Life After Life

•C h a p t e r F o r t y - S i x•

By the time the sun had been replaced by the moon, I had lugged around all day in my bed. I'd flipped through channels on the television and watched boring soap operas. I'd even stared out the window of my hospital room for a good couple hours.

I'd gotten the IV taken out of my hand. I'd also gotten removed what the doctors had called the nasal cannula. Personally, I just called it the oxygen tube.

Liam had gone back to his place to take a shower and get a change of clothes, as did my mom. He'd never left me even when I insisted that he get something to eat.

I forced Jackson to leave as well, even though he was adamant that he wanted to spend the night with me. He wanted to make sure I was okay, but his constant presence was getting a bit too much.

Now, I sat on the bed, scrolling mindlessly through my phone. Leftover fruits from my lunch sat on the bedside table. The doctors had told me I'd be discharged in a couple of days and I had too much time to kill.

My parents told me that my motorcycle would need some fixing before I could ride in it again. Or actually, they suggested that I stopped riding altogether, which I firmly disagreed to. So they dropped the subject. My dad would take care of the legal side of things with the driver who'd run into me.

The door creaked open and Avery stepped in, shutting the door behind her again.

"Well, I've had an annoying day," she groaned as she took off her backpack, plopping it onto the floor with a thud. She stalked over to the chair next to my bed and sat down.

"What happened?" I raised an amused eyebrow.

"A group assignment happened," she rolled her eyes and my nose crinkled. Then a grin stretched across her lips. "Okay, enough about school. So... you and Liam...?"

"We're okay again," my lips twitched up just as the blood rushed to my cheeks from the thought of this afternoon with Liam. He told me he loved me.

"I called it," she popped a strawberry in her mouth.

"Weren't you the one calling him a skank?" I chortled, teasingly. I regretted that almost instantly, as a small ache spread across my chest.

"The circumstances were different," she smirked, swallowing the fruit in her mouth. "I thought he got super angry on purpose just to break up with you to be with that girl."

My lips pressed flat, "Oh, yeah. I never thought about that. At least we know it's not true now."

"You should have seen him when he came to the hospital," Avery giggled. "He was so worried, I think he thought you died. He hounded the nurse to tell him anything he knew about you."

"Okay, wait what did you tell him?" I shuffled over in my bed, allowing Avery to join me.

"All I said was that you got into a bad car accident," she replied, snatching the remote from the bed and switching the channel to a cartoon.

"You're so dramatic," I rolled my eyes, even though a smile crept onto my face.

"It wasn't a lie," she shrugged. Now a mocking grin appeared on her lips, replacing the cheeky one from before. "Besides, I personally got to see how much he cared about you. He never left your room the whole time you were out, not even to eat. Sam had to get him food. He is in love."

"Please," I rolled my eyes again. I took a deep breath, hoping to calm my cheeks that had begun to flare up again. Avery was right about that.

Avery turned around, pressing her finger down on the red call button, a mischievous grin playing on her lips.