he was sorry, even if he says it was an accident.
I was missing two weeks of my life because of him, but for some reason I still wanted to see him.