He had been in that hospital bed for two days now, and it was already starting to get really old. The last time, the only other time he had been in the hospital overnight, was after his accident. He had learned to hate hospitals then, and while this situation was much better than the last one, considering he knew that he would fully recover from this injury, he still hated hospitals just as much as he had when he was eight.

He had a roommate, a man who was about his dad's age, and the guy didn't talk much. From what Artie had gathered from the doctors in and out of their room, the guy had broken his leg in a few different places and needed surgery to put the pieces back in place. About the only words Artie had heard the man say were complaints about not being able to walk for a few weeks. Artie rolled his eyes at the complaints, wishing the man knew how lucky he was to know that he would walk again.

A nurse came in around 3 in the afternoon, as she usually did. Most of the doctors and nurses that Artie saw didn't seem like anything special, but this nurse was sweet and liked to make him smile, so Artie enjoyed her visits, even though they only lasted a few minutes. "I just came from the lobby," she told him when she walked in. "I heard that you have a visitor, a girl. She's very pretty." As she spoke the last part, she added a wink.

Artie smiled. "Must be my girlfriend."

"Aren't you the lucky one?" the nurse said with a smile. "She should be here in a minute or so."

The nurse moved around to finish her duties quickly and efficiently, and left without another word, smiling at Artie as she did. Artie pushed the button to make his hospital bed rise to a sitting position and watched the doorway expectantly for Brittany to come in. But the next person to enter the room wasn't Brittany.

"Tina? What are you doing here?"

Tina looked flustered at his reaction, and stammered out a response. "I . . . I can leave if you want me to."

"No! No, sorry, Tina. I just, the nurse said there was a girl to visit me. I just assumed it was-"

"Brittany."

"Yeah. But I'm glad to see you." Artie added one of his big smiles to show his sincerity.

"Brittany came to see you earlier, didn't she?"

Artie shook his head. "She hasn't been here since you guys all visited me two days ago."

"I'm sure she'll come soon. Maybe tonight or tomorrow." Artie just nodded, trying not to look as disappointed as he felt. He watched as Tina sighed and sat down in the chair next to his bed.

"Are you ok? You seem a little upset."

"Mike just broke up with me." She looked away from him, and he guessed there were tears in her eyes.

"Oh, Tina, I'm sorry." Artie tried to reach her hand, which was on the armrest of her chair, but he couldn't quite reach. When she realized what he was trying to do, she placed her hand on the bed and allowed him to pat it comfortingly. "What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. He said that it seemed like I was in love with someone else, and he felt like he didn't have my full attention anymore. He said he didn't want to be a consolation prize."

"Well, did you tell him that you're not in love with anyone else?"

"I couldn't."

"What? You mean, he wouldn't let you? You need to go back and talk to him, tell him that you love him."

"No, Artie. I can't say that because I couldn't lie to his face."

"Hold up. Lie? You mean . . . you mean you are in love with someone else?" She nodded. "But, who?"

"Who else? You, Artie."

"Whoa, whoa. Tina, this is crazy. You're the one who broke up with me, remember? You left me for Mike."

"I know, and I regret it. Artie, Mike's a great guy, but I miss you. He's not nearly as sweet as you and he's more, I don't know, more immature."

"Tina, if you regretted leaving me, why didn't you say something? I didn't start dating Brit until we had been broken up for a few months. I probably would have taken you back."

"I know, but I was stubborn. I didn't want to admit that I made a mistake. I wanted to make it work with Mike, and I thought it was working with Mike. I guess I was wrong."

They sat in silence for awhile. Artie was at a loss for words. A few months ago, he would have been thrilled to hear that Tina was still in love with him, but now . . . What could he say? Suddenly, she was standing up and leaning towards him, her lips puckered.

"Hey! Whoa! Tina, what the hell?" Tina leapt back in surprise as Artie sputtered and stammered.

"But, but I thought . . . Artie, I just told you I'm in love with you. I thought . . . I thought you wanted me."

"Tina, I'm with Brittany."

"I know, but-" She stopped, as though something suddenly dawned on her. "Oh, I get it. You want to break up with her first. You don't want to cheat on her. You're such a good guy, Artie. I-"

"No, Tina, I mean I'm with Brittany. I'm not breaking up with her. I'm sorry."

"Artie, this is ridiculous. You're not in love with her."

"How do you know?"

"Come on, you only started dating her to make me jealous."

"That's not true. I started dating her because she was hot and interested, and I wanted to get over you."

"Ok, so you wanted to use her for her looks and popularity."

"Yes, in the beginning. But, it's become a lot more than that. I really like her. I don't know if I'd call it love, yet, but I care about her . . . a lot."

"Artie, come on, she's a complete ditz! This is the girl who said if she could be any animal, she would be a penguin because penguins can fly!"

"I know she's not the most intellectual person, but so what? She's a really caring person, and after all the guys she's been with, she's actually happy to be with me! I'm not leaving her, Tina. I know this was hard for you to tell me that you still love me, but I'm sorry. It's not going to happen." Tina didn't say another word. She just glared at him, turned, and left.

And suddenly, Artie felt much more alone than he had before she walked in.