A/N: I know I need to update when my traffic goes way down. I'm really sorry for the delay on this, I am. And unfortunately it will be another few weeks (unless I finish the next chapter by Friday) because I'll be gone for a few days this weekend until about Wendsday, and then when I get back it will probably be unlikely that I write, since we'll be on Spring Break. So yeah. My apologies.

With this and Broken (my two nileys) wrapping up soon, I've started a few stories, but not sure which one is my favorite. Do me a favor and go to my profile, read the descriptions, and vote on the poll? It would mean a lot to me, and the one (or possibly two) with the most votes will become a story.

Thanks tons jss2420 for her loveliness and quick editing skills :) You rock girl.

Eleven

He thought I couldn't hear their whispers. He was wrong. I might have broken three bones, but I wasn't deaf.

"Listen, just let her stay with me for a few days. I swear I won't hurt her or anything. She probably wont talk to me anyways. Please. I think I'm going to book a hotel room and take her there, since I don't want her to be around the sorority or fraternity."

I raised my head a little to peek through the glass window. Jade was staring at him with one hand on her hip and the other holding the door open. "How can I trust you after what you did to her?" she asked. I smiled; at least I had support from someone. "How do I know you're not just going to lock her up in that hotel room so she doesn't cause more of a scene than she already has and then go back to Mississippi or whatever, back to that slutty whore again?"

"Look. I was never with Hayden and I never will be. It's Miley that I want to be with." I rolled my eyes and glared at the back of his curly hair. "I'll bring her back in a few days, I promise. I just don't trust any of you to take care of her right now, seeing how you took care of her when I left. You can call her or anything, but she needs to take a break. I just came here to tell you so that you wouldn't freak out, and so that maybe you could go grab me some of her clothes or something."

Jade shook her head. "If you kidnap her, I swear-" she had her finger pressed against his chest. "Your life will be over." She rolled her eyes dramatically and then disappeared.

For a bizarre reason, I was going along with Nick's plan. I called my dad the night before and told him I left and I felt better, thanks to a visit home, and he knew nothing. I briefly talked to Lilly also, because she was wondering if I was okay. I thanked her for looking out for me after everything I did to her.

We had driven through the night and checked into a hospital in the wee hours of dawn, the sun not yet risen. We found out that I broke a bone in my right leg, my left wrist, and a finger on my right hand. I was a mess. They had called my dad but I just explained that we got into a small car accident and it was nothing major. He was worried and wanted to come and see me, but I refused and said I'd be fine.

When we left the hospital, it was already night again and Nick refused to let me go back to the house. He said that those girls were half the reason I wanted to kill myself anyways (which provoked a loud fight), and insisted that I stayed with him in a hotel for a few nights.

And I agreed.

I was brought back to the present when I felt a heap of clothes land on my face a few minutes later. I picked up my head and found a few folded up shirts and jeans. I nodded to him as a thank you and then lied back down with my leg propped up and my crutches lying on the floor.

We drove downtown to the Embassy suites, and he got out of the car and put the front seat down to help me out of the car. He took my hand and I took it gladly, and we walked into the luxurious hotel feeling gritty and dirty. The woman behind the counter frowned at us with disapproval, but we took the key and headed up to our room on the fifth floor.

As soon as the door was pushed open, I fought ahead of him and shut myself in the bathroom. He could say and do what he wanted, but I needed some space. I turned on the water of the shower, and then stripped off my clothes. I rested my crutches against the sink. I stepped into the cold marble of the shower and felt the hot shower beads hit my back, and nothing had ever felt better than that. I was careful to keep my casts dry, even though it was a large challenge and could've used help. I rinsed my hair and washed my body off, and then turned off the shower and dried my body with a white plush towel that the hotel had supplied, a cursive E sowed into the cotton.

I wrapped the towel around my body and then ran my fingers through my long curls and tried to squeeze all of the excess water out. I ignored the crutches and hobbled to the door. I opened it and found Nick sitting on the bed with his elbows propped up on his knees and his eyes concentrated on the TV screen in front of him.

He turned his head and his brown eyes glanced up at me. The corner of his lips twitched into a small smile. He got up from the bed and passed me to get into the bathroom. "Don't kill yourself," he smiled before closing the door behind him. As soon as I heard the water start to run, I unwrapped the towel from my body and changed into a clean pair of black velour sweats and a white t-shirt. I shook my hair out, beads of water flying from my head, landing on the carpeted floor and the sheets of the bed behind me.

Even though it was still really early in the morning, I curled up under the covers of the bed. I tucked the comforter under my chin and stretched out my legs. There was a slight chill in the room from the air conditioner and the dampness of my wet hair against the pillow, but I quickly fell into a long, deep sleep.

xx

I woke up a few hours later to the crisp smell of bacon.

I rolled around in the bed and slowly opened my eyes. I looked out the window to my left and it was pitch black outside. I curiously rolled back over and looked at the clock. The numbers flashed 11:07 PM.

"Good morning, or night I should say, princess," I heard a perfect voice say. I sat up in the bed and rubbed my eyes, and then noticed Nick sitting on the floor with a blanket strewn around him and a white plate with 4 perfect rows of bacon. He was chewing it and watching the news on the TV.

"I know we only have one bed, but we can share. It's okay with me," I said softly. My voice was haggard and tired.

"Nah, it's okay. Go ahead. You've had a rough week," he said, turning around to look at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Nicky, get your butt up here. I'm not going to let you get a sore back because of me. By the way, why are you eating bacon at this time at night?" I asked.

He got up from the floor and motioned for me to scoot over. He sat down next to me, and I took a piece of bacon. He feigned shock. "Hey missy, watch it!" he exclaimed in a high-pitched girl voice. I giggled. "There's just really nothing better than breakfast for dinner. By the way, are you hungry?" he asked, worry suddenly washing over his face.

I shook my head. "I'm fine. But you didn't answer my question- why are you eating this late?"

"My brothers are in town and I went to have some lunch and then we went to the beach for a while. You were dead to the world; I figured I had at least a couple of hours."

I nodded. We sat eating in silence when we heard Nick's name being said on the TV. Our eyes both shot up in unison, and Nick reached for the remote to turn it up. "Nick Jonas- good boy like he seems? One week ago he was in the South with a past flame, but sources have revealed exclusively to E! that the singer has been seen checking into a San Diego hotel with current girlfriend. Is he juggling two girls at once? Find out on E! News tomorrow at 9."

Nick shook his head and turned off the television, causing the room to darken. "I don't get it. I've had one single out and I'm already on E! news? Ridiculous." It was silent in the room for a few minutes.

"If I ask you something, will you promise not to get mad at me?" I asked quietly.

He sighed, and then ran a hand through his brown curls. "Sure."

"Are you… positive the baby is yours?"

The silence in the room was deafening.

"I was going to save myself for marriage," he whispered. "I made a promise to myself and to God that no matter what, the only person that I would ever have sex with would be my future wife. It was such a spur of the moment thing, I never meant for things to get out of hand. But before I knew it, there it was. It was happening. But when it actually hit me that it was actually not what I wanted, it was too late.

"I know rumors went around how I just left Hayden, but I couldn't take it. I couldn't look her in the eye and tell her that I loved her when the truth was that it was never love. I think that I liked the idea of having someone like her, funny, gorgeous, athletic, smart; everything I wanted in a girl. But no matter how many times I sat up at night debating what to do, there was one thing that I was sure of, and that was that it would never work out.

"But to answer your question, I don't know. I don't think I actually knew her well enough to know she would never do that. I don't know. But right now, I honestly think she just needs a good friend. And if I get hated for it, so be it. She needs the help right now."

"Thanks." I played with the hem on the sheets.

"For what?"

"For not turning out to be the jerk I expected you to be. I guess what hurt the most was falling in love with you and then finding out you weren't who I expected."

"So I'm forgiven?" he asked, his voice filled with hope.

"No." His smile turned into a frown. "Give me a few days."

He nodded. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Hey, go ahead and sleep," I whispered to him. He looked up at me.

"Are you sure? You're probably not tired at all, are you?"

"It's alright. You sleep. I might go take a walk or get some coffee. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

He nodded, and his lids slowly closed. I tucked the covers around him and then quietly slipped out of the bed. I slid off my sweats and put on a comfortable pair of jeans and a sweatshirt sitting in the corner of the room that looked very warm, and I assumed it was Nick's. I found my crutches lying on the floor next to the TV and propped them up under my armpits.

I saw a room card on the desk and slid it into my pocket. I walked out of the room, closing the door behind me, and then walked down the hallway to the elevator. It glided downward, a low hum being heard. I stepped out into the lobby and then walked out of the hotel, the cold air hitting me quickly. I gripped the handles on the crutches harder, trying not to let the coldness get to me.

I didn't have a destination in mind. In fact, I had no idea where the hell I was. But I kept walking. With every step, another tear would rise and slide down my cheek. I pushed my hair back and raised my hood over my head. Even though it was nearly midnight, many cars were driving down the street and strangers were passing me on the sidewalk. Many of them turned their heads to take a look at the crying crippled girl. I just fought off the temptation to give them the finger.

I looked at the busy intersection, and realized how easy it would be to just run in the middle of it and it would end quicker. No pain to go through, it would be quick and easy.

But my thoughts quickly flashed back to Nick's words in the hotel. I pictured Nick waking up in the morning to find me missing. He would scour the entire city before finding a newspaper article about the car crash. And then my sorority sisters would most likely kill him.

I also thought about the future. How easy it would be now that Nick and I had resolved things, for the most part.

I walked until the sun began to peek up behind the clouds. I found my way back to the hotel, and then went back in the room and discovered Nick still sleeping peacefully. I called room service, and ate in silence. My phone was going off like crazy. The first few times I saw it was Jade or Kimberely. Then my dad and Lilly and Oliver began to call. It came to the point where I had to turn off my phone. As I waited for Nick to wake up, I sat out on the balcony and watched the sun rise, the reflection playing on the clear water.

But regardless of any peace I felt, as soon as I heard the water running in the shower after Nick woke up, I turned my phone back on and ignored all the missed calls and messages. I dialed the number for the school.

"San Diego State Registration office, how may I help you?" the woman on the other line asked. I took a deep breath. Was I really going to do this?

"Hello, my name is Miley Stewart. I'd like to request a form to drop out of the school."

A/N: Like crappiest chapter ever, but I wanted to post before I leave so I was in a small rush. Please review? Long ones are greatly appreciated.