Ryan wandered into the kitchen, checking his phone to see if there were any missed calls or messages off Marissa. It was no great surprise to him to find that there was nothing there.

Kirsten looked up from her coffee and saw that Ryan had entered the room. She immediately rushed over to his side.

"Oh, sweetie, how are you bearing up about the whole Marissa thing?"

Ryan looked at her strangely. Great. So Seth's gone and told everyone that Marissa stood me up. Typical.

"Ok, I guess. I mean, its not like I was expecting it to happen or anything, but given my luck I guess it was bound to happen at some point. I just wish she would get in touch with me."

Now it was Kirsten's turn to have a confused look on her face. What is he talking about? How can she call him when she's unconscious?

"Err, Ryan, I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing here."

"What do you mean? What else is there about Marissa, other than the fact that she stood me up the other day?"

Oh crap, he has no idea what happened. And I bet that when the crash happened, Marissa was supposed to be meeting Ryan. I can't believe I've got to tell him this.

Kirsten sighed. "Sweetie, you might want to sit down for this."

Ryan frowned slightly, but followed Kirsten's instruction. What on earth is going on? Has something happened to Marissa. MY GOD! Something has happened to her!

"Ok, honey, Julie rang me at work today. There's been a car crash. A truck went into Marissa's car..."

The colour drained from Ryan's face as the reality of the situation began to dawn on him. That's why she never showed up. She was in a car crash. My poor baby!

"…they think she's going to be okay; her arm is broken and her head is quite cut up. She's still unconscious at the moment, so they're not sure if there's any other damage, but the doctors are quite optimistic that everything will be fine when she wakes up," Kirsten told him.

Ryan bowed his head and ran his hands through his hair. He felt his eyes moistening and knew he had to hide that from Kirsten. She's just lost her father; she doesn't need you crying on her. You've got to be strong, man. Pull yourself together. He took a moment to ready himself, then sat up properly.

"Can I go and see her?" he asked.

"Of course you can, although I'm not sure if you'll be allowed her room – they may say that it's family members only. Do you want me to come with you?"

"It's okay; I'll be alright by myself. But thanks."

"Okay sweetie. Don't worry, she's going to be fine."

Ryan nodded slightly. "Yeah…I hope so."

You absolute idiot Ryan. There's you, imagining your girlfriend with Trey, thinking that she's trying to hurt you, when all the time she's lying unconscious on a hospital bed. Christ, you should have thought that there might have been an accident – no wonder there was no answer at her house, Julie will be with her at the hospital. You need to sort yourself out, man.

So Ryan knows at last. Hurrah.

Reviews much appreciated!