Alexia woke up to the steady beeping of a heart rate monitor, and looked down at Devon, who was still asleep in the hospital bed beside her. She had spent half of the night worrying about him even though the doctors had assured her that he'd be alright, and the other half asleep in the chair beside his bed.
She yawned and stood up, stretching. After watching Devon breathe evenly for a minute, she went downstairs to the cafeteria.
'Calm down', she thought,'The danger is gone. He's fine.' But this provoked another thought; she had killed someone. A dangerous man that had tried to kill her, and it had not been intentional, but he was dead because of her just the same.
She honestly wasn't sure that she wouldn't have killed him even if she'd had a choice. The thought scared her. Maybe she should talk about it with Peter. He knew who she was now, and she no longer had to veil her questions as simply curiousity.
After finishing her breakfast at the cafeteria, she went back upstairs to Devon's room. No sooner had she sat down than she heard a knock on the door.
"Come in," she said. Peter opened the door and stepped inside.
"How is he," he asked.
"He's got a broken wrist, a twisted ankle, and a concussion, but other than that, he's fine. He was lucky," Alexia replied. Peter nodded.
Alexia decided that she wouldn't ask about what she had been thinking earlier, not in a hospital in front of Devon. But there was something else she needed his advise on. A tear dripped down her cheek as she looked down at Devon, then back at Peter.
"Peter, I... I think I'm going to break up with him," she said.
"Why," Peter asked, though the answer was obvious; she didn't want him to get hurt. He'd gone through almost the exact same thing over two years earlier.
"All of the secrets I'd have to keep, the lies... I can't live like that. It's one thing to have a secret. It's another thing for your entire life to be a lie," she replied. "But you know all about that, don't you?"
Peter nodded.
"I went through something similar with MJ. I'm just sorry it took what it did for me to trust her," he said.
"MJ's not a Bugle reporter intent on getting revenge on a ghost," Alexia pointed out.
"But it's the same kind of situation. Do you trust him?"
Alexia sighed.
"I don't know."
"I can't help you. I wish I could, but you're right. MJ and Devon are two different people. It's your choice whether to stay with him and trust him, or to leave him. But if you do trust him and tell him everything, then it's his choice what he does about it," Peter said. Alexia nodded.
"Actually, that reminds me. I came here to tell you something else. MJ and I are engaged," he added. Alexia forgot her dilema for a moment and smiled.
"Wow. How did it happen," she asked.
"After you left, MJ and I stopped for a minute before I took her home, just sort of admiring the view. I'd been thinking about it for awhile, and decided that then was probably the best time to ask, so I proposed to her," Peter replied.
Alexia couldn't help but laugh. It was the most romantic thing she'd ever heard of.
"So you just got down on one knee and popped the question right there on a rooftop?"
Peter nodded with a smile. Alexia laughed again.
"Best of luck to you. I don't really know what else to say," Alexia said.
"How about 'I'll be a bridesmaid at the wedding'," Peter said.
"You're serious? I'd love to. When is it," Alexia asked.
"I don't know. We're still working on actually getting an engagement ring."
They both laughed.
"Well, I'd better get going. I'll see you later," Peter said.
"'Bye," Alexia replied. Peter left, closing the door behind him. Almost as soon as Peter was gone, Devon stirred in his sleep, and opened his eyes.
"Hey," Alexia said.
"Hey," Devon replied. He looked around the room.
"You're going to be fine," Alexia said before he had a chance to ask,"But don't move your head too much. You've got a concussion."
"I remember something weird. Someone held my hand before the ambulance came."
"You must have been dreaming. I held your hand when I got here last night. That's probably what yuo're thinking of," Alexia lied.
"Yeah, you're probably right," Devon said.
Alexia looked away. If she was going to do this, it had to be now.
"Devon, I...,"Alexia started, but found herself drawn back to him.
"What?"
Alexia looked away again, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Devon, this... this can't work. I can't see you anymore," she said.
"Why," Devon asked.
"I just can't... there are just some things I need to work out, and... I have to go," Alexia said, standing up.
"Wait, Alexia. I don't get it. Can't we talk about this," Devon asked.
"I'm sorry," Alexia said, turning away and walking to the door.
"Wait! Alexia, don't go."
She didn't stop. Devon attempted to get up, but a wave of dizziness prevented him from doing so. He could only watch helplessly as she walked past the outside window, crying.