“Sir, calm down, or you’ll be escorted off the premises.”“Sir, I’ll have to sedate you if you don’t stop.”“Get that girl out of here. She’s not welcome around my son any longer!”Tears rushed my eyes as a woman poked her head out of the recovery room. And when my eyes landed on Clint’s stepmother, sorrow filled her face again. She mouthed how sorry she was to me. And for a moment, I thought maybe we understood one another.Until someone grabbed my arm.“You can’t be back here if you’re not family. I’m sorry, but romantic partners don’t count. Come with me before you get into any more trouble.”I freely went with the nurse as she led me back out into the E.R. waiting room. And as Michael came up behind me, I started gathering my things. I’d lost my shoe along the way somewhere. Also, my phone. I picked it up and headed for the exit doors, not bothering to hear what Clint’s father was still screaming down the hallways. People stared. Some gawked. Others eavesdropped in order to get th

I nodded. “We—it—happened so fast, Mom.”“Are you hurt, Raelynn?”“I wish I was, instead of him.”“Oh, sweetheart.”She wrapped her arms around me and I sobbed against her. Iheard myself wailing. I felt my chest heaving. It was almost like an out of body experience. My heart fluttered so wildly I thought I’d burst out from my chest and take off toward the rising sun. My legs locked up, shaking and trembling as my stomach slammed against my ribcage. It felt like my entire body was rebelling. Fighting back after years of being caged.I shook against Mom, soaking her robe with tears as she stroked my back.“I’m right here. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”“They ran him off the road, Mom. They wanted to kill him.”“Who did, sweetheart? Who wanted to kill him?”“Those dumbass drunk boys!”I shrieked it so loudly that Mom clung to me tighter. She stood up, pulling me against her as she slowly moved us from the kitchen to the living room. We fell to the couch and she pulled me into her la

I sniffled. “I take it Michael filled you in?”She nodded. “On everything. Especially once you didn’t show up at school yesterday.”??I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just—”She squeezed my hand. “No need to apologize, crazytown. I’m not upset. I’m just glad you guys are okay.”“Even Clint?”Michael nodded. “Even Clint.”Allison had the bright idea of picking up fast food and sneaking it into the hospital for Clint. Which shocked me, because that was something she’d do for me. Was it possible they were finally considering Clint part of our group? A friend, even? I hoped so, in the pit of my soul. Allison stuffed the food into her purse after we were done eating, and even managed to prop up a soda in one of her pockets so it wouldn't tip over.And after sneaking through the hospital corridors, we finally found Clint’s room.“Holy sh—”I held up my hand, stopping Michael’s sentence in its tracks. Clint was fast asleep, and no one was in his room. This couldn't have been planned any bette

I looked over at her as I chewed my food, watching as she set her salad down. She looked at me with pride in her eyes, and I wondered what had her so worked up in all the best ways.“I talked with your father. And meetings are going well. He said he’s going to video conference in tonight and hang around with us. I have the laptop in the car, I’ll just have to go out and bring it up here once he tells me he’s ready. He’s going to text, I’ll get the laptop, then boom! Howard’s here with us.”She beamed with happiness, and I tried to give her the kindest smile I could. But I knew how my father worked. He’d get busy with something, or pissed off at something, and suddenly he’d forget all about me. I didn’t have the slightest bit of hope he’d video conference in, much less remember to text Cecilia about it. But she looked so happy about it. So bright and vibrant with hope.I didn’t have the heart to destroy it.“That sounds great. It’ll be nice to see him.”She picked her salad back up. “H

I shook my head at the two of them as I turned around. And even after only a couple of days, Clint looked worlds better than he had. His neck wasn’t braced. He didn’t have oxygen tubes running up his nose. He only had one I.V. as opposed to two. And his face seemed a lot less swollen. I walked over to the edge of his bed and sat down, taking his hand within mine. And as I brought it to my lips to kiss, I felt him bend over. Freely.To kiss me on top of the head.I smiled. “You look amazing.”His lips lingered in my hair. “I feel amazing, now that you're here.”“Do you want to get started on history first? Or math?”“First, I want to hear all about school. I’m sure there’s been a circus act you’ve had to field.”I snickered. “I mean, whatever you’re thinking is probably right. Roy and Marina have approached me a couple times, too.”“Oh, I’m sure they’ve had lots to say.”I rose up, looking into his eyes. “I think Roy has kind of become the schoolyard bully now. He’s picking a great dea